ST JOHN’S, Antigua (CMC) – LIAT (2020) Limited (LIAT Air) and Air Caraïbes on Monday launched an interline agreement allowing passengers of the two airlines to travel seamlessly across the carriers’ combined networks on a single ticket and a single point of purchase.

Under the agreement, the interline tickets are available through travel agents and authorised distribution channels.

The agreement combines Liat Air’s extensive intra-Caribbean network, connecting the Eastern Caribbean islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Trinidad, Barbados and the wider region from its hub at V.C. Bird International Airport here with Air Caraïbes’ regional services from Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guiana, as well as its long-haul connection between the Caribbean and Paris-Orly.

Under the agreement, customers will be able to book itineraries that combine flights operated by both airlines through travel agents and global distribution systems, with baggage checked through to their final destination. The arrangement removes the need for travellers to purchase separate tickets, re-check luggage, or pay duplicate fees when transferring between the two carriers.

“This agreement is an important step in delivering the kind of regional connectivity Caribbean travellers, tourism operators and businesses have been asking for,” said LIAT (2020) Limited chief executive officer, Hafsah Abdulsalam.

“By linking our networks with Air Caraïbes, we are making it significantly easier to move between the English, French and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, and to connect from any of our island destinations onward to Europe through Paris. It is a meaningful expansion of what a ticket on LIAT Air can take you to.”

Commercial Director of Air Caraïbes, Hugues Heddebault, said that travelling across the Caribbean should never mean navigating fragmented journeys or unnecessary complexity. “Our ambition is simple: to bring territories closer together and make travel smoother for those who live, work, or travel across the region,” he said, adding “this partnership with LIAT Air makes it easier to connect destinations across the Caribbean and provides more seamless access to Paris and Europe via our hubs in Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France.

“Beyond a commercial agreement, it reflects a strong conviction: a better-connected Caribbean is a more open, more accessible, and more dynamic Caribbean.”

Both airlines highlighted the agreement’s contribution to regional tourism and economic integration. They said that by improving the ease and affordability of inter-island travel and providing direct access to European source markets, the partnership is expected to support increased visitor arrivals, business travel and the movement of Caribbean diaspora communities throughout the region.