Buoyed by new investment, rebranded LIAT 20 Airline is scheduled to begin direct flights between Jamaica and Antigua on December 20, further strengthening regional air connectivity and enhancing Caribbean governments’ quest to promote multi-destination tourism.

According to CEO Hafsah Abdulsalam, the once-weekly service into Kingston will be price-competitive.

“For Jamaicans, it’s an exciting opportunity for the options that are now being made available to them. So we’re offering affordable flights… At least on a route-per-route basis, our commitment is to offer better rates than the competition,” Abdulsalam told the Jamaica Observer on Sunday.

“We would like our Jamaican brothers and sisters to embrace LIAT, to try the product. I’m sure they would go back and advocate on our behalf ,” she said.

“At the moment we’ve got Trinidad and Guyana planned and we would expand that as we grow the market as well. So what we’re targeting is to pair the routes where we see the biggest demand for passengers on both sides of the aisle. So we know there is demand between Trinidad and Jamaica for instance, we want to be able to offer additional lift for passengers that will be flying on that route. So Jamaicans have got options and are not limited to just one or two flight options out of Jamaica at the moment,” Abdulsalam said.

The 67-year-old airline had ceased operations in January, this after its major shareholders — the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines — took a decision in 2022 to liquidate the debt-ridden carrier and transfer its assets to a new entity called LIAT 2020 Limited.

At the time, the airline was reported to have debt exceeding US$37 million.

Now, with almost EC$200 million invested in LIAT 2020, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne last month described it as the best-capitalised airline operating in the Caribbean today.

Since its relaunch, LIAT 20, with a fleet of six aircraft, has been providing service from its hub in St John’s, Antigua, to 10 destinations in the Caribbean.

“We fly up north into St Kitts, St Maarten, Tortola… and then down south we’re flying into Dominica, St Vincent, St Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana,” Abdulsalam said, adding that the Trinidad route will be introduced on December 19, a day before the Jamaica service.

The carrier’s re-entry to Caribbean skies comes as another regional airline, Bahamasair, commenced twice-weekly flights between Nassau and Montego Bay last month.

At that time Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett welcomed the service, which moves passengers between both destinations on Thursdays and Sundays, saying it will enhance multi-destination tourism in the Caribbean.

On Sunday, Abdulsalam said that although LIAT 20’s Kingston service will target business travellers, the airline has its eyes set on the tourism market and as such intends to expand to Montego Bay in the new year.

“So whilst we are catering for the business community, we also want to cater for the leisure community as well because we see the tourists are more keen to visit Montego Bay. So we’ve got plans to fly directly into that route as well, via Antigua,” she said.

The CEO explained that because there are other routes connecting into Antigua, the airline will be seeking to connect from the southern Caribbean up to Jamaica, and by the start of the new year the carrier intends to implement direct flights from all the destinations.

Abdulsalam said that in tandem with the rebranded airline — which has new ownership, new management, a new philosophy, and is seeking to drive new culture — passengers can now expect better quality service that will be safe, reliable, and enhance customer experience.

“So from that perspective we’re seeking to up the game, to up the ante for what regional travel looks like… We’ve noticed that our entry into the market has already sparked some change in service delivery from our competitors as well. I mean, none of the regional carriers was offering, say, meal service on board,” she said.

“But now some of the main competitors have started to offer a snack… So what we’re bringing is competition to the market, which ultimately benefits the consumers,” she said.

LIAT 2020 is a 30/70 joint venture partnership between the Antigua and Barbuda Government and Air Peace Caribbean Limited, a private company based in Antigua.

The carrier has operating bases at VC Bird International Airport in St John’s, Antigua and Argyle International Airport in St Vincent and the Grenadines.

ABDULSALAM… we’re seeking to up the game, to up the ante for what regional travel looks like