By Brian Major From Travel Pulse

Haiti-based Sunrise Airways this week received an operating permit from the Dominican Republic’s Institute of Civil Aviation which allows the airline to commence regularly scheduled flights between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo, the capital cities of dual-nation Hispaniola, said company officials.

Sunrise’s Part 129 operating permit also “[paves] the way for added expansion to other destinations throughout the Caribbean,” said Sunrise officials in a statement. The airline currently operates scheduled flights from Port-au-Prince to Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.

Sunrise passengers can continue on to Santo Domingo from Santiago de Cuba. The airline also offers weekly scheduled flights between Port-au-Prince and Haiti’s Cap Haitien. The Sunrise fleet is comprised of 19-seat Jetstream 32 EP aircraft.

“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 Phillippe Bayard, Sunrise’s president. “Now we’re looking at acquiring larger aircraft to better connect the Caribbean.”

Sunrise is the latest in an emerging group of regional airlines offering expanded intra-Caribbean service. The carriers’ new flights offer frequent Caribbean vacationers new opportunities to visit several regional destinations during one vacation.

Earlier this year, Seaborne Airlines launched non-stop flights between San Juan and Anguilla, and between San Juan and St. Maarten. Through an interline agreement with United Airlines, Seaborne passengers can connect in San Juan to numerous Caribbean destinations including St. Thomas, St. Croix, Dominica, Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Maarten and St. Kitts and Nevis.

In addition, major carriers including American Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Southwest Airlines have all announced new Caribbean routes this year. American Airlines will offer new weekly flights between Miami and Martinique beginning June 4. Meanwhile, JetBlue will offer new flights between New York and Grenada beginning June 11, and between Boston and Barbados on November 7. The carrier will also launch begin direct service to Antigua from New York on November 5.

Also, Southwest Airlines will launch daily, nonstop flights from Houston to Belize on October 15 and will begin service between Houston and Montego Bay, Jamaica on November 1.

PHOTO: Sunrise Airways has received authorization for flights between Port au Prince and Santo Domingo. Pictured is a view of Haiti’s eastern coast from the L’observatoire De Boutillers restaurant. (Photo by Brian Major).

For more on this story go to: http://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/haitian-airline-receives-permit-for-scheduled-port-au-prince-to-santo-domingo-flights.html