ANN RUPPENSTEIN
Most airlines aren’t born out of a love story, but it was a classic tale of a long-distance romance that sparked the early stages of interCaribbean Airways. Back in 1987, founder Lyndon Gardiner started on an aviation quest while he had a day job working for a bank when he discovered firsthand how difficult it was to get from Turks & Caicos to the Dominican Republic.
“The story of our company and the founding… it came about from a love story. Lyndon fell in love with somebody who lived on a different island and getting to that island was quite challenging,” explains Trevor Sadler, the CEO of interCaribbean Airways, adding that Gardiner went on to gain his pilot’s license to ease the travel burden. “That moment unknowingly kicked-off the journey of the company.”
A pivotal lightbulb moment for taking the airline to new heights happened in the early days when a photographer paid him nearly half of his monthly salary for a 45-minute flight for some aerial photos. Over time Gardiner left his career in banking to pursue the venture full-time. What initially started as a humble operation with one single small Cessna aircraft serving more as an air taxi service has since blossomed to a fleet of 20 plus airplanes, including jets, servicing 17 countries and 28 destinations.
“He was fully 100 per cent the owner of the company from day one,” he shares. “Now, he was also the first pilot. He was the first baggage handler, the first accountant, in other words, he was the first everything. He was a one man show.”
Today, with hubs in Turks and Caicos and Barbados, the airline links destinations like Antigua, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and beyond.
“My message for the travel agent community is always that we’re travel agent friendly,” Sadler tells Travel Courier, adding that the airline offers 10 per cent commission. “We pay commission to show how friendly we are and we appreciate the travel selling community across the globe.”
For agents, he says there’s a huge selling opportunity for those interesting in connecting clients to destinations within the Caribbean. For example, clients could stay at a Sandals resort in St. Vincent and then head to Barbados, St. Lucia or Grenada to continue the vacation.
“They could sell not just one destination in the region but sell two or even three depending how long somebody has to take a vacation,” he adds. “It’s whichever two experiences that you wish to put together — there are plenty of experiences aside from the beach, the sun, the sand. If you’re a rum drinker you can have a great rum vacation because we produce rum in so many of these islands.”
