By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter 

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMASAIR’s chairman yesterday stressed that the national flag carrier is committed to delivering quality service, saying: “We want this airline to be the best it can be.”

Tommy Turnquest told Tribune Business the airline continues to assess the performance of its domestic routes, and is making every effort to control costs given its annual government subvention.

“We have a responsibility to the travelling public, to the people, to deliver a quality service, and that is what we are trying to do. We want Bahamasair to be the best it can be; to be safe, on time and meet the needs of travellers,” said Mr Turnquest.

“Bahamasair has been getting a $14 million subvention on average from the Government.

“In 2016, the airline got a $120 million loan which has to be repaid. We know that, and so we know what we have to do and, right now, we are doing the best that we can. We’re trying our best to turn things around. I’m not going to make any declarations but I know that we are doing all that we can.”

Mr Turnquest said Bahamasair remains important to growing the country’s tourism product.

“We recently launched our service to Houston, Texas, and we are excited about that service as well as the other international routes that we service, which allows for greater connectivity in bringing visitors to our shores,” he added.