Caribbean to Expand to the DR and Puerto Rico

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Caribbean Star Plans More Flights

The Associated Press
Sunday, January 27, 2002; 12:24 PM

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados –– Regional airline Caribbean Star Airlines plans to start new service from Puerto Rico to other Caribbean islands to provide better connections to the United States.

Paul Moreira, Caribbean Star's chief executive, told The Associated Press Saturday that the Antigua-based airline will operate more flights from San Juan's international airport starting in July.

"Our focus now is to bring more tourists to the Caribbean as opposed to simply taking Caribbean nationals outside the region," he said.

From Puerto Rico, the airline will offer flights to Antigua, St. Maarten, Dominican Republic, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Tortola, Trinidad, Grenada and Guyana. Its main hubs would be in Barbados and Antigua.

Moreira said the airline plans to employ about 50 people in San Juan and has leased two Dash-8 planes for the expansion and plans to lease two more later this year.

Caribbean Star has established agreements with U.S. carriers to bring passengers from the United States into San Juan because U.S. authorities have restricted how many American cities the airline can serve, Moreira said. He did not identify the airlines with which the company has agreements.

The main airline that serves Puerto Rico is Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines, and its American Eagle subsidiary is often the only airline that residents in the U.S. territory can take to reach other Caribbean islands.