After months of decline, American Airlines saw a strong uptick in Latin America and Caribbean traffic in July, according to the carrier’s latest numbers.

American Airlines Group reported 2.952 billion revenue passenger miles in Latin America and the Caribbean last month, up 3.9 percent from July 2016.

Available seat miles totaled 3.48 billion in July, itself a 3 percent jump year over year, while load factor rose by 0.7 percentage points to 84.8 percent.

For the year, Latin America and Caribbean traffic remains in decline by 1.5 percent, however.

The surge comes at a good time, as competitors like JetBlue and Southwest have seen continued strong growth in the region.

– Caribbean Journal staff

The post American Airlines Sees Surge in Latin America, Caribbean Traffic appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — US Coast Guard Investigative Service personnel took custody of four Dominican Republic nationals on Thursday, who were interdicted by the Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier in Mona Passage waters the morning of July 28. The night of July 27, the crew of a Coast Guard…

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The Caribbean Development Bank has approved $25 million in funding to replace existing street lights in Jamaica with high efficiency LED lamps.

The project facilitate the replacement of approximately 105,000 high pressure sodium and mercury vapor streetlights.

“Street lights are a critical national service, as they facilitate personal safety, as well as the safe operation of the transportation sector,” said Daniel Best, Director of Projects, CDB. “However, street lights in Jamaica are the second largest consumer of electricity, representing 15 percent of total public sector energy consumption.

“This project is expected to reduce electricity consumption for street lights by approximately 65 percent per year,” he continued. “In addition, it is expected that it will significantly contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Jamaica.”

Jamaica is on track to achieve its renewable energy target of 30 percent by 2030, if it continues to reduce its expenditure on imported petroleum products.

In 2016, spending on street lighting was evaluated at $20 million per year.

The lamps in existing street lights have an approximate lifespan of six years, and a failure rate of 20 percent per year.

The Streetlight Retrofitting Project will include the supply and installation of the high-efficiency LED streetlights and related smart controllers.

— Dana Niland, CJ Contributor

The post Jamaica’s Big LED Street Light Project appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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Global music superstar Mariah Carey recently paid another visit to Nassau in The Bahamas, stopping for a meal at the country’s signature restaurant: Graycliff.

The pop icon dined in a private dining room with her boyfriend Bryan Tanaka at the legendary Graycliff hotel and restaurant, Caribbean Journal has learned.

Graycliff is home to the third largest private wine collection on earth with more than 300,000 bottles on hand.

Tanaka, posted an Instagram photo from the cellar on the visit.

Graycliff, set in a nearly three-hundred-year-old former pirate’s mansion.

“We’re literally in a wine cellar that has over 250,000 bottles of wine, worth over 24 million dollars,” he wrote. “It’s one of the biggest collections of wine in the world! The best part of this experience was spending it with this beautiful Queen.”

That trip included a trip to the Exumas.

Graycliff has become a major haunt for a number of celebrity clients, from actors like Nicolas Cage to music stars like Jay-Z to athletes like Michael Jordan, among others.

Indeed, music legend Billy Joel is the subject of a favorite story at the hotel.

Carey likes to come to Graycliff whenever she’s in Nassau, sources told Caribbean Journal.

And she seems to be a lover of the Caribbean, most notably spending a high-profile trip last year in Antigua and Barbuda.

Graycliff has a boutique hotel along with several restaurants, a cigar factory and a historic village.

— CJ

The post Mariah Carey’s Favorite Table in Nassau appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By Alexander Britell

Aruba has long been a haven for cigar lovers, with a host of cigar shops large and small for passionate travelers.

But navigating the island’s diverse cigar scene has never been easy — until now.

The walk-in humidor at LCDH Aruba.

That’s because there’s a true La Casa del Habano in the heart of Oranjestad’s Plaza Mall that is the island’s greatest cigar shop.

Led by one of Aruba’s leading cigar experts, Jay Ras, the “Cigar Emporium”’s popular manager, this shop has a vast walk-in humidor with a remarkably well-kept inventory of both individual smokes and boxes, with a particular emphasis on a diverse range of individual smokes — an uncommon but welcome feature in a La Casa del Habano.

And it’s a selection that goes beyond the usual offering, from Sancho Panza Belicosos to the rare Partagas Lusitania, among others.

And then there’s the very comfortable lounge, filled with leather couches and chairs, an espresso machine for Cuban coffee and, should the occasion arise, a stock of preferred Cuban libations.

In the always-bustling downtown of Oranjestad, it’s what the best cigar shops should be: an oasis.

Ultimately, though, the mark of any great cigar shop is its people — who know how to make one feel at home, to feel like they’ve walked into a private club. And that’s precisely what Jay Ras accomplishes.

There are all kinds of cigar shops in Aruba, but this one is easily the best.

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