By Lara Falcone
Building on their charter operations to Holguín, Cuba and Santo Domingo, Sunrise Airways has become the first Haitian airline to be granted a Part 129 permit, allowing them to upgrade their Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo flights to “Regularly Scheduled” status. Sunrise passengers can now continue to Santiago de Cuba from Santo Domingo, and return from there to Port-Au-Prince, by way of the newly-approved service.
After being instituted with the goal of becoming the central provider for the Western Caribbean, the company’s new status will pave the way for further expansion, as Haiti emerges as a Caribbean hot spot with increasing tourism.
“We’ve taken another big step forward with this announcement, one that will have a significant impact on our ability to successfully grow our route network in the months to come,” said Philippe Bayard, President of Sunrise Airways. “My hat goes off to our dedicated team whose commitment to excellence in every phase of our operations made this possible. We’re proving something that many would’ve likely thought impossible not long ago: that Haiti can produce a world-class airline.”
The current fleet is comprised of Jetstream 32 EP aircraft, an enhanced performance craft with improved execution of the take-off in high elevations and hot temps. Jetstream 32 EP seat 19, with ample leg and head space and have been operated in the U.S. by Pan American World Airways in the past. Sunrise Airways will be looking into larger aircraft in the future to better suit the needs of their customers and rising demand.
“Even as we were working toward Part 129 certification, we were already in expansion mode, increasing our domestic flights between Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien to meet consumer demand.” said Bayard. “Now we’re looking at acquiring larger aircraft to better connect the Caribbean.”