Cooperation Among Region’s Air Carriers a Legacy of Cricket World Cup

One of the legacies of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, which ended in the region last month, was the unprecedented level of cooperation by the region’s air carriers, said Richard Lue, who served as coordinator of the regional airline task force for the international competition.
He told JIS News that Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines and LIAT rose to the challenge to move the teams, officials, media and sponsors throughout the nine Caribbean countries that hosted the competition. “Collectively we completed 90 different segments and moved 5,000 pieces of luggage to ensure that the competition ran smoothly. Everybody got where they needed to be,” he said.
Mr. Lue, who is also Air Jamaica’s Director of Special Projects, noted that the national carrier moved close to 6,000 passengers, including fans and supporters, from the super eight stage of the tournament to the final at Kensington Oval in Barbados, adding a total of 11 extra flights between Barbados, Jamaica and St. Lucia for the semifinals and finals.
Air Jamaica, he said, also flew Indian groups travelling via London to Jamaica, New Zealanders via Los Angeles, South Africans via New York and Australians and Sri Lankans from Jamaica to the Eastern Caribbean.
“The flights went very well and we are very happy with our performance during the competition,” Mr. Lue stated.
Air Jamaica is also the designated flag carrier of Barbados.