Isla Nena Air

Isla Nena Air is an airline from Vieques, Puerto Rico. The airline operates small aircraft, as Vieques airport is not prepared to handle jet aircraft.

History

Isla Nena Air was formed during the middle 1990s, as a competitor of Vieques Air Link, which had a monopoly on routes to Vieques because it was the only airline of name that was operating to the small Puerto Rican island-municipality's airport.

Eventually, Isla Nena Air became known to Puerto Rican travellers, as it opened routes to Culebra Airport in Culebra, Fajardo Airport in Fajardo and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan.

With the protests of several Puerto Rican, as well as international, celebrities and regular people alike, of the United States military's presence in Vieques, Isla Nena Air, like Vieques Air Link, benefitted economically, as the airline saw a growth in its number of yearly travellers. The protest ended in 2003, when the American military decided to leave Vieques.

During the late 1990s, another stiff competitor, Air Culebra, began flights to Vieques, making the new airline Isla Nena Air's second competitor on the lucrative Vieques to Culebra air bridge route.

American Eagle is expected to enter the Vieques market in 2005, bringing Isla Nena Air yet another competitor.

Not everything in the future looks bleak for the airline, however: after the military pull-out, several hotels have opened in Vieques, and several other hotel chains have announced plans to open hotels there, to make Vieques a tourist center, which could, as a consequence, turn more profits for the airline.

Despite all the advances in Vieques and in Isla Nena Air's structure, the airline remains a relatively small operation, not having, for example, an internet website or some other mechanisms or forms of advertising from which modern air passengers can benefit.

External links

* [http://www.airlinedata.com/us-i.htm Some information about Isla Nena Air]