NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Western Air is positioning itself for expansion, taking its fleet to nine Embraer jets in the coming weeks and months while reporting strong performance on its Florida service, which is averaging near full loads this summer.
“We’ve certainly seen that our Florida service has steadily grown and it is very well received, particularly during the summertime,” President and CEO Rexy Rolle said. “We see an increase of international passengers on us which is a big deal for a smaller carrier like us. Nassau is a very busy airport and so when flying between Florida and The Bahamas, it’s certainly encouraging to see them choosing us.”
Western Air’s latest additions include two Embraer 145 XRs, which offer longer range and higher capacity than its existing LR models. “We did make a purchase a year plus ago for two XRs,” Rolle explained. “We are just now getting that first XR added to our op specs and we hope to have it online in the next couple of weeks. The ninth aircraft is still finalizing interiors in the US and so we hope to have that by the end of the year.”
The XR jets feature a range of 2,000 nautical miles compared to 1,500 for the LR, greater fuel capacity, higher weight allowance, and visible upgrades such as winglets and modified seating.
On its Florida route, Rolle reported near full occupancy. “They’re running pretty close to full occupancy on the Florida route,” she said. “That’s for the summer of course because this is a high travel time, so we expect a dip off after August which tends to happen across the board.”
She further noted: “For us, Florida—particularly Fort Lauderdale—was not always a very high-volume route in the beginning because of the competition. It took a while for people to even know that we go there. Now that the word has gotten out, we just wanted to make sure before adding additional flights that we are giving people a good experience.”
Domestically, the airline is also seeing strong demand. “We’ve certainly seen an uptick in travel across the board and that certainly includes domestically,” Rolle said. “What we’ve been trying to ensure is that we don’t overextend ourselves and that we’re able to deliver what we promised in terms of the schedule.”
While additional flights and routes are on the horizon, Rolle emphasised a focus on maintaining reliability. “We know there are requests for additional days and flights, and we have added in where we could during the summer, but we just want to make sure we deliver at a quality level and not overextend the resources we have pertaining to crew,” she explained.
Looking ahead, Rolle said Western Air is preparing for further growth. “We’ve been training a number of pilots that have joined us recently and I think we are putting ourselves in the position to be able to expand with additional flights and potentially additional routes later on in the year, potentially in early 2026,” she said.
