By the Caribbean Journal staff

American Airlines has kicked off its biggest expansion to the Caribbean in several years with a wave of additional frequencies to the Caribbean.

The world’s largest airlines has launched additional daily flights to destinations including Barbados, Curacao, Grand Bahama, Saint Lucia, Puerto Plata and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The Papagayo hotel on Jan Thiel Beach in Curacao.

All of the additional daily services, which began Dec. 19, are operating out of Miami International Airport.

The biggest beneficiary is Barbados, which will now have a total of three daily flights between Miami and Bridgetown, a significant boost for the island’s continued push in the United States market.

Santo Domingo is seeing a expanded airlift from a host of carriers including American.

The increased Santo Domingo flights come as the Dominican Republic is making a concerted effort to turn its capital into a legitimate tourism destination; indeed, a number of carriers have recently added new routes to Santo Domingo, including JetBlue and Spirit, among others.

American is operating the Barbados, Curacao and Puerto Plata flights on Boeing 737-800 aircraft; the new service to Grand Bahama is operating on an Embraer 175, while Puerto Plata flights are running on Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes.

The Casa Colonial hotel in Puerto Plata.

The carrier said its expanded Saint Lucia service would run on Boeing 757 aircraft, while its new Santo Domingo flights are operating on an Airbus A321.

All of the additional frequencies are operating for the winter tourist season.

The expansion comes a few days before American unveils another high-profile expansion, with the addition of eight new Caribbean routes operating on Saturdays.

— CJ