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omy went into sharp decline and then got to a
standstill,” Gardiner says. “So, we had to change
our strategy. It was no longer bringing people
to and from the Turks and Caicos, because there
weren’t many people left that wanted to come.
We saw an opportunity of becoming the con-
necting force in the Caribbean and with that,
we rebranded the company interCaribbean
Airways. Shortly thereafter, Trevor Sadler came
and joined us as the company CEO, with the
sole focus of modernizing the airline and seat-
ing, the sales and marketing machinery in place
that makes an airline tick. For instance, being
able to buy tickets – right now, you can buy our
tickets in 170 countries at thousands of loca-
tions, including all the online travel agencies.
And that was certainly not an amenity we were
able to offer our customers prior to a couple
of years ago; it was all people who knew the
company, or they had to go to a certain spot and
we were the only ones going there. And that’s
how most of our sales were gotten. Now, we’re
operating in nine countries and 18 destinations,
and we have a pretty good connectivity within
the northern Caribbean.
“Also, in 2016, we expanded our FBO facility;
we created a new, 10,000 square foot facility
and we paved about 12 more acres of land for
parking for the airplanes.We have the world’s
only golf cart customs and immigration facility,
interCaribbean Airways
to service elderly people or people
who have mobility issues. They
can get off the airplane and drive
through the facility on a golf cart
and go through the whole customs
and immigration process at the
other end. That’s a one-of-a-kind
amenity. And, there are a lot of
other amenities that we offer at
the FBO.”
In fact, the new Provo Air Cen-
ter is capable of hosting aircraft
as large as a Boeing 777. It has
expanded pilot facilities, multiple
arrival and departure halls with
enhanced flexibility, private con-
ference rooms, dining space, a gift
shop, a club lounge, a special chil-
dren’s lounge, a coffee bar, a ded-
icated pet area, a well-equipped
catering kitchen, an onsite laundry,
and complimentary, upgraded Wi-
Fi throughout the entire facility.
Over the next several years,
Gardiner expects to grow interCa-
ribbean Airways’ footprint through-
out the region. “It is our view that
through alliances and associations
with other entities and airlines
in the region, we can form a web
that allows people to have more
free movement throughout the
Caribbean,” he states. “Part of our
strategy involves putting down