Nazie Mohammed and Valerie
Murphy-Rahman
Philip Rose of the Jamaica
Tourist Board
Philip Tucker and Lea
Ramnarace of CWT with Dawne Francois of the Grenada Tourism Authority and
Jamie-Ann Davidson, also with CWT
Shireen and Shaffralie Ali
of Mississauga Travel with Krystal Simpson of Travel Kiosk
Not even a miserable
wet and windy night could keep almost 100 travel agents away from an evening
with
Caribbean Airlines. Featuring a mini-trade show, dinner and always-popular prizes, the
evening at the Holiday Inn Yorkdale was a definite sellout.
Apart from the chance
to chat with four tourist board reps, agents received a comprehensive update
from Valerie Murphy-Rahman, Senior Manager of Sales and Reservations system-wide
for the carrier. “We are switching to Amadeus next month,” she told us, “And
next year we will be gutting the interiors of our 737-800s to install, among
other things, state-of-the-art inflight entertainment with personal screens.”
The 737s, configured at 138Y and 16B, are used
on the carrier’s flights YYZ-POS (Caribbean’s headquarters) and YYZ-KIN. From
POS there are frequent connections by 68 pax ATRs to Guyana, Grenada, Barbados
and more.
For the personable
Sales Executive for Canada Nazie Mohammed, the message is all about the
inclusive nature of the carrier’s service. “These days it seems some airlines
charge you just for looking at the aircraft,” he told the appreciative
audience, before outlining that Caribbean includes meals, bar service,
headsets, advance seat selection and also a generous baggage allowance of one
bag at up to 50 lbs checked and 22 lbs carry-on. There are also discounts for seniors 60+.
“Our main clientele at
the moment are the Caribbean VFR and business travellers,” Murphy-Rahman
explained, referencing Trinidad’s key petroleum industry. “We’re not seeing as
much of the leisure traveller as we’d like – which is why events such as these
are so important to get that message out.”
