The Spirit of
St. Maarten/St. Martin
Friday’s inaugural flight of Spirit Airlines, while previously announced, marks an important milestone for “The Friendly Island” and its tourism economy. A low-cost carrier not only provides a cheaper alternative to the regular airlines, but tends to help bring fares down in general.
The three-weekly flights out of Fort Lauderdale also come on the heels of reports that the small hotels and guesthouses on the island had a good season and are reporting growth, due to more airlift from the US and an increase in visitors from the region. It appears the negative impact of the US passport requirement that went into effect in January was not as bad as feared.
The small hotels have pooled their resources to advertise in the May/June in-flight magazine of Spirit Airlines, hoping to capitalise on the low-cost flights during the off-season. The naming of the plane to be used “The Spirit of St. Maarten/St. Martin” should also help boost the island in the market the airline serves.
The fact that these flights begin at the start of the low-season is not only helpful in terms of trying to fill as many rooms as possible during the quiet period, but shows confidence that, regardless the time of year, there is still a market for the island in the U.S.
Concerns that the low-cost flights will have a negative impact on the regular airlines that are very important when it comes to quantity and the different US cities from which they provide airlift do not seem justified by last week’s announcement of American Airlines. The biggest airline servicing the island in terms of number of flights and seats said it would maintain six flights a week from New York “as a show of confidence” this summer, instead of cutting back like it did last summer.
All in all, the tourism picture continues to look good, although there is still a need to get more business during the quiet season, also to reduce seasonal labour and its negative social effects. Diversifying the markets by working on Europe and South America should remain a goal for the immediate future as well.
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