Nov. 29, 2002 – If all goes according to plan, American Airlines will add a second non-stop flight from Miami to St. Croix on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays starting March 3, according to Karen Rasmussen, who works for the carrier on St. Croix. The plane would spend the night at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport and return to Miami the next morning.
American's Web site shows that Flight 2181 will leave Miami at 5:20 p.m., arriving on St. Croix at 9:08 p.m. Flight 2182 will leave St. Croix at 9:47 a.m., arriving in Miami at 11:47 a.m. The aircraft will be a Boeing 737 that can carry up to 134 passengers, depending on how it is configured, Rasmussen said.
American now makes one non-stop flight daily from Miami to St. Croix and back. It leaves Miami at 11:05 a.m. and, for the returning flight, departs St. Croix at 4:15 p.m. The airline also offers numerous connections through San Juan.
The late-afternoon departure from Miami will let connecting passengers fly directly to St. Croix without having to overnight or fly through San Juan. And the earlier departure from St. Croix will allow continuing travelers to connect with afternoon flights out of Miami to their final destinations.
"For people from the West Coast, it's going to be much more convenient," Chris Goodier, spokeswoman at the Buccaneer Hotel, said. She said American had planned to add the flight more than a year ago, but when tourism took a nosedive after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, those plans were put on hold.
Goodier and others hailed the additional flight as good news for St. Croix. "To have more uplift would be nothing but good," she said.
The flight won't start until March, too late to have an impact on most of the winter season. But Goodier said that since Easter falls relatively late in 2003 — on April 20 — she expects people will still be looking for seats. Buccaneer guests have had to switch their hotel reservations around for the spring because they couldn't get flights on the days they wanted, she said.
Goodier also said she hopes that more seats will help to keep airline prices down — another inducement for people to fly.
Toby Chapin, who owns the modestly priced Breakfast Club in Christiansted, said to really help St. Croix, American should drop the few passenger services it provides and become a low-cost, high-volume carrier like Southwest Airlines. What the island needs are "cheap seats now," he said.
A search on American's Web site for fares on March 3 showed the round-trip direct from Miami to St. Croix and back costing $514. Flights are available connecting through San Juan for $491. However, there are always variables when searching for flights and prices.
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