– Director pleased with recent developments sounding T&T and Jamaica routes
REDjet has been cleared to fly to Trinidad following months of uncertainty, which has sparked a region-wide debate about the cost of intra-regional travel, the future of regional integration, competition, and safety in the aviation industry. A compromise is said to have been reached between Trinidad and Tobago’s civil aviation authority and Airone Ventures Limited, the parent company of REDjet, following a court matter on Friday last.
In a telephone interview yesterday with the Guyana Chronicle, the Airline’s Business Development Director, Mr. Robbie Burns, explained that management is very pleased with the recent developments, which will now see the initiation of operations to yet another Caribbean destination.
“We are indeed thrilled by this decision and with the representation that we have received from the Guyanese people,” he said.
According to Burns, though this hurdle has been overcome, the company is still awaiting “formal approval” from the Jamaican Authorities, which will result in the addition of the country as a port of call.
A news report out of Jamaica on Monday said that country has followed Trinidad and Tobago in granting clearance to the Barbados-based low-cost carrier, REDjet, to begin operations into that country.
When the low cost air carrier launched its operations in Guyana earlier this year, they had announced their intentions to operate in three destinations, Barbados, Trinidad and Jamaica.
REDjet is expected to hold a news conference this week to officially make Port of Spain its third destination after Barbados and Guyana.
In an interview last month, the Business Development Director had expressed the optimism that due to the amount of conventions and international agreements that exist in the Caribbean, Caricom, and on a wider scale, REDjet would have ultimately been allowed to enter the market.
He gave his assurances then that the company would “work through” the delays and continue on their quest to becoming a Pan Caribbean airline.
REDjet was officially launched in Guyana in April of this year. During this ceremony, Burns explained that the airline’s vision and goal for Guyana was to make it possible for everyone to be able to fly.
“We are aiming to launch a series of bases throughout the region to create a pan Caribbean Low fares airline linking the Caribbean together for the first time with affordable fares, our goal is to create easy affordable and reliable transport,” he initially announced.
Meanwhile, since the launch of the Barbados route in April, REDjet’s operations has grown and Burns announced that flights out of Georgetown are now almost full and the Caribbean’s first low fare airline has recorded “incredible results” owing to the support received from the Guyanese market.