AA adds third daily Miami flight to St Thomas
THE US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism has announced the addition of a third American Airlines daily flight between Miami and St Thomas in time for the winter season.
Commissioner of Tourism Joseph Boschulte has reported that effective December 18, 2019, the third daily flight will operate as a “same-day turn”, departing Miami International Airport at 8:35 a.m. and arriving at Cyril E. King Airport at 12:04 p.m.
The return service departs St Thomas the same day it arrives at 1:04 p.m., landing in Miami at 3:10 p.m.
“The addition of this flight signals another step forward for our administration as we strive to restore air service to the territory,” said Boschulte.
He revealed that the new seats are most timely in light of the continuing expansion of the sharing economy as well as the return of The Ritz-Carlton, St Thomas, in December.
Boschulte added that the DallasFort Worth-based carrier would extend Charlotte-St. Croix flights from Saturday only to daily during the peak Christmas period from December 18, 2019, to January 4, 2020.
The service will depart the Charlotte Douglas International Airport at 11:45 a.m., arriving at the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport at 4:24 p.m. The return flight will depart St Croix at 5:15 p.m., arriving into Charlotte at 8:10 p.m.
“I would like to thank our tourism industry stakeholders for working closely with the Department of Tourism to strengthen demand for our destination while we presented our case for increased airlift to our airline partners,” said Boschulte.
He asserted that his team would continue to engage carriers to strengthen the aerial highways that connect the Virgin Islands to the US mainland and the global marketplace, including exploring options for additional flights to St Croix.
“We also look forward to working with our partners to roll out effective tactics to market our destination before, during, and beyond the upcoming peak winter season,” the commissioner stated.
Earlier, the Department of Tourism announced the commencement of American Airlines service to St Thomas from Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago, beginning December 21, 2019. The Dallas flights will operate year-round on Saturdays while the Chicago service will operate seasonally, also on Saturdays.
United Airlines will also serve the Chicago-St Thomas market with weekly Saturday flights, beginning November 2, 2019.