COME next month, an alternative airfreight option to the United States will begin when Exec Direct Aviation (EDA) expands its operations to Florida.

The company, which began operations last July, has recently obtained a permit from America’s Transport Department to make flights to that country.

“Having access to the Fort Lauderdale gateway in the US opens EDA cargo service to the world, assisting with commerce between the Caribbean and the large markets of North America, Central and South America and Europe. We are excited about being able to service the airfreight market in the Caribbean for the upcoming busy holiday season by providing additional options for customers” said Kamal Clarke, the company’s chef operations officer.

EDA is a regional all-cargo airline.

Clarke also said that the interconnectivity to the world market will allow EDA to offer additional exciting new services.

One such new service that the company intends to offer is ‘ShipMe’, which will facilitate online shoppers, says Shermaine Robotham, EDA’s marketing representative. She says that purchases to Jamaica are delivered through third parties which take long periods of time and with much more hassle than EDA. EDA will provide a US address for packages which they pick up and ship on their plane, cutting out unnecessary waits.

“There are other couriers that facilitate delivery of on-line shopping packages from the US, but our ShipMe service will ensure speedy delivery of packages to our clients in Jamaica. ShipMe will be using our own aircraft to transport packages from the US via our next-day or second-day delivery options, from the time packages arrive at the ShipMe address in the US” Robotham said.

When asked about competition that the company will face on their new route, she said: “We will be competing with other all cargo airlines as well as passenger airlines – they also carry general cargo. (However,) we are optimistic about our projections as we hope to meet the increased demand for air-freight during the upcoming busy Christmas season.”

The company currently flies charters to several Caribbean islands including the Bahamas and Cuba and parts of Central America.

EDA is now accepting cargo bookings to Fort Lauderdale for its first flight, which it hopes will leave on November 1.