“We would not be subsiding Virgin flights to St Vincent; we are having a marketing arrangement with them, we have joint marketing plans with the airline. There are two things. One, the contract with Virgin is very confidential as to what is in it, for obvious reasons. Two, we do a joint marketing campaign. So let’s say we put in 150,000 GBP into a marketing campaign; Virgin has to match that, so the campaign comes to 300,000 GBP,” he further added.
Those were sentiments expressed by head of the St. Vincent Tourism Authority Glen Beache during an interview on BOOM 106.9 FM last Monday. He added that the Virgin Atlantic inaugural flight to St Vincent on 13th October would be part of a tag flight, which will see aircrafts making stops in Barbados first, then on to the Argyle International Airport before making the journey in reverse.
Speaking on the OMG Morning Show on BOOM 106.9 FM, Beache said the inaugural flight would leave Heathrow London for Grantley Adams Airport Barbados, then onto the Argyle Airport.
He said the only country in the Caribbean which was a one-stop for Virgin out of the United Kingdom was Barbados. However, as it stands now, it’s going to be a two-stop. “All flights out of the UK into the Eastern Caribbean are tagged flights; it may very well include St Lucia soon as there are new arrangements with that country” said Beache.
Source: Kenville Horne for the Vincentian