Oct. 10, 2002 – Plans mapped out more than a year ago to make St. Croix a hub for its operations are moving forward, Sun Airways executives told attendees at a Virgin Islands Ad Club meeting on Wednesday.
Bruce Casner, chair of Caribbean Airline Acquisition Group, which owns Sun Airways, said with a letter of intent received from Gov. Charles W. Turnbull in August in support of its efforts to establish the airline hub at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, the company is negotiating with financiers. (See "New airline gets V.I. backing for St. Croix hub".)
"Someone is going to come to the table pretty soon," he said, and service can begin within eight months after agreements are signed.
Initial service will connect St. Croix with Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, Florida, and Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., he said.
For those long hauls, the carrier will utilize a 737 jet with 12 first class and 86 coach seats, he said, while routes within the Caribbean will use a Dutch turbo-prop with 48 coach plus some first-class seats.
Casner told other airline representatives at the meeting that Sun Airways does not aim to take business away from existing local carriers, American Airlines or the ferry services. The company's goal is to provide service that will entice visitors to island hop using local carriers. "Our goal is to fit in, not bust in," he said.
Mike Molina, executive vice president of Caribbean Airline Acquisition Group, which is based in Washington, D.C., said marketing is critical, and "we need four to five months before we can happen." He added, "A marketing analysis has been done. We are not coming in here with nothing. It takes time, it takes effort and, luckily, we have the government on our side."
Molina said Sun Airways will offer fares 15 to 20 percent below national carriers and will honor certain other carriers' frequent flyer programs.
"This is a monopoly market," Casner said, referring to American Airlines. "They would hardly know we are here." But, he said, "We are going to be pretty aggressive with the senior citizen discount."
St. Croix Safari Tours operator and former hotelier Sweeney Toussaint asked Casner, "How can St. Croix Help You?" Casner responded, "Be our good neighbors."
Omar ErSelcuk, chief marketing officer for Seaborne Airlines, said Puerto Rican and Dominican shoppers can be a great niche market to entice to the territory. "Seaborne is excited about Sun Airways making St. Croix a hub," he said.
The airline also plans to operate a flight training school.
Business-based marketing initiative
The topic of the meeting, held at the Caravelle Hotel, was "Who's Promoting St. Croix?" Public relations executive Hugh Dalton provided background on the recent formation of the business-based group St. Croix Alive to respond to the pullout of cruise ships from Frederiksted and to ensure private-sector input into the direction of tourism marketing of the island.
His description of the initiative met with a favorable response. (For background, see "A tale of two marketing plans … to be continued".)
"Realtors have been taking money out of their own pockets to promote St. Croix," Linda Bruton, publisher of "The Settlers' Handbook," said.
"It showed the cruise industry that we … are ready to move ahead," said Julia Renfro of Prisco Marketing.
"We have learned that anything to be done has to come from the private sector," Dalton said regarding economic stimulation of St. Croix. He said a "blues cruise" ship carrying up to 1,800 passengers is scheduled to call on St. Croix in February and remain import until midnight. Golf outings and a to St. Thomas are included in the package, he said.
"These people will be here on a land-based visit. They spend more money," Dalton said. "The specialty cruises are the type of marketplace we are looking at in addition to the regular cruises."
Dalton said Mike Ronan, director of destination development for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, which owns Celebrity Cruises, will be on St. Croix next week. Celebrity Cruises' new Constellation will begin calling on St. Croix and St. Thomas in November. It is the only large ship scheduled to call at St. Croix on a regular basis for the next two years.
In November about 150 junior golfers are expected to come to St. Croix for "Teens on the Green," an international golf program which exposes inner city and other youths to the game of golf. Dalton said some 600 people are expected to be on island for the tournament, including representatives of Black Entertainment Television, CNN and Telemundo. "St. Croix will be like the U.S. Open for juniors," he said.
Future Ad Club program topics include "Small Business Survival," "Tips for Advertising Presenters," "Cable TV- Current Status and Continuing Evolution" and "How to Effectively Implement a Web Development Project."
For more information about the Ad Club, call Lisa Lawlor, president, at 776-4747 or Linda Bruton at 719-0578.
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