March 24, 2005 – U.S. Airways will add a second weekly flight from Charlotte, North Carolina to St. Croix on June 7, U.S. Airways spokesman Amy Kudwa said Thursday.
She said the flight will operate on Tuesdays through Aug. 16.
The airline currently flies nonstop Saturdays from Charlotte to St. Croix.
"We ramp up our Caribbean service in the summer because the demand increases," Kudwa said. She said the airline often makes seasonal adjustments to its schedule.
Kudwa said she doesn't foresee that U.S. Airways will continue the flight beyond the Aug. 16 cutoff date.
Mary Simpson at Southerland Tours on St. Croix was pleased at the addition. "Any lift to St. Croix is welcome," she said.
Vicki Locke, director at sales and marketing at the Buccaneer Hotel on St. Croix, was equally happy. "To get on one airplane and get off at your destination, you can't minimize the importance of that," she said.
Both Locke and Simpson said that the passengers will also be able to connect in Charlotte.
Locke said that while many people focus on the winter business, the summer season is actually longer and "not to be sneezed at."
The plane is an Airbus A319 with a capacity of 120 to 124 people. According to the U.S. Airways reservation Web site, the Tuesday flight will leave Charlotte at 9:30 a.m., arriving on St. Croix at 1:05 p.m. It will depart at 1:55 p.m., reaching Charlotte at 5:57 p.m.
The southbound flight takes three hours and 35 minutes. Flying north, you'll spend four hours and two minutes in the air.
The Web site Thursday afternoon offered a price of $711.15, cheaper than the $848.15 offered for a trip connecting through San Juan.
The Saturday flight leaves Charlotte at 11:05 a.m., arriving on St. Croix at 2:42 p.m. It returns at 3:30 p.m., getting to Charlotte at 7:32 p.m.
The Tourism Department's marketing director, Steve Bornn, said that he couldn't comment on the new flight.
"No wine before it's time," he said.
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