If all goes well, as planned, there will be a solution in the near future to the difficulty of full airlift from Puerto Rico into Wallblake Airport, Anguilla. At present, American Eagle, having cut back its operations, is providing only one flight at night to the island. This is hampering travel to Anguilla from key tourism markets on the United States mainland, the Puerto Rican market and is also affecting Anguillian travellers.

The Honourable Donna Banks

The coming solution will be two additional flights a day to Anguilla from Puerto Rico to be provided by Anguillian pilot and aircraft operator, Kirby Hodge, along with his wife, Rose, principals of Rainbow International.

The Hon. Donna Banks, whom the Anguilla Government delegated responsibility to look into difficulties relating to access to the island made the disclosure in an interview with The Anguillian.

A beachcraft 1900D Turboprop

Ms Banks, First Nominated Member in the Anguilla House of Assembly and Special Adviser in the Ministry of Tourism, said that airlift was a big challenge to Anguilla whether it was out of Antigua, San Juan, St. Kitts or St. Maarten, the island’s main gateways. “We have been working without ceasing to try to enhance the situation. For example, in St. Maarten we have worked with Anguilla Air Services and WINAIR to help to offset some of the cost and to ensure that the WINAIR flight continues,” she stated. “In most recent times, access out of Puerto Rico has been a real challenge especially with American Eagle cutting back its services to one flight per day at night-time. This has in effect reduced the opportunities that we have to bring passengers out of the USA mainland via Puerto Rico. We have tried on numerous occasions to get to the table with the American Eagle for discussions on re-instating the second flight.”
She noted that the American Eagle had undergone certain business changes with some of its aircraft having left the Caribbean, leaving it with a limited fleet and not in a position to offer Anguilla or even St. Maarten a second flight. She observed that American Airlines was doing a lot more direct flights into the islands which were not at present a possibility for Anguilla. Ms. Banks said there were a number of other flights to Puerto Rico by such carriers as United, Continental, Jet Blue, Spirit and others in addition to American Airlines. She stressed that it was the Anguilla Government’s responsibility to ensure that proper access was provided for persons wishing to take that route to Anguilla. In addition, the Anguilla Government was developing the Puerto Rican market which had been fruitful to Anguilla in 2008 when other markets were slipping.
Ms. Banks explained that after American Eagle cutback its flights to the island, the Anguilla Government had approached LIAT, like all the Governments of the other islands, to replace the lost flight. She said there were a number of flights arriving in Puerto Rico from primary and secondary markets in the US by midday and in the early afternoon, but there was no flight to bring them to Anguilla until about 8.00 p.m. “This is causing an 8-9 hour lay-over and there is no way that anybody wants to spend that time to come to an island when they have the opportunity to get to another destination in a much more convenient manner,” she said.

Ms. Banks told The Anguillian that at first the talks with LIAT appeared to have been fruitful but when the airline got back to the Anguilla Government, the flight it offered from Puerto Rico was via Antigua where there would be another lay-over, resulting in passengers not getting to Anguilla until around 5.00 p.m. “We told them that was not a viable option for us and then they had no further interest in discussing the matter,” she recalled.
She pointed out that the Ministry of Tourism had charged her with the responsibility to seek access into Anguilla and she did not believe she should remain backed in a corner with her hands in the air. “I believe in the hardest of times the best place to look for strength is to look inwards and I approached Rainbow International which is owned by Kirby and Rose Hodge [of Anguilla] to determine the possibility of providing a service out of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
“We only spoke to Kirby in November and I am pleased to say that he jumped on the
idea immediately,” Ms. Banks said. “He was enthused because, as we all know, Kirby has provided service to Anguilla not only in the private charter business but also in terms of medical services, taking people out of Anguilla in times of great need; so he is a service-oriented person and he was willing to begin to look into the possibility of providing that service.

“Immediately he went and looked for an airplane that would be a start up to get us moving,” she went on. “He brought in the owner of the company where he identified an airline…We met with the Chief Minister, the Minister of Tourism and the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association to discuss the opportunities. The aircraft that we are looking at is a 1900 D Turboprop Beechcraft which, as my research on the internet shows, is the best and most popular of its kind. It’s not like the Twin-Otto. It’s a more upscale and more improved type of aircraft. It’s height is like six feet so most persons can stand erect, The interior includes leather seats and the aircraft has a good performance record.

“We have identified Rainbow International to provide a service for us and the service that we are looking at is one that would be consistent with the image that Anguilla has. We have always promoted Anguilla as an up-market destination…and we wanted to ensure that the service out of Puerto Rico was along that line. The service that Rainbow International will be providing for us will be similar to what persons on a private jet get. The passengers will be met at the gate in San Juan by agents in Puerto Rico and taken to the departure gate of Rainbow International and their baggage will be collected for them. It will be a quick turn-around and we call it an executive service. So the passengers will not have to wander around on their own trying to find their way to this aircraft.”
Ms Banks said that the cost of the flights on the 19-seat aircraft was being promoted at just under US$400 return including all taxes. She reported that the response to this and other promotional efforts had been exceptional. “Not only has the response been good in the US, but also good within the Caribbean,” she continued. “Other persons are eagerly looking at trying to provide us with that sort of service. My concern is that if we in Anguilla do not really act with expediency, we will lose this opportunity and we know that there is no market, if there is no access. We can go into every market and promote and develop the desire of individuals to come to Anguilla but if there is no transportation to get them into Anguilla or if the transportation is so inconvenient and expensive, then we have wasted the money we have spent on promotions.”

Ms. Banks spoke about certain guarantees which the Anguilla Government were expected to meet in accordance with the new flight arrangements to the island. “One of the elements in the new business models in the airline industry is something called ‘revenue guarantees’ or ‘financial incentives,’” she explained. “This is something that every new airline…that is now coming into the Caribbean and every Government have to sign. It is to help minimise the risk that the airline will take. No airline is coming into a destination now assuming all the risks and we in Anguilla, both the public and the private sector, are prepared to work with Rainbow International to guarantee those flights.
“A guarantee doesn’t mean that money is paid. It simply means that if the flight performs below a certain level, that shortfall would be met by the public and private sector. But if that flight is well promoted and is successful, there is no need for guarantees. There are some islands that signed guarantees in the past and they never had to pay because the flights had been successful.
“I strongly believe that if we are starting off with a 19-seater aircraft and two flights per day, one in the early afternoon and the other in the later afternoon, we can accommodate the different flights coming in to Puerto Rico, as well as the local market and the Puerto Rican market.” Ms Banks made the point that if Anguilla were to develop the Puerto Rican market it would be a limited effort with only the one American Eagle flight which would have to take care of the US and Puerto Rican passengers as well as the Anguillian travellers.
Ms. Banks declared: “If we cannot fill 19 seats twice per day then we have a problem as a destination.” She further stressed that “in a revenue guarantee no money is provided upfront. Money is only outlaid if the flight is not successful. It is in the interest of both the public and the private sector to ensure that when this flight comes on, that it is full. I would hope that Rainbow International would receive the support of both the private sector, including the Hotel Association and other hotels and properties that are not members of the Association, and the financial community.
Ms. Banks said that some of the other benefits of a revenue guarantee relationship with Rainbow International would include an opportunity for agreement on such matters as time schedules and pricing to reflect the accommodation needs of the island’s guests and its local people.
“I am really excited about the potential for this new service and I hope that everybody would give it their support,” she stated. “We must look beyond the fact that Kirby and Rose are local people and see that this as a business opportunity and that what we would have done for any foreign developer or foreign airline, we need to be doing to support local business because, at the end of the day, the only people you can depend on are your own.”
Replying to a question, Ms Banks said that the start of the service was being promoted for February 14 and it was hoped that Kirby Hodge would be in a position to secure the necessary finances for the aircraft. It is understood that such a 1900 D Turboprop Beechcraft would cost in the region of three million US dollars.

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