Air Europa has begun its new Dreamliner service to the Dominican Republic.

The Spanish air carrier officially launched its service from Madrid to Santo Domingo on Wednesday with a flight to the capital’s Las Americas International Airport.

Air Europa is operating the flights daily, with capacity for 317 passengers and a variety of connections in Europe.

The new Dreamliners consume 20 percent less fuel and produce 20 percent fewer emissions than any similar aircraft.

The best part? The new fligths have Wi-Fi.

— Caribbean Journal Staff

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The Sandals Royal Bahamian resort in Nassau has reopened following a $4 million makeover, the company announced.

The property, which had been slated to reopen in the middle of October, had to postpone its relaunch due to Hurricane Matthew.

“It’s absolutely fantastic to be back open and welcoming guests in the Bahamas,” said Sandals Resorts Chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart.  “The property has never looked better and our team is excited about what is shaping up to be a tremendous winter season.”

The changes included behind-the-scenes upgrades like a new boiler system and plumbing along with a new main pool deck along with new furniture and furnishings in rooms and common areas.

“Sandals Royal Bahamian has undergone an extensive renovation,” Stewart said.

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — An entomologist from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed recently that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists made a first in port discovery of an insect within an imported air cargo shipment of cut flowers arriving…

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China’s HNA Group has announced the purchase of a 25 percent equity interest in Hilton Worldwide Holdings from affiliates of Blackstone.

The value of the transaction is approximately $6.5 billion, or $26.25 per share in cash, and reduces Blackstone’s interest in Hilton to around 21 percent.

As part of the deal, HNA has entered into a stockholders agreement with Hilton, and into similar deals with Park Hotels and Resorts and Grand Vacations.

“Hilton is an iconic global hospitality company with an unmatched portfolio of high-quality brands and a reputation for operational excellence,” said Adam Tan, vice chairman and CEO of HNA Group. “This investment is consistent with our strategy to enhance our global tourism business, and we look forward to working together on new initiatives that leverage our respective strengths, expertise and tourism platforms to provide travelers more choice, value and world-class services.”

Following Hilton’s spin-off of Park Hotels and Resorts, which had previously been announced, HNA will own approximately 25 percent of all three companies.

“We are pleased to welcome HNA Group as a long-term investor and strategic partner,” said Christopher J. Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton. “HNA Group has a broad portfolio of successful travel and hospitality businesses and a proven track record of creating value in this industry. We believe this mutually beneficial relationship will open new opportunities for our brands and guests around the world, particularly in light of HNA’s strong position in the fast-growing Chinese travel and tourism market, the largest outbound travel and tourism market in the world.”

The post China’s HNA Pays $6.5 Billion For Hilton Stake appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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It’s a new kind of Caribbean cruise.

Entertainment Cruise Productions, Don Was of Blue Note Records and Steven Bensusan of the Blue Note Jazz club have announced a five-year partnership for jazz cruises in the Caribbean.

ECP’s Contemporary Jazz Cruises will now be known as Blue Note at Sea, with seven Blue Note artists among those performing on the venture’s maiden voyage from February 4 to 11, 2017.

Among the Blue Note artists booked for the first cruise are Marcus Miller, Terence Blanchard, the Robert Glasper Trio, Gregory Porter, Dianne Reeves, Chucho Valdes and Pat Metheny.

Also appearing on the cruise will be David Sanborn, Joshua Redman Quartet, Lalah Hathaway, Ben Williams, Geoffrey Keezer, Reuben Rogers, Greg Hutchinson, Aaron Goldberg, Peter Martin, Alex Han, Grace Kelly and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz All Stars.

The first Blue Note at sea will be aboard Celebrity Summit, and will set sail from Fort Lauderdale on February 4, with calls to the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

— Dana Niland, CJ Contributor

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