British Airways resumes MoBay service

Saturday, November 21, 2009 7:07 AM

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Western News

BY MARK CUMMINGS Observer West senior reporter cummingsm@jamaicaobserver.com

Thursday, November 05, 2009

MONTEGO BAY, St James - After a seven-year hiatus British Airways has resumed its service from London Gatwick to this resort city. Last Thursday, the airline began a twice-weekly non-stop service to the Sangster International Airport in the tourism capital, bringing to five the number of flights per week by the airline into the island.

The airline which has been operating flights into Kingston on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for quite sometime now flies into Montego Bay on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett (left) is fascinated with this replica of a British Airways aircraft presented to him by captain Richard Salmon (right) at a ceremony held last Thursday at the Sangster International Airport to celebrate the restart of British Airways non-stop service from Gatwick London to Montego Bay. (Photo: Philip Lemonte)

Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett and Andy Cord, director of operations British Airways were among the stakeholders on hand last Thursday to welcome the 242

passengers who arrived from London on the three-class Boeing 777 aircraft.

Speaking at a welcome reception, the tourism minister described the occasion as a "glorious day" and lauded the airline for its return to Montego Bay.

" We are very pleased to the fact that Montego Bay is again the recipient of British Airways services. I am advised that British Airways has great and delightful memories of the past. when Montego Bay was the favourite port of call," Bartlett said.

The airline had pulled its service out of the resort city in 2002 because of the poor load factor.

Bartlett said on Thursday that the resumption of service by BA is the first in a series of flights that will be inaugurated at Sangster International Airport in coming months.

"Somewhere around the first week of December we have another one coming, then we have another one in February and another one to come in March," Bartlett boasted, adding that "we will have one million seats from across the world for this winter season."

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Wayne Cummings said the resumption of the service would prove beneficial to both the Diaspora and foreign traffic.

And Cord said the re-commencement of service is a culmination of a tremendous amount of work and effort by the people of British Airways, the hotel industry, the airport and the government.

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