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The upbeat Carifesta theme song danced to by the Carifesta Logo dancers created a festive atmosphere for passengers and crew of the first Delta Flight to arrive at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri yesterday morning.
Delta is the first major American carrier to come to Guyana since 1970, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Manniram Prashad, said. He added that other American carriers will be coming to Guyana soon; however, he indicated that he is not at liberty to name them.
According to the Minister, Delta will be flying from John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport, New York to CJIA, Guyana and back to JFK three times weekly: Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Delta arrived at the CJIA yesterday morning at approximately 7 am with 181 passengers on board and departed at 9.30 am with 185.
Raquel Chandluer, Delta’s District Sales Manager for Guyana, Trinidad, St. Lucia and Barbados, explained that the company is presently expanding into South America. The decision to fly here was made over one year ago. Delta, Chandluer added, will be travelling non-stop between Guyana and various destinations.
“This is hassle free travel.” Minister Prashad said. The reception for Delta was organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce. “We’ve been upbeat and we’re happy to have them here,” the minister said of Delta. He explained that the Delta merger took over one year of negotiations to happen and more surprises are to be expected.
Delta has chosen to come to Guyana because they have seen in us what the ministry has been seeing all along, Prashad said. Delta will create employment and use local services, the minister responded when asked about what benefits the new air carrier will provide to Guyana.
The North America-based airline offers flights to 481 destinations in 105 countries; its recent decision to come here is a part of the company’s drive to expand further into the Caribbean and South America. Delta, in an attempt to address the rising cost of fuel and increase its international presence, recently merged with Northwest Airlines forming the world’s largest carrier.
Flights from Georgetown to New York recently underwent a transformation. One of the longstanding carriers North American Airlines (NAA) pulled out citing high fuel prices.
Another operator, TravelSpan suspended flights and is to resume flights this month operated by NAA.
