It has been estimated that Jamaica is in line to receive 140,000 additional inbound seats available across carriers from the US market this September through December 2023.

The tourism destination is expecting an increase in scheduled air capacity from the US market during this period, cementing its position as one of the world’s leading vacation spots. With 140,000 additional inbound seats available across carriers, this represents a 19 per cent growth over the same period in 2022 and an 18 per cent growth over 2019.

“This added capacity is a testament to the appeal of the island’s tourism product as well as the excellent relationships we enjoy with our US airline partners,” explained Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.

He remarked, “they (airliners) clearly have confidence that we can fill these seats as we are now surpassing 2019 stopover arrivals and on track for a full recovery in those annual figures for 2023.”

The most significant increases in inbound seats year-over-year for the fall period can be attributed to: American Airlines’ extended service from Dallas and Chicago as well as additional frequencies from Charlotte; United Airlines’ extended service from Chicago; additional frequency from New Jersey and new service from Denver; and Southwest Airlines’ additional frequencies from Baltimore and Orlando plus new service from Kansas City.

For the summer travel season, the US market accounts for 1.2 million of the 1.4 million airline seats that were secured for the period, representing a 16 per cent increase over the island’s previous best year, recorded in 2019. The US remains Jamaica’s top source market for visitors, representing approximately 75 per cent of the island’s total arrivals. 

“As we return tourism arrivals to growth, new routes, larger planes and more available seats from our valued airline partners are critical to achieving that goal,” posited Director of Tourism Donovan White.

He went further to state, “we are very grateful to all carriers that have increased service to Jamaica and look forward to continuing to work together throughout the years.”