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Spirit Airlines Announces Nonstop Service to St. Maarten
From a Spirit Airlines press release:
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Spirit Airlines announces non-stop service between its Fort Lauderdale hub and St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles beginning April 20, 2007. Service will be offered three times weekly on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
In addition to non-stop service from its Fort Lauderdale hub, Spirit will also offer connecting service from its domestic network. Spirit serves all routes with its fleet of Airbus aircraft, the youngest in the Americas.
“We couldn’t be happier to have St. Maarten in our 2007 expansion plans,” said Barry Biffle, Chief Marketing Officer of Spirit Airlines. “This is a beautiful destination with no shortage of demand for travel. Whether it’s a vacation in one of the Caribbean’s most unique settings, or a shopping spree in South Florida, Spirit’s plan is to offer an affordable option for travel to great destinations.”
“Spirit Airlines is currently Fort Lauderdale’s largest international carrier so we weren’t surprised that they planned for yet another Caribbean destination,” said Interim Aviation Director, Bob Bielek. “Spirit’s continued expansion is reinforcing Fort Lauderdale’s position as the gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America. We are very pleased that Broward County will continue to benefit from Spirit’s expansion plans.”
“We look forward to welcoming Spirit to our airline product line and in a true ‘St. Maarten Spirit,’ we know that this is the beginning of a long term partnership with the Island Government of St. Maarten,” said Commissioner Roy Marlin, Acting Commissioner of Aviation.
“As Commissioner of Economic Affairs & Tourism it gives me great pleasure to welcome Spirit Airlines to our shores,” said Commissioner Theo Heyliger. “Spirit Airlines will be an asset to our local economy and the people of our beautiful island.”
“On behalf of the St. Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association, we are delighted to have assisted in the negotiations with Spirit Airlines,” said Emil Lee, SHTA President. “Due to their lower cost structure, Spirit Airlines will be able to service our destination with very competitive air fares, which will be a tremendous boost for tourism as well as our resident population. Ultimately, tourism is the engine that drives our economy and anything that makes us more competitive is a blessing.”
“On behalf of The Little Caribbean Alliance; the Directors of Tourism of Anguilla, St. Barths, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and St. Martin, we knew that we wanted to ‘Catch the Spirit’ since our initial discussions,” said Regina M. La Bega, Director of Tourism St. Maarten and Chairperson of the Little Caribbean Alliance. “Attracting a Low Cost Carrier is an important objective in St. Maarten’s Tourism Master Plan, which will allow for cheaper air fares to the island, therefore allowing a higher per visitor expenditure on the islands that will assist with eliminating seasonal and increasing year round employment.”
Fares:
Introductory coach fares between Fort Lauderdale and St. Maarten start at 5 cents each way(1) when purchased at spiritair.com by January 23, 2007 for travel on select dates. Fares for all other markets are available at spiritair.com.
Schedule for nonstop service effective April 20, 2007(2):
To St. Maarten from: Depart Arrive Flight Number Stops Frequency
Fort Lauderdale 11:00 am 1:50 pm 100 0 Fri/Sat/Sun
From St. Maarten to: Depart Arrive Flight Number Stops Frequency
Fort Lauderdale 2:40 pm 5:55 pm 777 0 Fri/Sat/Sun
(2) Service subject to foreign government approval.
Spirit Airlines announced this week new service to Aguadilla, Puerto Rico and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Spirit also recently announced a new service filing for Caracas, Venezuela.
About Spirit Airlines
Fort Lauderdale-based Spirit Airlines, with hubs in Fort Lauderdale and Detroit, offers its outstanding low fare service to 32 cities in the United States, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. For the 411 on fares, schedules and reservations go to spiritair.com or call 1-800-772-7117 (en Español, 1-800-756-7117).
Because many private developers have made proposals to build on the site of Fort Karl, the municipality requested in 2002 that the site be placed under control of the Littoral Conservancy. This historic site currently belongs to the French Ministry of Defense. Early this month, a delegation from the Littoral Conservancy came to St Barth to announce that the agreement was signed to place Fort Karl under the protection of the Conservancy. The official transfer will take place in early 2007.
Spirit Airlines Requests Permission to Fly to St Maarten
Spirit Airlines, Ft Lauderdale’s largest international carrier, has filed with the US Department of Transportation for permission to fly from Ft Lauderdale to St Maarten. The request is to begin nonstop service twice a week beginning in April. Fares have yet to be published but are expected to be as inexpensive as flying to Puerto Rico. The airline has recently acquired a new Airbus fleet and will use a 140-seat Airbus 8319 for the flights. With Southwest Airlines also flying into Ft Lauderdale, this may provide a less expensive and easier route to the final destination of St Barth.
The luxurious Le Sereno hotel, located in the undeniably beautiful setting on the beach of Grand Cul de Sac, is adding three villas to its property. Each four-bedroom villa will have over 3500 square feet of covered space and 6500 square feet overall, including the decks and pool. Villa owners will enjoy all of the amenities of Le Sereno, from 24-hour room service, concierge services, housekeeping, maintenance and landscaping, and use of the pool and gourmet restaurant. The villas will be sold fully equipped and furnished, if desired. In addition, if the owners wish to rent the villas when they are not present, the hotel’s rental management service will handle all details. The hotel’s fee for this service is 40% of gross revenues after deducting for travel agent/broker commissions, credit card commissions and a 15% service fee used to cover marketing efforts and expenses involved in renting the villa. In addition, the hotel will provide accounting and administrative services, airport transfers, VIP reception in St Maarten, hotel-quality service for the renters, web site maintenance and will handle all reservations, sales and marketing. Owners may also opt to participate in the Maintenance Program. For a fixed amount per year, this program includes cleaning, maintenance and upkeep of the parking areas, decks, gardens, pool, roofs, irrigation, security services, satellite TV, wireless high-speed internet, trash collection, pest control and other similar miscellaneous services. Average expected rental fees per week range from 10,000 € to 25,000 €. Owners who choose the rental program are committed to participate for three years, with the option of renewing after that.
From January 23 through February 2, St Barth will be blessed with the annual music festival. The opening performance will be the John Ellis Jazz Quartet from New Orleans. Other performances include the Miro String Quartet, Melomanes Chamber Music, a piano and flute concert, opera featuring Pagliacci and a concert by the students of the Suzuki School of St Barth Harmony. Concerts are held at the Anglican Church in Gustavia and the Catholic church in Lorient. New this year will be a free concert at Zion Garden in Saline on January 27 beginning at 8:00 pm. Music will be provided by drummer Ted Atkatz, formerly with the Chicago Symphony, and his new band NYCO. For a complete schedule, visit http://www.stbartsmusicfestival.org/2007/festival_schedule.html
Judging for the fifth annual painting competition, co-sponsored by Saint B’Art and the post office, was held Thursday, January 4 at the art gallery Porta 34 in Gustavia. The theme this year was “Paint Saint Barth.” Antoine Heckly (left) won first prize out of the 25 paintings submitted. Not only did he win 1000 euros, but also the honor of having his painting reproduced as a stamp on 10,000 pre-stamped envelopes that will be for sale at the three post offices on the island in Gustavia, St. Jean and Lorient. Second- and third-prize winners won 700 euros and 500 euros, respectively. The paintings were auctioned after the awards ceremony, but, sad to say, only one was sold.
At midnight on New Year’s Eve, a spectacular display of fireworks lit up the skies over Gustavia, providing a stunning backdrop for the numerous mega-yachts docked in the harbor, all of whom sounded their horns to welcome in 2007.
St Barth seemed to be the destination of choice for the rich and famous to celebrate New Year’s Eve this year. Among others seen around the island were Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, Uma Thurmann, Sharon Stone, Dr. Phil, Steve Martin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Jon Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Denzel Washington and Mickey Rourke. And, of course, a St Barth favorite: Jimmy Buffet. As usual, he graciously performed one evening at Bêtes de L’Azailes and twice at the restaurant La Plage on the beach of St. Jean. And, as always, with a big smile on his face!
