PHILIPSBURG/Dominican Republic:--- Air Century Airline says since it started flying to St. Maarten from the Dominican Republic in 2018, it has enjoyed a load factor of 70 percent making St. Maarten its "top destination."
Air Century made the statement this weekend when its top executives met with Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunication (TEATT), the Honourable Stuart Johnson who is in the Dominican Republic on a working visit.
The airline is looking towards the near future when it intends to offer more flights to the island and connect St. Maarten with the other destinations it services. At present, Air Century provides flights to Puerto Rico, Curacao, Haiti, Cuba, Aruba, and St. Maarten and is based in the Dominican Republic.
Johnson said on Sunday, "Air Century serves a very essential need for our island as a large number of our residents are from the Dominican Republic. The DR is a country which has a long history and shared a relationship with the people of St. Maarten." He said the need for additional airlifts to the St. Maarten has to continually be looked at from the perspective of what service is most needed. "That is the only way we will sustainably rebuild the airlifts to our island. The right connections create major marketing opportunities, along with the increased visitor arrivals and each route has to be beneficial for the airline itself as well so that they can provide service that we can rely on year round," said Johnson.
Johnson’s main goal when he met with Air Century Commercial Director Fabio Melo was to discuss increasing flight frequency and marketing opportunities for St. Maarten. “I also wanted to solidify the Government of St. Maarten’s commitment to providing support. Naturally, supporting the airline is easier to agree upon since Air Century is very pleased with its load factor to St. Maarten,” Johnson added.
Minister Johnson along with his senior policy advisor in the TEATT Cabinet Ms. Regina Labega and Head of Civil Aviation Louis Halley received a tour of Air Century’s operations base at the Dr. Joaquin Balaguer International Airport La Isabela.
Air Century flies four times weekly to St. Maarten using both the CRJ200 Jet with 45 seats available and the Saab 340B offering 27 seats. The airline has confirmed that it will increase from four to five flights weekly from St. Maarten starting this summer. Air Century began to fly to St. Maarten in 2018 and instantly filled a void left when Dominican Republic Airline PAWA halted its service.
According to Air Century Commercial Director Fabio Melo, "our vision is to connect the Caribbean uniquely, offering the safest air transportation at very competitive prices."
Air Century has been servicing St. Maarten since November 12, 2018. It is an international air travel company founded in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic on March 1992 by a pilot Captain Omar Chahin Lama. The airline provides regular flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Port-au-Prince Haiti, Aruba, Curaçao, St. Marteen and offers charter flights to the entire Caribbean.
While in the Dom Rep Johnson and his delegation along with Dutch Ambassador Mrs Annemieke Verrijp also attended the Agroalimentaria Fair.