Sitting south of the Bahamas and north of the island holding Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the British overseas territory of Turks and Caicos is often considered to be one of the world's most luxurious vacation destinations.
While the territory making up the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands has a permanent population of just over 46,000, it contains a very high concentration of five-star resorts and wealthy visitors coming in by yacht and private plane.
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While the main Providenciales International Airport (PLS) receives flights from many U.S. cities on all of the country's "big three" carriers, the smaller South Caicos Airport (XSC) is a regional airport for the tiny South Caicos island. The airport has a single runway and, until recently, was used exclusively by regional and charter airlines as it had no customs office for clearing immigration.
'Faster and more convenient access to this idyllic island'
But with tourist interest in less-popular parts of Turks and Caicos on the rise, American Airlines (AAL) will launch the first direct flight to South Caicos from the U.S. Starting on Feb. 25, 2025, the flight from Miami will run twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays on an Embraer 175 (ERJ) plane with room for 76 passengers.
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"American has flown to Turks and Caicos for more than 30 years and we are thrilled to announce the only nonstop service from the U.S. to South Caicos starting next February," American Airlines Managing Director of Global Network Planning Jason Reisinger said to Travel + Leisure. "Customers from across North America will now have faster and more convenient access to this idyllic island and all that it offers."
American Airlines has already been running flights to Providenciales from cities including Miami, New York, Chicago, and Charlotte while competitors Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United (UAL) also run similar flights from different U.S. cities.
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Already planning your winter sun getaway? There are more options than ever
While the flight to South Caicos from Miami will take just under two hours, the Embraer 175 plane will also have 12 seats for those who want to arrive in first class.
With 2024 now more than halfway through, multiple airlines have been carefully working on their winter flight network to sunny destinations. In May, American added a spate of new routes to St. Lucia, St. Maarten, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
By the end of June, Delta has stepped in by promising more frequent flights to Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands come November while also launching new routes to Aruba and St. Maarten from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP).
Particularly in northern cities, there is a strong market of residents who book a trip to a sunny destination every winter and are looking to change up where they usually go — airlines, in turn, can cut out competition by offering flights to smaller islands and destinations for which customers will have only one choice of carrier.
Earlier in the year, JetBlue Airways (JBLU) and Southwest Airlines (LUV) launched new Nassau flights for very similar reasons.
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