Minister of Tourism Felix Jiménez met with American Eagle executives to discuss the possibility of that commuter airline flying into the Barahona María Montez International Airport and the Samaná Arroyo Barril International Airport. The flights to both Barahona and Samaná airports would be from Puerto Rico. A delegation of the top American Eagle executives, Jacques J. Vachon, president; Vicente Hernández, regional director; César Castillo, general manager, and Carlos Beltrán, director of sales and marketing met with the Minister of Tourism. Jiménez said that in order for the flight to be a success, preparatory work needs to be carried out so that Dominican and Puerto Rican tour operators, as well as Dominican hoteliers can prepare packages that are attractive to Puerto Rican tourists. It is expected that the flights will also be used by the thousands of residents in those areas and by Dominican expatriates when returning to their hometowns. The American Eagle flights would bring these closer to their hometowns. At the present time, passengers heading in that direction have to use either the Santo Domingo (Las Americas) or Puerto Plata (Gregorio Luperón) airports, that place them a three to four hour car ride away from their final destination. (23 February 2000)
