Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Mrs. Quincia Gumbs-Marie, is passionately focussed on the coming direct flights of American Airlines to Anguilla.
The twice-weekly service, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, will commence on December 11 from Miami International Airport to the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport. The Embraer 175 aircraft has a seating capacity of 76 passengers.
The Parliamentary Secretary was among her colleagues of the Anguilla Portal Team at Four Seasons Resort and Residences on Friday, August 13. She and other members of the team were invited to a thank you event there. They were celebrated for their work in processing more than 6,000 applications from tourists from various parts of the world to enter Anguilla and to stay at various resorts and villas. It is understood that Four Seasons accommodated the largest number of guests – particularly for the month of July.
Although the event was a time to dine and relax, the Parliamentary Secretary made time for some important on the spot discussions, on her cellular phone, with American Airlines personnel.
“We have some very strong bookings at the end of this quarter,” Mrs. Gumbs-Marie told The Anguillian newspaper after speaking with the airline contact persons. “They were very proud to share with us that the bookings are very strong starting December 11. We have to be ready for that. Now that we have the slow down for August and September to build where we need to be for the season beginning in October.”
The Parliamentary Secretary spoke in greater detail about the plans for the American Airlines’ service to Anguilla – during the Government’s press conference on Monday, August 16. She said: “I have always told the Anguilla Air and Sea Ports Authority (AASPA) team that I think of the Clayton J. International Airport as a big airport. Even as we define ourselves now, we are moving from regarding ourselves as a small island state to a big ocean territory so we have to think big. As a result, we are making changes to be more competitive in terms of international standards.
“I have recently asked for an experienced auditor to time the last passenger leaving the airline and the last passenger leaving the airport. It is to see how long that takes for passenger movement to go through the terminal building. We will see where the hold-ups are and will work out the kinks. That is what’s happening right now. When I see the results of that report, we will work with the AASPA team, the Ministry [of Aviation], Customs and Immigration to see where the holds-up are so that we can provide our visitors with a better experience.”
Earlier, Mrs. Gumbs-Marie told media representatives. “I had a walk-through [the Airport Terminal Building] with some of our tourism stakeholders who will be assisting us with the improvements needed to facilitate American Airlines, and other airlines, to come to Anguilla. With American Airlines coming to the island, we will have a lot of open points of access throughout the United States. Previously we relied predominantly on the Tri-State area. With this new Miami route, it will open a lot of access throughout the US, UK, Dubai and Canada. We are shifting our marketing to follow through on that – and to ensure that Anguilla can benefit from the increased opportunities with American Airlines coming to the island.”
She added: “It is something that we are looking forward to and we are very excited about it. This is the first time in Anguilla’s history that we will be having a direct commercial flight from, and to, the US mainland – so we are doing our best to ensure that Anguilla is prepared, and that we will also benefit from that route to the island.
“There will be straight flights from Dubai to Miami and then travellers can take American Airlines from Miami to Anguilla. As it relates to the price, that flight will commence on December 11 and will be running on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It is comparative to flying into St. Maarten – and at many points at a lower price. So you would find prices ranging between 420 dollars and 580 dollars depending on the time and the demand. As we know, ticket prices go up and down on the demand but the prices are still very competitive based. As I said, based on conversations with American Airlines, bookings are very strong and we are very excited to accommodate them.”
