On Saturday, 4 November, the Government and people of Grenada welcomed the inaugural JetBlue direct flight into the Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA), from Boston’s Logan International Airport, which marked a significant milestone in adding to airlift into Grenada, so that visitors and nationals will have more options getting to the destination.
The weekly inbound flight, B6 2153, with an estimated departure time of 8 am from Boston, will arrive in Grenada at 12:48 pm every Saturday, while the outbound flight, B6 2152, will depart Grenada at 2:47 pm and arrive in Boston at 8:04 pm.
A jubilant Minister for Tourism Hon. Lennox Andrews, who was greeted by Acting Prime Minister Andy Williams and other senior government officials, commended JetBlue for expanding its partnership with Grenada, which started in 2015, with the daily, non-stop flights out of John F Kennedy Airport (JFK), New York, and has since experienced a 90% overall load factor in the past 9 years.
Minister Andrews was pleased to announce new opportunities for Grenadians in Boston. He further detailed that starting 28/29 November, Jet Blue will operate a second daily red-eye service out of JFK and expressed hopes that, “in the foreseeable future, the frequency of the Boston flight will increase, given the demographic composition of Boston and the many influential Grenadians and Caribbean nationals living there, some of whom took the opportunity to join us on this flight.”
The Minister for Tourism told the crowd of nationals, tour operators and travel writers who came in with the flight that, “the island will be tapping into the diaspora to attract to the Spice Isle, visitors of Grenadian, Caribbean and Latin American heritage, who have made Boston and surrounding areas their home.”
Several high-ranking JetBlue officials accompanied the flight to Grenada including JetBlue’s Director of Airport Operations Daniel Blake. Blake reaffirmed the airline’s dedication to affordable fares, saying that, “adding Grenada to the airline’s route map from Boston was a no-brainer, as the country has a lot to offer. Passengers on the route will have access to all that JetBlue has to offer including its premier Mint service.”
While in Boston, Minister Andrews and his team, which included Strategic Advisor Dr Stephen Fletcher; Senior Information Officer Daisy Hazzard and well-known media personality Kem Jones, took the opportunity to visit with influential Grenadians living in Boston, and met with one of the largest bakery owners there, Fitzroy Alexander, who employs upwards of 250 people, many of them of Grenadian and Caribbean descent.
The team also held talks with officials from Harvard University and Berklee College of Music, to discuss opportunities for young Grenadian graduates, as well as officials from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism — Kate Fox, Executive Director and Jeevan Ramapriya, Executive Director of International Trade and Investment — to discuss possible areas of cooperation in trade and investment.
Arising out of discussions with Boston city officials, Deputy Director of Global Affairs and Protocol James Reginald Colimon agreed on behalf of the city, to raise the Grenada flag at City Hall Square on the 50th Anniversary of Grenada’s Independence, on 7 February 2024.
Minister Andrews commended Randall Dolland, Chairman of the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA), CEO Petra Roach and staff of the GTA who, “demonstrated the ability to successfully negotiate in the best interest of the country,” in making the new JetBlue service available and putting other opportunities in place for Grenada.
GIS
