Haiti travel getting competition

JetBlue Airways, the low-cost carrier that has become a major player in the South Florida and Caribbean market, said Thursday it plans to begin offering daily nonstop service to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, from New York and Fort-Lauderdale-Hollywood. The announcement of JetBlue’s continued expansion into the region comes as a new Haitian start-up prepares for its Mother’s Day inaugural flight from Nassau, Bahamas to Port-au-Prince. The airline, Kombit, will partner with Fort-Lauderdale-based IBC Airways, which currently services the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haïtien from Miami and Fort Lauderdale. As part of the partnership, IBC will enter into a co-share arrangement for its international fights. It is also providing Kombit with Saab 340 turboprops twin-engine turboprop aircrafts for flights between Port-au-Prince and key Haitian cities. “They see the opportunities that are right now in Haiti,” Dimitri Fouchard, a Haitian airline veteran who is an investor in Kombit, said about IBC, which is also adding flights from West Palm Beach to Cap-Haïtien, Haiti’s second largest city. IBC now offers direct jet service into Cap-Haïtien from Miami and Fort Lauderdale five times per week.