Continental Connection Cuts Palm Beach Flights

Gulfstream International Airlines (Web site: gulfstreamair.com), operating under the Continental Connection banner, is slashing service, at least on a seasonal basis, out of Palm Beach International Airport (PBI). Most cuts take effect in September.

Gone will be Continental Connection flights from PBI to a pair of Bahamian destinations: Freeport (FPO), and Treasure Cay (TCB). Also out is daily service to Tampa (TPA) and Key West (EYW). Gulfstream President David Hackett tells Cheapflights the Tampa cut is the result of fuel prices. As for the other three destinations, “You just don’t fly to the Caribbean this time of year” he says. Weather, specifically tropical storms and hurricanes, render September a decidedly low-demand month.

Fuel costs prompted to commuter/regional carrier to pull its Beech 1900D propjets off the routes.

How to cope: if you’re headed for Tampa it’s easy, just hop on discount airline Southwest.

Getting to Freeport, Treasure Cay and Key West present more of a challenge. If you’re bound for Freeport, best bet is to head south on the freeway from West Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL). From there Official Airline Guide (OAG) (Web site: www.oag.com) indicates you can catch Continental Connection, United Express, discount airline Spirit, or Bahamasair (Web site: bahamasair.com) for the short over-water flight. OAG indicates no nonstops from FLL to Treasure Cay. Key West is another story. Continental Connection, United Express, Yellow Air Taxi, and Chalk’s International Airlines all fly to the southernmost city in the United States from Fort Lauderdale.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler