The Ministry of Tourism is excited about the addition of year-round, nonstop United Airlines flights from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas to Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), as some in the industry opine that airlines are getting ready for the opening of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar megaresort.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is the main United Airlines hub, which gives the new flights great significance.
"It gives our destination much more effective market reach, because of that flight," said Tyrone Sawyer, director of airlift in the Ministry of Tourism.
Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe added that the ministry is determined to expand its reach by targeting markets such as Texas.
"The sustained economic growth of the state of Texas and Houston in particular, and the wonderful
relationship with travel partners, have driven the ministry to reopen offices in Houston," he said. "We believe that the volume of business from Texas will continue to grow over the next several years."
Wilchcombe added that the United States remains the principal market of The Bahamas.
"Our decision to extend beyond the East Coast is paying dividends," he said.
Sawyer told Guardian Business that sometimes the type of airlift is as important or more so than the number of seats: Nonstop flights from a major hub like Houston give The Bahamas the ability to market to cities which do not feature direct flights to The Bahamas.
The new flights will be operated on United Express via SkyWest Airlines, using Canadair CRJ700 regional jet planes with 70 seats: six in first class and 64 in economy class, including 16 economy plus extra legroom seats.
As of December 3, United Express flight 6381 will depart Houston at 9:30 a.m., arriving in Nassau at 1:30 p.m. every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The return flight will operate on these same days via flight 6388 departing Nassau at 2:25 p.m., arriving in Houston at 4:45 p.m. Daily service will operate during peak periods from March 5 to May 5 and from June 4 to August 17, with service reduced to Saturday only between September 19 and October 23 and suspended from Aug. 19 to Sept. 18.
Fred Lounsberry, CEO of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board, pointed out that the "increased service will provide travelers, including those from the West Coast, with more options for airlift to and from the beaches of Nassau/Paradise Island in The Bahamas."
Sawyer added that the new flights are "a good addition" to the destination's airlift catalogue, and called the "market growth potential" from the Houston flights "very encouraging".
Joe Pike, of industry website Travel Agent Central, suggested that the destination is "beefing up flights to some of its most popular destinations in order to meet the demand for the highly-anticipated Baha Mar resort development, which is expected to essentially create a new destination within The Bahamas."
"The expanded service from Houston could be just the tip of the iceberg as far as expanded and new service to The Bahamas goes," Pike opined.
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