(Barbados Nation) Finally REDjet can fly after months of uncertainty about its future in Barbados.
Minister of International Transport George Hutson yesterday confirmed that the Civil Aviation Department was satisfied that the American low fare airline had met its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) requirements.
And as a result, the Barbados-registered airline was expected to be granted a certificate before the end of this month.
This development came hours after REDjet put a statement on its website that its operations were set to begin on May 8, and it would begin marketing tickets from tomorrow with the promised base price of US$9.99 with a cap at US$49.99.
During a Press conference at his Warrens, St Michael office, Hutson said the airline would be issued a commercial licence very shortly to fly to Guyana, Trinidad and Jamaica.
On the issue of LIAT’s association with Barbados, the minister said REDjet could play a supporting role in getting much needed passenger traffic here.
“Competition is generally good, it keeps everybody on their toes and certainly the management of LIAT recognize that LIAT as a corporation, if it is going to be successful, also needs to look at its whole operation as well. Because if you stay static and do nothing then the competition will eat up and absorb you over time.
“So LIAT itself has to look at its own business plan and develop that and I know that they are working on that. So that is why I am saying that REDjet will complement Liat and they need to develop a working relationship,” Hutson added.
In a statement, the airline said: “We know that so many of you have all been eagerly awaiting our launch and the feedback has been massive. We promised not to disappoint.”
The airline said its fares would be a revolution since it aimed “to lower fares even further and open more routes across the region”.
