Come December US carrier JetBlue will add a non-stop service from Orlando to the capital Port-au-Prince.
The airline says pending regulatory approval, the route will be serviced by its 100-seat Embraer E190 jets
“Seats are expected to go out for sale in the coming weeks,” a company statement said.
The new route is JetBlue’s fourth to Haiti. The airline already flies to the French-speaking Caribbean country from its bases at New York’s John F. Kennedy International, Boston and Fort Lauderdale.
JetBlue’s Vice President for network planning John Checketts says the new service is a strategic move.
“Service between Orlando and Port-au-Prince will provide a valuable link between Haiti’s capital city and many communities in central Florida that currently lack nonstop flights from their closest major airport.
“Now, with flights from four of our focus cities, JetBlue will connect more U.S. cities with Port-au-Prince than any other airline,” he said.
At the same time, Haiti’s Minister of Tourism Jessy Menos signalled he is fully on board with the new service, which he expects will benefit Haitians at home and abroad.
“I am pleased to congratulate JetBlue on this new air route, which it is inaugurating linking the Haitian Capital, Port au Prince, with the city of Orlando.
“This new destination will have the merit of better serving Haitians and Americans wanting to visit both states,” he said.
The new Haiti route comes as JetBlue has increasingly stepped up its presence in the region in the past decade. The airline says it operates nearly a third of its capacity in the Caribbean and Latin America.