DESTINATION JAMAICA WELCOMES RESUMPTION OF AMERICAN AIRLINES DAILY NONSTOP SERVICE FROM NEW YORK JFK TO MONTEGO BAY
Above: Philip Rose, JTB’s Regional Director, Northeast USA cuts the ribbon with American Airlines crew and executives including Ana Iglesia, Sales Manager, AA Vacations; Ghayyas Hasan and Tom Ginis, Duty Managers and Michelle Gay, Product Manager, AA Vacations.
Below: Philip Rose, JTB’s Regional Director, Northeast USA addresses passengers during the gate celebrations before the airline’s resumption of daily nonstop service from New York JFK to Montego Bay.
BROOKLYN, NY – After a ten-year hiatus, American Airlines has resumed daily nonstop service from New York JFK to Montego Bay. Following a brief celebratory event on November 21, where passengers were treated to fine Jamaican food and entertainment, the near-capacity flight departed at 7:05 am with Captain Paul Thatcher at the controls. Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism Hon. Edmund Bartlett along with Tourism Director Donovan White the United States Ambassador and executives from the airlines and MBJ Airports Limited met the passengers and crew on arrival at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.
The 145 passengers on board, a mix of tourists as well as Jamaicans returning home, were in a festive mood as they escaped the cold and headed to the island’s tourist capital to soak up some sun and fun.
In welcoming the passengers and crew, Minister Bartlett noted that the reintroduced service is important and valuable ahead of the busy high season, as it affords the destination additional capacity to transport the increased number of visitors as well as Jamaicans overseas expected home the holidays. “The Northeast region continues to be a strong performer for us as a destination in terms of arrivals. For the summer period, May to September 2019, the US market region recorded a 9.3 percent increase in arrivals with 785,055 visitors compared to the 718,531 visitors during the corresponding period last year. During that period, the Northeast outpaced the overall US market and saw an increase of 13.3 percent.,” noted Minister Bartlett.
Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett (third left) and Director of Tourism, Donovan White (right), greet American Airlines passengers as they disembark at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica
Jamaica’s Director of Tourism Donovan White reiterated, “the reintroduction of this service is timely as it has the potential to impact several global events taking place next year. Not only will visitor arrivals to Jamaica be positively impacted, but Jamaicans can easily connect to other parts of the world. With the upcoming Olympics next summer in Tokyo, I’m sure our citizens will want to travel to cheer on our teams.”
For more information about booking your Jamaican vacation, go to www.visitjamaica.com
About Jamaica Tourist Board
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), founded in 1955, is Jamaica’s national tourism agency based in the capital city of Kingston. JTB offices are also located in Montego Bay, Miami, Toronto, and London. Representative offices are located in Berlin, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, and Mumbai.
TripAdvisor® ranked Jamaica as the #1 Caribbean Destination and #14 Best Destination in the World in 2019. Also this year, the International Council of the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) named Jamaica the Destination of the Year and TravAlliance Media named JTB Best Tourism Board, and Jamaica as Best Culinary Destination, Best Wedding Destination and Best Honeymoon Destination. Additionally, the JTB has been declared the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board by the World Travel Awards (WTA) for thirteen consecutive years between 2006 and 2019. Jamaica also earned the WTA’s award for the Caribbean’s Leading Destination, Leading Cruise Destination and Leading Meetings & Conference Centre 2018 for the Montego Bay Convention Centre. Jamaica is home to some of the world’s best accommodations, attractions, and service providers that have won several awards throughout the years.
For details on upcoming special events, attractions and accommodations in Jamaica go to the JTB’s Web site at www.visitjamaica.com or call the Jamaica Tourist Board at 1-800-JAMAICA (1-800-526-2422). Follow the JTB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. View the JTB blog at www.islandbuzzjamaica.com.
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