As works continue at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport in preparation for the launch of American Airlines new service to and from Miami, the airline has named the BVI as its “Sexiest New Destination”.
This was confirmed in a media release from the BVI Airports Authority (BVIAA) on Thursday which said the BVI’s Network Planning team won the Cranky Network Award for Sexiest New Route – Sort Haul for American Airlines.
The American Airlines project implementation team recently visited the territory from February 20 to 24 and met with officials from the BVIAA and other industry stakeholders.
According to the BVIAA the team included “specialists in project implementation and management, information technology, customer experience, compliance and airport and airline operations.”
Chairman of the BVIAA Board of Directors, Mr. Theodore Burke pledged the board’s full commitment to the project which he said will strengthen the territory’s economy with the ease of air access.
He said, “Our board is aware of the difficulties with travelling to the territory and as part of our mandate, we are committed to improved air access not only to the U.S mainland but also within the region and will continue to partner with airlines to bring this to fruition.”
Managing Director of the Airports Authority Mr. Kurt Menal said his team has already identified the office and check-in counter spaces to be occupied by American Airlines for their operations.
He said the immediate next step will see the airlines installing the necessary equipment and infrastructure at the airport, followed by the recruitment and training of the necessary personnel to staff their operations.
“We are cognizant of the reality that air service development has outpaced necessary infrastructural enhancement given the highly desirable nature of the Virgin Islands as a destination for pleasure and business. In this regard, certain aspects of the proposed airport masterplan will be initiated with a view to incrementally providing the additional capacity that will be required to efficiently process the added volume of passengers,” Menal stated.
Menal said the intention is to implement seamless processes throughout the passenger journey to ensure that guests’ experience at the BVI’s airport “is one befitting of the warmth of the Virgin Islands.”