By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor THE BAHAMAS saw a "phenomenal" 11 per cent increase in airlift capacity year-over-year for February 2012, the minister of tourism and aviation yesterday saying this trend reflected "growing visitor demand" and was set to continue through the first half. Noting that airlift from the key US east coast tourist market was set to receive a further boost from Delta Airlines restarting non-stop service to the Bahamas from New York on March 2-3, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace said the increased seat availability was "a complete turnaround" from the recession's darkest days. Noting that the Bahamas was also seeing better pricing (reduced ticket costs) on many scheduled routes, thus improving 'product access' costs for this nation's 1.3 million stopover visitors per annum, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace told Tribune Business that the Bahamian hotel and tourism industry had enjoyed a "robust" January and February compared to 2011. The Ministry of Tourism's latest Competitive Pricing Tracker, which monitors the airline industry and has been obtained by Tribune Business, showed that airline seat capacity for the Bahamas as a whole increased by 11 per cent year-over-year for February 2012, rising from 147,410 seats in the same month last year to 163,234 this time around. The Bahamas' major tourism markets generally all saw year-over-year increases in airlift capacity, according to the data. Nassau saw an 8 per cent year-over-year capacity increase in February for seats on incoming planes, rising to 125,424 from 116,486, while Freeport enjoyed a 35 per cent rise - from 15,200 last year to 20,600 in 2012. Other major 'points of entry' also saw year-over-year increases for February 2012, with Marsh Harbour up 14 per cent to 5,504, from 4,820 seats in 2011, and Georgetown (Sandals Emerald Bay) ahead by 26 per cent at 4,116, compared to 3,264 seats a year ago. Bimini saw the largest increase in seat capacity for February 2012, doubling or increasing this by 100 per cent to 1,064, compared to 532 in 2011. "We already have more seats available to us this month, this year than last year, and that reflects the increase in demand," Mr Vanderpool-Wallace told Tribune Business, pointing out that airlines did not fly to destinations that did not guarantee them their targeted load factors. "The airlift seat capacity reflects a growing demand for the Bahamas, and pricing seems better, too, which is most important. We think we had a fairly robust January compared to last year, the same thing in February, and are looking good for March." Asked whether February 2o12's increase in airline seat capacity to the Bahamas was likely to be a continuing trend, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace told Tribune Business: "No question about it. For the first six months of the year, we see that very much as being the case, and that's been confirmed by what NAD has." He confirmed that the Ministry of Tourism and Aviation routinely cross-checked its information on airlift and seat capacity with the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), operators of the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA), to make sure information was accurate. Speaking to the 11 per cent increase in airlift capacity for February, Mr Vanderpool-Wallace told Tribune Business: "That is phenomenal. I need not tell you that we don't solicit airlines, and that airlines do not fly to places where they have no demand. "That is a complete turnaround compared to where it was at the beginning of the recession. We hope that's a very steady move out of the recessionary conditions that have affected us for some period of time." Measuring air fares for January 2012, the Ministry of Tourism's Competitive Price Tracker showed that the best air fare to Nassau from Miami came via a non-stop Bahamasair flight, priced at $246. While this figure represented a 3 per cent month-over-month increase over December 2011 pricing, it was down 39 per cent year-over-year compared to January 2011. As for the Nassau-JFK route, the news was not so good. The best pricing was $692 for a non-stop flight on Jet Blue, a 44 per cent rise over December 2011 and a 202 per cent increase year-over-year. When it came to the best pricing for Grand Bahama out of Miami and JFK airports, the pricing again indicated why that island is struggling to attract stopover visitors despite its relative proximity to Florida and the US east coast. Out of Miami, the best fare to Freeport was $388 on American Eagle, a 2 per cent and 1 per cent rise month-over-month and year-over-year, respectively. When it came to New York, the best price was $507 on US Airways, a 62 per cent increase year-over-year. The airline industry, in common with much of the economy, appears likely to be buffeted once again by rising oil prices and increased fuel costs. Meanwhile, when it came to Marsh Harbour, the best price on seats coming out of Miami was $472 on American Eagle, a 25 per cent year-over-year decline and flat month-over-month. As for service out of New York, the best price was $703 one-stop on American Airlines, a 61 per cent increase year-over-year. As for Georgetown, Exuma, which has implications for the Sandals resort there, the best air price from Miami was $487 on American - a fall of 18 per cent year-over-year. New York pricing, via a one-stop service from American Airlines, was up 58 per cent year-over-year at $658. Mr Vanderpool-Wallace added that the higher prices for Freeport and the Family Islands, especially coming out of Miami, also reflected the volume of available seats. The more seats an airline provided to a destination, the lower the pricing, as the greater passenger volumes enabled them to keep pricing competitive while still achieving revenue goals.