Posted by: Editor on Aug 10, 2006 – 09:57 AM
newsandinfo Continental Airlines is giving a boost to Bimini’s economy with a new flight service from Ft. Lauderdale. The inaugural of the service, which will provide two flights a day, took place on Thursday.
According to vice president of sales and marketing at Continental, Wendy Clements, service actually began a few months ago when a void was left in the Bimini market after the crash of Chalk’s Ocean Airways flight 101 in December.
She said the official flight was scheduled to coincide with a celebration and recognition ceremony hosted by the Ministry of Tourism.
Director of airlift development at the Ministry of Tourism Tyrone Sawyer says the partnership between the ministry and Continental has been going on for a while. “This initiative is just one part of the strategy that we’re working on with Gulf Stream International and the Continental Connection to get non-stop service to specific Family Island destinations,” Mr. Sawyer said.
“Continental service to Bimini started off with flights to Miami but it turned out that Miami-Bimini didn’t work that well,” he continued. “Although we were thinking about working with Continental prior to Chalk’s crash, we ended up having to move quickly. Tom Cooper made himself and his airline totally available to the people of Bimini and we ended up with service,” he continued.
Continental began twice daily service between Ft. Lauderdale and Bimini on December 23, filling a gap left in the market after Chalks grounded its fleet. Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and MP for Carmichael, John Carey, congratulated Biminites for their part in making the partnership between Gulfstream and the ministry a success since Chalks’ tragedy.
“Many of you lost family members and friends, but most importantly, in coming to terms with that loss, there was also a void in economic progress and success,” Mr. Carey began. “I believe that it is as a result of the warmth and hospitality of Biminites and what you have been able to demonstrate to partners like Gulfstream that they were able to step right in and not miss a beat,” Mr. Carey said.
Founder and chief executive officer of Gulfstream International, Tom Cooper, has been going to Bimini for 50 years and was pleased to announce at the recognition ceremony that out of their more than 600 employees, more than 100 are Bahamian.
President of Gulfstream, David Hackett, added that part of the partnership between the airline and the government of the Bahamas was to provide “more Florida, more Bahamas, more often.”
Source: The Tribune
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.