Delta will fly to Grenada from JFK, New York as of July '10

It’s a busy week in news of flights to Grenada. Unfortunately we lose the Air Jamaica service as of next month but the good news is that Delta has now put a date on the commencement of its service from JFK, see the full press release below for details.

The world’s largest airline will begin operations into Grenada this summer. Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister, Glynis Roberts on Wednesday confirmed that Delta Air Lines will commence scheduled service from John F Kennedy International Airport in New York to the Maurice Bishop International Airport in St George’s starting from July 3, 2010.

In addressing the 2010 Budget at the Grenada Trade Centre Minister Roberts said that the government will continue its aggressive efforts to expand airlift service to Grenada. The nonstop service departs JFK at 8:30 am and arrives in Grenada at 1:20 pm with the return flight scheduled to depart at 2:10 pm and arriving in New York at 7:30 pm.

Delta will use its 737-800 aircraft which offers 16 First Class seats and 144 Coach Class seats. The Minister said that the new service from Delta will also encourage more nationals to return home during the Festive seasons, starting with Carnival this summer.

Roberts, who is also the Parliamentary Representative for St George South, said that the new flight, which will operate only on Saturdays, is also as a result of the Grenada Board of Tourism’s road shows on the eastern corridor and the excellent work of the Airlift Committee led by Michael McIntyre.

The weekly service is expected to provide additional seats to the island which is already served by American Airlines and Air Jamaica from the United States; British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Monarch and Condor from Europe and Air Canada, Sky Service and Zoom from Canada during the winter.

Passengers flying with Delta will be able to make connections to more than 360 destinations, using the airline’s hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita, as well as its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers.

“This fleet reduction has become necessary as we seek to meet our financial obligations, however Air Jamaica continues to be the best choice for convenient schedule and excellent service as we have ensured that adequate capacity is provided on our core routes”, stated Bruce Nobles, Air Jamaica’s President and CEO.

Effective March 9, 2010, Air Jamaica will suspend service on the New York (JFK) – Grenada and Jamaica – Orlando route, among others.

Jason Roberts MBE

Grenada and Blackburn Rovers striker, Jason Roberts, has today been awarded an MBE in The New Years Honours List.

The 31 year old Blackburn Rovers striker was given the award for his charitable work through his Jason Roberts Foundation which gives young people in the UK and Caribbean the means to play and get involved in sport.

We would like to offer Jason and his staff our wholehearted congratulations. The hotel has worked with the Foundation on a couple of events – most notably in June of last year when we had the Liverpool FC Legends staying here. The ex Liverpool players were visiting the island to play against a Grenada Select XI to raise funds for the Jason Roberts Foundation. We feel very honoured to have been a part of that and look forward to working with Jason again in the future.

The aircraft owner, a commercial airline pilot living in Miami Beach, was flying his small plane to Grenada. His cousin, Bancroft O. Nyack, joined him for the trip to his home in the island country. They left Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at about 8 a.m. Thursday but never made it to their first stop to refuel the Piper Turbo Aztec at Providenciales International Airport in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Authorities think the plane, owned by Compton, may have crashed about 10 miles northeast of Plana Cays, two small islands in the southern Bahamas.

Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard have been searching the waters around the area where the 1981 Piper was last heard from about 11:30 a.m. Thursday, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Sabrina Elgammal, a Coast Guard
spokeswoman.

David Van Sickle, the pilot of a corporate jet who was airborne nearby contacted the Federal Aviation Administration to report an emergency distress call from the Piper, recently purchased by its owner. It’s not clear if the former or Nyack, who also is an FAA-certified pilot, was at the controls when the plane went down.

The Piper had lost power in both engines and was descending rapidly, according to a discussion on FlightAware.com, which tracks flights internationally.

“It was gut-wrenching speaking to [the pilot of the Piper] knowing there was nothing I could do but try my best to quickly get as much info from him and relay it clearly to Miami and hope the rescue goes
well,” Van Sickle wrote in an e-mail to a pilot friend, Robert Reid of Toronto.

The plane’s owner regularly flew 757 and 767 jets for a major airline out of Washington, D.C., said the man’s brother, who did not want to give the name of the airline. He described his brother as a “a very private
guy” who wouldn’t like strangers reading about him.

He said Nyack, 30, is a cousin who was visiting South Florida for about a week before leaving to return home.
Nyack’s family owns the Belmont Estate plantation in northern Grenada, according to Belmont’s website. Belmont Estate, an authentic 17th-century plantation that allows guests to participate in the workings of a fully functional plantation, is Grenada’s top tourist attraction.

Our thoughts go out at this difficult time to all at Belmont Estate and we hope for some positive news on this story.

Simon Cowell

The pint sized impresario will be visiting Grenada’s sunny shores over the festive period to play Santa. He’s selected a rather luxurious sleigh for his gift deliveries – a 12 berth/43metre super yacht called ‘Slipstream’. Apparently it will set him and his shipmate, Sir Philip Green, back to the tune of £625,00 per week. We’re pretty sure they can afford it.

A source said “Simon wanted a change of scenery rather than spend another Christmas looking at Michael Winner’s gut at Sandy Lane for dinner.”

He should be on his way to Grenada right now after having left Barbados, and his reason for coming to Grenada? To deliver presents to his ex-girlfriend and best mate Sinitta and family who are apparently on the island.

Slipstream - the big sleigh

The source went on to say “Then he is off to Antigua for cocktails with Amanda Holden and her husband Chris Hughes. And then Jacqui St Clair is planning to meet up with him when he hits St Barths.

“Simon hates winters in England and has been looking forward to this trip for months. He chose this yacht because of the high spec. It oozes luxury – as soon as he docks the three-storey beast, people will be impressed.

“He could have gone for something more discreet, but that isn’t Simon’s style. He turned 50 this year and decided it would be his Christmas treat to himself.”

Gatwick to Grenada - Twice a Week

British Airways has confirmed their updated service to Grenada which means doubling their flights as of 28 March 2010 to two flights a week.

The carrier currently flies to Grenada twice a week in the busy Winter season but previously reduced that to one flight over the quieter Summer months, this new service gives travelers more options of getting to Grenada to take advantage of lower accommodation costs in the off season.

The increased service will be using Boeing 777s in three classes: World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World. The Winter service will fly from London Gatwick to Grenada via Antigua on Tuesdays and Fridays, the Summer service will operate on Tuesdays and Sundays via Barbados.

British Airways Holidays are offering deals to a hand picked selection of hotels, Calabash is (of course!) among that selection.

With that in mind we have three specials currently running:

Winter Added Value

1. One person per suite receives free dinner supplement daily worth US$65
2. Valid for all new bookings, in any room/suite category
3. Dinner can be exchanged for lunch on any day.

Click for booking enquiries and full details

7 Nights for the Price of 5

1. Book 7 nights and pay for 5 on packages booked from 7th July – 23rd November 09 and from 13th – 20th December 09.
2. Can be combined with our Bash Dollars offer to gain 20% resort credit on each night paid for if your trip is booked directly with us following a website enquiry.

Click for booking enquiries and full details

Bash Dollars – 20% Resort Credit

1. Direct hotel bookings will receive 20% resort credit in Bash Dollars until 20th December 09
2. Bash Dollars can be used for Suite upgrades, lunch at Jefferson’s Beach Bar, dinner in Rhodes Restaurant and drinks in our bars.

Click for booking enquiries and full details

Grenada is creating a film commission in hopes of luring movie and television business to the lush, scenic country at the southern tip of the Windward Islands.

Junior Culture Minister Arley Gill says film crews would pump money into the agricultural island’s economy through spending on restaurants, hotels and supplies.

Gill told reporters launching the commission should be an urgent priority, as other regional islands such as Dominica and St. Vincent are pushing for movie-making action.

He told reporters Thursday that “the film industry in the Caribbean is developing rapidly and we don’t want to be left out.”