Spirit Airlines will begin direct flights from Hartford International Airport in Connecticut to Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 15, becoming the island’s first of its kind.
Donovan White, director of tourism at the Jamaica Tourist Board, says the service will provide additional marketing opportunities and allow the island to “pull on traffic that may have been intended for other destinations.”
He expressed his support for the service noting that it has been highly anticipated.
“We welcome these opportunities. It has been one that we have been working assiduously on and anticipating now for some time. So, to have it come to fruition, it is absolutely redounding to the hard work by the team,” he said.
The airline service will comprise four weekly non-stop flights to Jamaica from Hartford.
The direct connection, according to White, will make it more convenient for travelers and easier for tourists to choose Jamaica as their destination.
He further noted: “It gives our business development officers in the marketplace an additional region to focus on, in terms of driving our marketing, and in driving our sales and promotional activities.”
The announcement of the airline’s services to Jamaica has been hailed by several Jamaicans in and around Connecticut, which has the third largest Jamaican population trailing Miami and New York.
Spirit Airlines Inc. is a major American ultra-low-cost carrier headquartered in Miramar, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. Spirit operates scheduled flights throughout the United States and in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Spirit was the eighth largest passenger carrier in North America as of 2020, as well as the largest ultra-low-cost carrier in North America.
As of July 2022, JetBlue made an offer to acquire Spirit for US$3.8 billion. The deal must still be approved by the airline’s shareholders and by government regulators.
