Eastern Caribbean Express
| Eastern Caribbean Express | |
|---|---|
| IATA code : | JQ (JM) used by Air Jamaica Express |
| ICAO code : | JMX used by Air Jamaica Express |
| Call sign : | JAMAICA EXPRESS used by Air Jamaica Express |
| Founding: | 1999 |
| Operation stopped: | 2001 |
| Seat: |
Castries , St. Lucia
|
| Turnstile : | |
| Home airport : |
George FL Charles Airport , St. Lucia
|
| Management: | Eugene Pieterse |
| Fleet size: | 3 (operated by Air Jamaica Express) |
| Aims: | regional |
| Eastern Caribbean Express ceased operations in 2001. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
Eastern Caribbean Express (branded as EC Xpress ) was a virtual airline based on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia . The subsidiary of Air Jamaica ceased operations in 2001.
history
After American Airlines was the last US airline to stop scheduled services between New York and Barbados in the spring of 1999, Air Jamaica applied for flight rights on this route. The US Federal Aviation Administration approved the company on April 15, 1999. The problem was that Air Jamaica did not have a codeshare partner in the Eastern Caribbean and therefore could not offer its passengers connecting flights from Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados to the neighboring islands. In the summer of 1999, the company sought to cooperate with Helenair Caribbean , based in Castries ( St. Lucia ) , which was to carry out the feeder traffic. This refused, however, because they favored a collaboration with BWIA West Indies Airways . Air Jamaica then decided to set up its own subsidiary in the region. On 6 October 1999, the foundation, based in Castries subsidiary was Eastern Caribbean Express announced that the connecting flights from Barbados to St Lucia, Dominica , Grenada , St. Vincent and Trinidad in branding EC Xpress should perform.
Eastern Caribbean Express used the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from its sister airline Air Jamaica Express , which also provided the aircraft and crews. The machines were painted in Air Jamacia colors, but had the EC Xpress logo on the fuselage. The virtual company first performed a special flight from Castries-Vigie Airport on March 17, 2000 with a De Havilland DHC-8-100 . Scheduled flight operations should begin on April 18 with two DHC-8-100s, but were delayed until April 22, 2000 due to administrative difficulties.
The company initially offered five daily scheduled flights from Barbados to St. Lucia and two daily flight pairs to Dominica. The connections could also be used by Air Canada and Virgin Atlantic Airways passengers under codeshare agreements . On August 1, 2000, the company, which had carried around 30,000 passengers by then, put a third DHC-8-100 into service. Scheduled flights between Barbados and Trinidad were scheduled to start in December 2000, but were postponed to February and then to summer 2001.
On March 31, 2001, the virtual company ceased operations after just eleven months. The reason given was the ruinous competition between airlines in the region, which had led to a drop in ticket prices.
fleet
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ EC Xpress and Air Jamaica, press release dated February 8, 2001 ( memento of the original dated April 3, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , (in English), accessed April 2, 2017; Note: EC Xpress used the AOC of Air Jamaica Express (IATA: JQ) but, like them, operated all flights under Air Jamaica flight numbers (JM).
- ↑ The Business Traveler: Airline Cuts Flights To The Caribbean, January 10, 1999 , accessed March 5, 2017
- ^ US Department of Transportation, Application of Air Jamaica Limited, April 15, 1999 , accessed March 5, 2017
- ↑ Reference for Business: Air Jamaica Limited - Company Profile , accessed March 5, 2017
- ^ Web Site of the Government of Saint Lucia, Eastern Caribbean Express to begin Operating out of St. Lucia in 2000, October 7, 1999 , accessed March 3, 2017
- ↑ Web Site of the Government of Saint Lucia, EC Express lands in St. Lucia, March 18, 2000 (in English), accessed March 3, 2017
- ↑ a b c d Worldhistory.biz, Eastern Caribbean Express, Ltd. (EC Xpress) , accessed April 2, 2017
- ↑ Flight International, March 29, 2000 (in English), accessed April 2, 2017
- ↑ Flightglobal, Eastern Caribbean Express ready for regional flights with Dash 8s, March 28, 2000 , accessed March 3, 2017
- Jump up ↑ Flight International, April 10, 2001 , accessed April 2, 2017
- ↑ Travel Weekly, Caribbean devastated by carrier's demise, April 10, 2001 , accessed April 2, 2017
