Commissioner of Aviation Mr. Frans Richardson and President of the
Princess Juliana International Airport operating company (PJIAE) drs.
Eugene Holiday welcomed the first seasonal non-stop WestJet flight to
St. Maarten on Sunday November 1 2009, praising the airline as the
island’s newest partner for the Canadian market, St. Maarten’s second
largest source market.
WestJet flight 2652 touched down at the PJIA just before 4:00pm, with
116 passengers on board. The airline will fly between Toronto and St.
Maarten three times per week, non-stop, until April 29, 2010. Flight
time on both legs is about 4.5 hours.
Commissioner Richardson noted that booking for the airline is looking
very good and efforts are continuing to increase the numbers which would
possibly lead to WestJet increasing the amount of flights to the island.
The Commissioner went on to laud the economic spinoff the new service
will have for St. Maarten in all tourism related sectors. He said
preliminary figures indicated that the WestJet service could account for
US$5.5 million for the island coffers from November 2009 to April 2010.
Mr. Richardson told the WestJet executives in attendance that the
airline can count on commitment from his office and the St. Maarten
Tourism Bureau in making the business relationship between the airline
and the destination a resounding success. He also made special mention
of Head of the Tourist Bureau Ms. Regina Labega as the driving force
behind making the service to St. Maarten a reality.
Drs. Holiday said the inaugural flight comes at a critical moment when
the economy of the United States and Canada reported growth for the
first time since the second quarter of 2008. He said Consumer confidence
is returning and people are expected to start to travel again. “It comes
at a time when our focus is on the end of the recession and the
opportunities ahead. This flight therefore comes at a possible turning
point in the global economy. Thus, as I looked at WestJet Flight 2652
taxiing towards the terminal, I realized that this new service coincides
with expectations of changing economic outlook for the better. But above
all, because you previously served PJIA as a charter carrier, I realized
that this new service expresses a strengthening of WestJet’s confidence
and commitment in destination St. Maarten,” drs. Holiday said.
Through this service out of Canada, the PJIAE President added, “we
expect to continue to realize our goals as a regional leader offering an
extensive network of Connections between North America, South America,
Europe and the Caribbean. We are therefore pleased and proud to have
WestJet join our airport family; we are because we believe that the
decision of WestJet to include St. Maarten in your itinerary is expected
to play an important role in the realization of our mission,” he said.
Present at the welcoming event were former Commissioner of Tourism Mr.
Roy Marlin, Commissioner of Finance Mr. Xavier Blackman, State Secretary
Mr. Patrick Illidge and members of PJIAE’s supervisory board of
directors. Also present were three executives from WestJet, Ms. Janice
Webster, Vice President of Talent Management & Retention in People
Department, Mr. Robert Palmer, Manager of Public Relations and Ms.
Angela Braun, CARE Coordinator.
