REDjet Caribbean Ltd., operating as REDjet (Airone Caribbean/Airone Ventures Limited), was a startup low-cost carrier (LCC) based at the

Grantley Adams International Airport Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) is the international airport of Barbados, located in Seawell, Christ Church. It is the only designated port of entry for persons arriving and departing by air in Barbados and operates as one of th ...

in Christ Church,

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

,About Us - Company Information on REDjet
." REDjet. Retrieved on April 13, 2011. "Its corporate offices are situated in Grantley International Airport in Barbados .. near

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the parish of Saint Michael. Bridgetown is sometimes locally referred to as "The Ci ...

. The privately owned airline, incorporated in

featured a fleet of

McDonnell Douglas MD-82 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gene ...

and MD-83 aircraft. Initially the airline sought to startup operations from Kingston's

Norman Manley International Airport Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...

, however, the airline shifted its hub to Barbados after being denied permission to set up in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

by the Jamaican Government. Since that time, REDjet's CEO has announced that he would again be seeking to have a larger airline company based-in Jamaica. Operations commenced on May 10, 2011. The airline began marketing tickets on April 13, 2011. On the night of March 16, 2012, the airline suspended all its services because of financial trouble. It hoped to receive government subsidies to restart the service. On June 8, 2012, Redjet announced its closure.

History

The idea of starting REDjet first came about in 2006 when airlines in the Caribbean often charged high fares for flights, and company decided to start a low-cost airline to serve the region. In 2010, a private sector envoy announced an intention to base a start-up airline at the

. The name of the parent company is ''AIRONE Holdings Limited (AVL)'', and the air venture will seek to form "the Caribbean's first low-cost carrier". The envoy had initially attempted to begin operations from

however, Jamaican

aviation authorities Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

reportedly rejected their application for licenses. Following this, the envoy shifted focus basing operations from Barbados. On October 16, 2010, Airone Holdings Ltd. launched their airline brand REDjet, at the Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference and Culture Centre formerly known as Sherbourne Centre. On December 10, the airline's first (of two) introductory

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pro ...

MD-82 The McDonnell Douglas MD-80 is a series of five-abreast single-aisle airliners developed by McDonnell Douglas. It was produced by the developer company until August 1997 and then by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The MD-80 was the second gener ...

aircraft named 'Jacqualicious' after an employee, was delivered to REDjet at the Grantley Adams International Airport. On February 1, 2011, REDjet's second aircraft 'Hey Jude' was delivered to REDjet at the Grantley Adams International Airport. On the same day Business Development Manager, Robbie Burns, announced that the airline was itching to start selling tickets and get into the air, stating that the airline had already invested over 1 million USD into crew and staff hiring and training. REDjet has also concluded the purchase of their third aircraft to be delivered in late November early December. The airline has named the aircraft "Nickitastic". On April 12, 2011, the FAA announced that Barbados failed to meet regulation standards which would prevent Barbados-based airlines (including REDjet) from flying to the US. On July 18, 2011, REDjet commences service between Barbados and Trinidad. Jamaica swiftly followed Trinidad and Tobago in granting clearance to the Barbados-based low-cost carrier. Operations began in October 2011. On July 27, 2011, REDjet confirmed its plans to expand its operations to other Caribbean destinations in light of an announcement that the airline had gained approval to land in St Kitts (St.Christopher) and Nevis by its Prime Minister Dr.

Denzil Douglas Denzil Llewellyn Douglas (born 14 January 1953) is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. Subsequently he has been Leader of the Opposition. He was t ...

. On August 5, 2011, REDjet scheduled to begin flights into St Lucia from as early as October 2011 by St. Lucian Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Senator Allen Chastanet. After considerable delays, final government approval was awarded by the Barbados government in November 2011. Flights to St. Lucia commence on December 17, 2011. On August 9, 2011, REDjet, announced it was expanding its service to Antigua and began selling tickets for flights between Trinidad and Guyana, just days after securing licences under the terms of a bilateral 'open-skies' air services agreement. The Antiguan authorities have granted REDjet permission to begin flights to St John’s. The airline plans to inaugurate a direct Antigua-Guyana route by late November. On March 16, 2012, REDjet suspended all flights at 23:59 after coming into financial difficulties. The collapse of the airline was announced over social networking by the airlines CEO.

Destinations

REDjet served the following scheduled destinations :

Fleet details

The REDjet fleet consisted of MD-80 series aircraft (acquired from

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

) in a 149-seat all economy configuration.

References

External links

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Route map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Redjet Defunct airlines of Barbados Airlines established in 2010 Airlines disestablished in 2012 Defunct low-cost airlines 2010 establishments in Barbados 2012 disestablishments in Barbados