This Haitian-owned airline just moved into Miami’s air travel market

Struggling with high airline ticket costs and flight cutbacks, Haiti-bound travelers in Miami now have an alternative, according to the operators of a Haitian, family-owned airline.

Sunrise Airways has entered the Miami competition for the Haiti market, hoping to capture Haitian passengers and others who are still traveling to the troubled country.

The new service was launched last month. Flights are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday between Miami International Airport and Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince and on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday between Miami International Airport and Hugo Chavez International Airport in Cap-Haitien. The flights are on an Airbus A319 or A320 aircraft, which seat 132 and 180 passengers respectively.

Sunrise Airways’ international routes include flights to Cuba, Panama, Guadeloupe and the Dominican Republic. Company founder and President Philippe Bayard said the Miami expansion “boosts our international connection.”

Fares are between $399 and $700 round-trip, depending on when they are booked. A quick check by the Miami Herald showed, for example, that Sunrise Airways tickets were a bit cheaper compared to American Airlines with a month’s notice to fly from Miami to Port-au-Prince. Sunrise Airways had a nonrefundable ticket for $435.88 round-trip, while American charged $583 for a non-refundable round trip.

To travel to Cap-Haïtien, travelers will pay $413 on Sunrise with one checked bag. Spirit Airlines, which flies out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, charges $554 per ticket, plus the cost of checked or carry-on bags.

“Without the Haitian community of Miami and South Florida, this route would not be possible, it would not make any sense,” Bayard said this week as he and his sons, Jonathan and Sébastian, hosted a media launch and reception at the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami to celebrate the expansion. “This route belongs to you as much as it does to us.”

Connecting diaspora with provinces

Before last month, anyone traveling to Haiti from South Florida had to fly American Airlines, which flies between MIA and Port-au-Prince, or out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on JetBlue Airways or Spirit. Spirit also flies to Cap-Haïtien, and is the only U.S. carrier to do so.

Sunrise Airways, which has been flying since 2012, has a fleet of aircraft in Haiti and has a monopoly on the Haitian domestic market. Both allow it to ferry the estimated 40% of passengers headed to Haiti’s provinces from the U.S., directly from Toussaint Louverture International Airport to Guy Malary, the domestic terminal at the same location. The airline provides shuttles for those worried about taking a taxi or having someone pick them up for the short trip between the airports.

“The Haitian diaspora is one of the largest in the world, relative to our national population,” said Bayard, noting that the company has been diligently working to establish an air transportation network that facilitates travel, tourism and trade through the Caribbean region, and serves as a conduit for the rich cultural exchange between Caribbean countries.

The reduction in flights to Haiti by the major U.S. carriers, along with the use of smaller airplanes, have meant less availability and higher prices. Haitians have been hit with sticker shock not just on American Airlines, where one-way economy tickets from Port-au-Prince to Miami have cost as much as $1,100, but also on Spirit Airlines, which has had a monopoly in Cap-Haïtien.

While flights going into Haiti may not be at full capacity, they have been packed coming out thanks to the humanitarian parole immigration program launched by the Biden administration in January. People who are approved have three months to travel to the United States. The packed flights and high costs have led many Haiti travelers to go through the neighboring Dominican Republic on their way to the U.S. Those costs are lower than direct flights to Miami from Port-au-Prince or Cap-Haïtien.

Until last month, when Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader shut down his country’s borders with Haiti over a dispute about the construction of a canal on a river that straddles both countries, Sunrise Airways was one of the main carriers making those connections. The expansion into Miami allows the airline to continue to serve that market.

“We will shut it down”

This is not the first time that a Haitian-owned carrier has tried to capture the Haiti market in Miami. In the mid ‘90s, Haiti Trans Air, owned by Charles Voight, made several attempts, hoping that passengers’ loyalty to the home-country airline would help stave off the competition from American, which dominated the market.

But the company struggled amid U.S. sanctions on Haiti and with lack of financing and the high of aircraft and crews.

Bayard, who also leases his airplanes from Global X Airline and is coming into the U.S. market during another period of political turmoil in his homeland, believes things will be different for his carrier. But if it doesn’t pan out as he and his sons anticipate, Bayard said, “we won’t be emotional about it. We will shut it down.”

While most travelers are aware of the current crisis in Haiti, in which gangs have made it impossible to travel between major cities, Bayard said Haiti “has been on a lockdown since 2017.”

The period marked the start of the late President Jovenel Moïse’s presidential term, which was accompanied by protests and one crisis after another, including a months-long lock-down of the country.

“Despite this obstacle, we persevered to meet the needs of our community,” he said, noting that the airline operates about 800 flights a month.

This is because Haitians are still traveling to their homeland and most of them aren’t staying in the gang-ridden capital, but heading to the provinces, where the violence is less prevalent.

Still, the airline, which is registered in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, has had challenges. Several years ago it attempted unsuccessfully to enter the Orlando market. Sunrise has also faced customer-service issues, including flight delays that are not communicated in a timely fashion.

Customers also complain about the costs of flying within Haiti. Shorter routes, Bayard said, are more costly than longer ones in the airline industry.

“I know that people complain a lot about the prices,” he said, referring to his domestic customers. “But people also have to take into consideration that we are currently living in a world where the cost of everything has gone up 60%.

“Aviation has a price.”