Sun's Rising Nation News - Monday 02, December-2002 by Wendy Burke A Sun of another colour, shape and size will rise to the skies in the new=20 year, as the newest regional airline begins service. Caribbean Sun, based= =20 in San Juan, begins its flight schedules next month. The younger sister to= =20 Caribbean Star, which is also owned by Antigua-based Texan=20 multi-millionaire Allan Stanford, is the second phase of a five-year=20 business plan for the company with Star being the first. Paul Moreira,=20 president and chief executive officer, is quoted in today=92s BUSINESS=20 AUTHORITY as saying the need for the airline was propelled by the=20 regulatory environment which did not allow Caribbean Star to fly into the=20 United States Within the first few months they intend to operate out of the= =20 northern Caribbean serving Antigua, St Kitts, Tortola and St Maarten, where= =20 they will be partnering with Winair, based in St Martin. He said as the=20 business expanded Barbados would become one of its destinations. An alliance partner, US Airways, will take Caribbean Sun into the markets=20 it wants to get into. =93We are still negotiating but it is pretty firm with= =20 US Airways. That will allow us to connect seamlessly in San Juan and tap=20 into new tourism markets throughout the northern United States, which is=20 key to our product.=94 Moreira added it would also allow for nationals to= =20 have a choice, for example, from Barbados to San Juan and onwards, and from= =20 St Lucia and St Vincent as they developed. This is Phase 2 of the=20 plan. For those who believe Sun is a mere reflection of the Star, it is=20 not. The airline will begin with two Dash 8s, and after the first two=20 months of operation, another two will be added. Moreira said Phase 3 would= =20 introduce jets, after which they would decide where to put the hubs =96 one= =20 in the north eastern Caribbean and one in the south, allowing them to focus= =20 on the tourism leisure market. =93It will serve Caribbean nationals well.= It=20 will be a low-cost, high-quality product. It will connect onto Caribbean=20 Star and Caribbean Sun,=94 said the president and CEO. When asked what the prospects of this new carrier would be, Moreira said=20 his chairman, Stanford, had a vested long-term interest in the region, and= =20 his 12-year stay and level of investment in Antigua were proof of that. He= =20 disclosed that within another two weeks the chairman would make a formal=20 announcement about a US$1 billion development fund. =93He will establish offices in every island in the Eastern Caribbean,=20 Barbados, Trinidad, St Maarten and Tortola included. A Stanford Development= =20 Office will be responsible for identifying investment opportunities in the= =20 tourism sector, and other sectors.=94 Moreira added that their focus was on= =20 making long-term investments in this region, which had phenomenal=20 opportunities. wendyburke@nationnews.com The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Island Events) http://www.islandevents.com (Island Events) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************