All set for Spirit Airlines
inaugural flight Friday
SIMPSON BAY--Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines is ready for its inaugural flight to St. Maarten Friday. The Airbus A319 plane designated for the route has been christened “The Spirit of St. Maarten/Martin” and will be an advertising billboard for the destination at any airport it visits.
The new service will offer customers three non-stop flights weekly – on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – between the airline’s Fort Lauderdale hub and St. Maarten. The flights will leave Fort Lauderdale at 11:00am and arrive in St. Maarten at 1:50pm. The return leg leaves St. Maarten at 2:40pm and will arrive in Fort Lauderdale at 5:55pm.
In preparation for the first flight between Florida and St. Maarten, French side Deputy Mayor in charge of Tourism Romeo Fleming headed a delegation comprising representatives of St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA), Association des Hoteliers de St. Martin (AHSM), St. Maarten Tourist Bureau, Office du Tourisme and partners in the island’s travel and tourism industry to Florida for a week long sales blitz, in preparation for the new Spirit Airlines flight.
The sales blitz, which began in Fort Lauderdale Monday and includes stops in Miami, Tampa and Orlando, is designed to target area travel agents and tour operators. It will also showcase the island as one destination to key markets throughout Florida.
The blitz will reinforce the new joint marketing theme “Bring Your Appetite for Life” and use the opportunity to support Spirit Airlines’ service to the island.
“Through the dedication and hard work of the Little Caribbean Alliance partnership between St. Maarten, Saba, Anguilla, St. Eustatius and St. Barths, we have demonstrated that despite limited financial resources, effective partnerships can deliver great achievements that will benefit all of us for many years to come,” Fleming said.
As part of the marketing efforts of the sales blitz, St. Maarten/St. Martin tourism officials worked in conjunction with Spirit Airlines to coordinate two commemorative events that will take place in Fort Lauderdale and St. Maarten airports.
Both key Spirit Airline hub markets – Miami and Fort Lauderdale – and RFC&P, the St. Maarten/St. Martin marketing and public relations firm in New York, worked to coordinate a press event for U.S. journalists at the popular Timpano’s Italian Chop House. The event will offer guests a true taste of what St. Maarten/St. Martin has to offer: exceptional cuisine, friendly people, beautiful beaches, great island music and a wealth of experiences to discover.
Other marketing activities include a four city radio promotion in key markets throughout the U.S. slated to extend throughout the low season from May to August. Top radio stations will offer their listeners a chance to win a luxury vacation for two, along with flights from Spirit Airlines to St. Maarten/St. Martin.
“It is said that air service is a lifeline to tourism growth for emerging islands like St. Maarten/St. Martin, and we are elated that Spirit Airlines will be operating three weekly year-round direct flights from Fort Lauderdale to St. Maarten,” said St. Maarten Tourism Director Regina LaBega.
St Maarten vacation rental
