By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A tourism executive yesterday pledged “we are working” to reverse the present 32 percent and 28 percent airlift capacity decline for Marsh Harbour and North Eleuthera, respectively, through end-June 2026.

Kerry Fountain, the Bahama Out Island Promotion Board’s executive director, told Tribune Business he “knows” this will change - and seat capacity to both destinations will increase - due to efforts by both his organisation and the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation, “to fill the void” created by Silver Airways’ collapse.

Citing that carrier’s failure as the principal cause for the drop-off in airlift capacity to the Family Islands’ two busiest destinations, he added that the situation also represents an opportunity for Bahamasair and other airlines to “step up to the plate” and bridge the gap created by the loss of Silver Airways’ 40-seat and 70-seat service from Fort Lauderdale and other Florida hubs.

While praising the likes of Makers Air, Aztec Airways and Tropic Ocean Airways for expanding their own services to multiple Family Island airports in the wake of Silver Airways’ collapse, Mr Fountain told this newspaper that their eight-nine seat aircraft simply lack the capacity to narrow the difference by themselves. 

He added that “the lowest hanging fruit” remains Bahamasair, or even Western Air, stepping up to fill the breach especially given that the national flag carrier operates the same ATR turbo props with the same seat capacity, and operates from the same Fort Lauderdale hub, that Silver Airways flew from.

American Airlines, too, has seen the strength of tourism demand for Marsh Harbour and North Eleuthera. From December 18 through to January 5, it is poised to add three times’ per day flights to both destinations from Miami, coinciding with peak Christmas and New Year demand, but Mr Fountain said both destinations - and the wider Family Islands - need more than just a seasonal increase in service.

“Kudos to American Airlines,” the Promotion Board chief said. “I think it’s a case of market demand. And while I’m saying kudos to American Airlines, we’re also seeing some of our smaller air carriers who are not GDS (global distribution system) carriers - Makers Air, Aztec Airways, Tropic Ocean Airways - stepping up to the plate to add service to airports like Marsh Harbour, Bimini, North Eleuthera and Governor’s Harbour, and helping to fill the void left by Silver Airways.

“While all that is positive, and my Board and the Ministry of Tourism are working feverishly to replace the seats that we don’t have because of the bankruptcy of Silver Airways - while all that is good and well, and it’s good to see American Airlines stepping up to the plate for additional seasonal service; I’m excited and I like it - we have to not just look at the short-term but medium and long-term.”

Mr Fountain said an airlift capacity report, using data as at July 14, 2025, to measure available seats into a destination for the next 12 months through to end-June 2026 had fully exposed the negative consequences of Silver Airways’ failure. 

While warning that the position “can very easily change”, and that the figures only include GDS carriers such as American Airlines, Delta and Bahamasair, he told Tribune Business: “For Marsh Harbour, for seat capacity from July 14 to June next year, seat capacity is down by 32 percent, and for North Eleuthera it’s down 28 percent.

“I know it will change. There are some things we are working on right now that I cannot say too much about. But, as of now, that’s where we stand in terms of seat capacity to two of the busiest airports in the Family Islands, Marsh Harbour and North Eleuthera.

“If you look at the airports where we have seen the drop-off, the biggest reason is that Silver Airways is not there. They flew the 40-seat and 70-seat ATRs. Even though the Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation has been successful in getting Makers Air, Aztec Airways and Tropic Ocean Airways to step up to the plate, bear in mind those airlines employ eight to nine-seaters,” Mr Fountain added.

“Frankly, in terms of strategies, the lowest hanging fruit is for Bahamasair, which is a GDS airline, or through a Western Air. As far as Bahamasair is concerned, they have a shortage of equipment at this time, so they are unable to fill the void as quickly and easily as I personally, and my Board, would like to see.”

Besides boosting airlift seat capacity, Mr Fountain said further opportunities await airlines that are able to provide same-day connectivity between Nassau and the Family Islands so that travellers no longer have to contend to with the inconvenience and extra expense of having to overnight in the Bahamian capital.

“Another opportunity, and we tend to talk about direct service from south Florida and the US, but another opportunity is improving the connectivity from Nassau to and from the Family Islands,” Mr Fountain told Tribune Business. 

“That intervention for same-day connectivity will allow for Bahamasair to take advantage of its growing list of inter-line agreement partners. It’s one thing to have inter-line agreements, but do we have same-day connectivity to and from those islands so that visitors do not have to overnight in Nassau in any shape or form?

“If I can get to fish and dive, get to the cays, go to San Salvador and dive on the same day that I leave Nassau instead of having to overnight.... We tend to talk about direct service from south Florida. A big share of the pie is connectivity from Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA).”