REDjet, the Caribbean’s first low-fare airline which was launched on Monday to help end the pigeonholed factor surrounding sports team leaving Guyana, with Director of Business Development, Robbie Burns, saying “Come fly with us, we will help take you around at an insanely reduced price”.
It’s no secret that Guyana has not been able to mass-participate or sometimes not compete at regional games, all because they are unable to meet the high demand of the airfares set by the regional carriers.
However, thanks to REDJET, who’s offering introductory fares starting from US$9.99 one-way excluding Government taxes and other charges, as well as seats below US$50.
Burns in an interview with Chronicle Sport said that his airline will “take groups and we do charter” adding that they have already “chartered a number of flights through sports organisations and we can see like a deduction for like 50 to 60 percent of what they are used to travelling before”.
REDJET’s introduction into the arena of regional carriers has already influenced one national federation to make its decision to attend a major tournament.
The Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) announced on Monday that they will be attending the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) with a proposed all-local team.
Guyana last played at the CBC Championships in 2007 when it was held in Puerto Rico with an all-overseas-based team after the local selectees were denied entry into the US territory.
But this year with the event now being held in the Bahamas from July 26 to August 5, REDjet’s launch has triggered an immediate response from the GABF since they can take the team through Barbados and Jamaica with REDjet then connect to the Bahamas.
Burns said that already, the airline has seen huge demands from Sports associations in Guyana about upcoming events, stating “We’ve had a lot of conversation around cricket, but I don’t like to discuss customers because we like to respect their privacy, but we’ve had a lot of request from Guyana particularly in Sports.”
He also mentioned, “We’ve had people who never really had a chance to travel as a group; who would have to save up for years and you know the drives that people do at the various sports clubs, so, those are the people who have shown great amount of interest in us and we are happy to welcome them.”
The airline has two MD – 82 jet aircraft which are fitted with 149 seats and are powered by two JT8D-217A engines. They intend to open bases across the region as it develops routes to exciting destinations across the Caribbean.
The Company, founded in 2006 by Robbie and Ian Burns, is privately owned and incorporated in St Lucia while its corporate offices are situated in Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados. They employ close to 100 persons from nine countries and territories.