USA: Spirit Airlines Introduces Flights To Virgin Islands

Spirit Airlines announced the expansion of its flight network to the Virgin Islands with an all-new service from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) to St. Croix’s Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (STX).

We are excited to offer even more flights to more of the U.S. Virgin Islands, with Spirit’s new service to St. Croix, said Mark Kopczak, Spirit Airlines’ Vice President of Network Planning.

The nonstop service is scheduled to operate thrice-weekly, starting today, and it offers a second option for Spirit Guests to travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands, which complements the existing flight to St. Thomas.

Spirit Airlines currently operates over 500 daily services to 65 destinations across the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Kopczak added later that Spirit has been offering ultra-low fares to the territory for over 12 years, and this new service to St. Croix will allow more of our Guests to save money on airfare to spend making memories in paradise, he said.

We look forward to deepening our partnership with Spirit as the airline expands its service in the U.S. Virgin Islands with flights to St. Croix, says Beverly Nicholson-Doty, Commissioner of Tourism for the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Spirit Airlines remains committed to its support and growth in the region, as it established through a statement.

Since Hurricane Maria, Aguadilla Airport (BQN) in Puerto Rico had limited power, scarce services, and no air-conditioning.

Spirit Airlines and Airways assisted people trying to leave BQN.

The Airways Aid in association with Operation Puerto Rico Care Lift raised over $120,000 and 50,000 pounds in supplies and donations that were distributed by special relief and scheduled flights.

St. Croix is the airline’s 13th destination in the Caribbean, and it follows previous service launches such as Cap-Haitien, its second destination in Haiti, as well as the restart of operations at the island of St. Maarten.

The carrier claims it manages one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the country, with 119 aircraft, featuring 31 Airbus A319-100, 53 Airbus A320-200, five Airbus A320neo, and 30 Airbus A321-200.


Tourism Observer

VIRGIN ISLANDS: 75% Decrease In Cruise Ship Passengers To St. Croix This Year

Steps are being taken to counter an almost 75 percent decrease in cruise ship passengers to St. Croix this year, the Virgin Islands Tourism commissioner told the Source this week.

The V.I. Bureau of Economic Research reported a 74 percent drop, from just under 69,000 to less than 18,000, in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2016.

St. Thomas also saw a decline of almost 11 percent from 604,572 to 540,154.

The number of cruise ships visits to the Frederiksted Pier decreased from 26 to nine, dragging down the total number of calls to the territory by 13 percent.

“We have lost market share and we are responsible to build market share for St. Croix and the entire territory,” Beverly Nicholson-Doty said. “There have been challenges and we haven’t moved at a fast enough pace.”

Nicholson-Doty did not clarify about the “relationship struggles,” but said that Royal Caribbean, which sails the vast majority, 95 to 96 percent, of the vessels to St. Croix “indicated a repositioning of ships,” possibly to the Western Caribbean.

She discounted speculation that a $5 per passenger fee implemented by the V.I. Port Authority in October 2016 affected the cruise lines decision, saying their schedule was in place 18 months before rates were implemented and that Royal Caribbean agreed to the fees in a negotiated contract.

The cruise lines schedule visits to the Virgin Islands with VIPA and the West Indian Company and don’t notify Tourism, according to Nicholson-Doty.

At the beginning of 2017, Gov. Kenneth Mapp directed the DOT commissioner to “rebuild relationships with the cruise lines” and Nicholson-Doty said she communicates with Royal Caribbean at least twice a month. She met with cruise officials in Miami and one executive recently visited St. Croix and St. Thomas, she added.

Marketing St. Croix is much different than getting visitors to St. Thomas.

Cruise ship passengers are used to Charlotte Amalie, the commissioner said, and 60 percent of the visitors don’t disembark, according to Nicholson-Doty.

St. Croix, on the other hand, has been recognized recently for its history, arts and culture, through events at the Whim Museum, Taste of St. Croix, the St. Croix Food and Wine Experience and restaurants featuring locally sourced products.

The diversity of food – from the decades-old and beloved Villa La Reine Chicken Shack, Villa Morales, which features Cuban dishes with a Puerto Rican touch, and newer venues such as balter, Zion Modern Kitchen and 40 Strand Street that combine the freshest produce and protein with culinary creativity.

Nicholson-Doty listed international and nationally recognized media outlets that have featured St. Croix restaurants and events since the first of the year.

VIRGIN ISLANDS: The US Virgin Islands Is Suing Hess for $1.5 Billion

The US Virgin Islands government is suing the Hess Corporation for shuttering the HOVENSA refinery in 2012, Governor Kenneth Mapp announced Monday.

According to a complaint filed in Superior Court, the USVI is alleging that Hess committed “serious violations of the law” in closing what was the Caribbean’s largest refinery.

The lawsuit is seeking at least $1.5 billion in damages, a figure it says covers at least $150 million per year in benefits to the people of the territory from 2012 to 2022. The latter date was the time through which Hess “was obligated under the law to continue operating the refinery,” the government said.

The damages triple under Virgin Islands law.

“The is not about a business disagreement. It is about Hess breaking the law,” Mapp said. “The Territory of the Virgin Islands expect that the law is followed by every entity that does business here. Hess violated the law and its obligations to the people.”

The closure of the refinery was devastating to the Virgin Islands’ economy, as HOVENSA had been the USVI’s single-largest private employer.

But while Hess shuttered operations in 2012, then-US Virgin Islands Governor John de Jongh helped broker a deal under which a new company, Atlantic Basin Refining, would have purchased the refinery.

Under the terms of that proposed deal, which was later rejected by the USVI Senate, the government would have received $1.6 billion in fixed payments, with at least 700 jobs created.

HOVENSA was first launched in the mid 1960s on St Croix.

In its complaint, the USVI said that the Hess Corporation violated “the law that dictated operations through 2022.”

“This is about one thing: Hess breaking the law and the resulting hardship to the Territory of the Virgin Islands,” Mapp said. “There are consequences to breaking the law and Hess must fulfill its legal obligations to the Territory.”

The suite alleges that Hess violated the Criminally Influenced Corrupt Organization Act and other laws.

Hess has not yet released a statement on the lawsuit.