Courtesy of: The Morning News
By: Rosalie Klein
Aruba’s Minister of Tourism, Transport & Labor, Otmar Oduber was very pleased to share a champagne toast in the colors of Tiara Air Aruba, blue and yellow, with airline CEO Alejandro Muyale and Sjeidy Feliciano of the Aruba Tourism Authority. Island dignitaries and media also raised a glass in celebration that an Aruban owned and based airline will again offer round trip jet service from the island to several locations.
The official announcement was made on Tuesday, October 23, at Windows on Aruba in the Divi Links clubhouse, exactly 12 years to the day that the last jet flight, from Aruba’s first native airline, Air Aruba, was made. Their final flight had been on October 23, 2000.
Tiara Air Aruba CEO Muyale is extremely proud to see his airline grow since 2005 from one Shorts 360 two-prop plane flying to Punto Fijo, Venezuela to now offer international jet service. “We have doubled our present capacity with the implementation of this service,” he informed the gathering. “It wasn’t easy, but it is well worth to be able to open the island to increased arrivals from some very important gateways. We are proud to offer island access to new destinations with direct flights by an Aruban owned company, on a plane bearing the official Aruba logo.”
The inaugural passenger flight of the Tiara Air Aruba Boeing 737-330 will depart Reina Beatrix Airport today at 11:15 AM, with 141 on board. It is bound for Medellin, Colombia with a stop in Armenia, on the return flight. On November 9, flights to Caracas will begin. November 11, flights to Maracaibo will commence and on November 16, the first flights for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida will depart. The end of November, will start service to Sint Maarten, in time for their carnival events. Mr. Muyale indicted there was enormous interest in this direct service.
Both Minister Oduber and Ms. Feliciano from the ATA expressed how important the Tiara Air flights are to opening up new markets for Aruba in Latin America. “Offering this service to Aruba, where Latin American residents can then transfer to the daily flight to Europe, fits in with the current administration’s plan to diversify Aruba’s economy,” said the Minister. “We hope to see Aruba become a hub between the region and Europe, allowing access to heretofore inaccessible destinations for travelers from both areas.”
The intended plan, announced more than 18 months ago, is for Tiara Air to obtain two Boeing 737-330 planes, which will further augment service to other gateways, such as Boston.
