Come, November 1, and onwards, Anguilla will see more tourists arriving on the island from the United States, UK , Europe and other marketplaces, as the Puerto Rico-based Seaborne Airlines doubles its connecting scheduled flights to the island from three to six per week. This very welcome service will go a long way towards improving access to Anguilla which has long been a crying need. It will most likely spearhead the opening of other routes [such as through Antigua] as the Anguilla Tourist Board continues its efforts to provide more airlift to the touristic 35-square-mile destination.
The convenient and additional Seaborne flights will also provide Anguillian shoppers, and persons seeking medical attention, greater frequent opportunities to travel to Puerto Rico. Plus, the cost of travel from Anguilla to the United States, via the Seaborne Puerto Rico route, will reportedly be cheaper than travelling through St. Maarten. The Seaborne aircraft has a capacity for 34 passengers.
The Anguillian gleaned the above information during the recent business meeting, in Anguilla, involving the island’s Marketing Representatives from the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Canada, Puerto Rico and Latin America.
Chairperson of the Anguilla Tourist Board, Mrs. Donna Banks, and Seaborne’s Managing Director, Airports, Mr. Fernando Vazquez, told The Anguillian that the Government had signed an agreement with Seaborne for the additional flights to the island. Speaking about those flights, Mrs. Banks explained: “Right now, the current schedule is a midday flight out of San Juan on a Thursday, a Saturday and a Sunday, and the three extra flights are going to be in the evening – leaving San Juan at about 6.50 on a Friday, a Saturday and a Sunday. The aircraft will overnight in Anguilla and will leave the island at 8.00 on a Saturday morning, a Sunday morning and a Monday morning. That will enable us to connect with flights from the West Coast of the United States as well as flights out of the UK, Germany and other parts of Europe. We are very happy about this, and the good thing is that Seaborne has co-share agreements with American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Jet Blue. It would be surprising to some persons that you can actually now fly from Anguilla to various parts of the United States at a fare that is cheaper that going through St. Maarten.”
Mr. Vazquez commented: “We are very excited about starting the additional flights in November. We came up with a very good agreement with the Government of Anguilla that is going to make it worthwhile for us to come to Anguilla, and the Government is assured of a high quality of service.”
Mr. Cardigan Connor, Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism interjected: “Another positive benefit is that it is not just about the visitor coming to
Anguilla, but also the benefits that Anguillians will have as well. Anguillians love going to Puerto Rico – whether for medical or shopping reasons especially over the weekends – so the additional flights are a great benefit to them as well. So it is a win-win for all of us.”
Asked about the terms of the agreement with Seabourne, Mrs. Banks replied: “The Anguilla Tourist Board is sharing in the risk as it will be guaranteeing a minimum cost per seat if the loads fall – let us say 20 seats per flight – but that is on an average basis. We will take the number of flights that would have come in to Anguilla and average them out so that we come up with an average cost per flight, and if that is below the threshold we would pay a minimum cost to Seaborne. We took the risk because we are confident that once we promote the flight properly – not only the Anguilla Tourist Board but also the accommodation sector – that we will not have to pay Seaborne anything.
“The good thing about this agreement is that we are not agreeing to pay Seaborne any lump sum of money, but we are going to pay them based on performance – shared risk. The other thing we have done is that we have put in a performance clause to ensure that Seaborne operates at a specific standard, and it assures us that Seaborne will have to perform at a certain standard. Our risk guarantee is attached to that as well. We are confident that the extra flights will do well. An investor in Anguilla has shared how he will be having Seaborne’s website linked to his website, and he encouraged all members of the private sector to do the same thing. The Anguilla Tourist Board does not sell rooms. It facilitates, and the onus is on the accommodation sector to promote the service. If it does not promote the [air] service, then the service will not be a success and it will mean that we can’t continue with it.”
The agreement also provides for a flat rate of US$350 – including taxes per round trip – for legal residents of Anguilla and Puerto Rico. In terms of the cost for tourists, the maximum return rate is US$650 including taxes with an average of US$410 also including taxes.
