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100 101 omy went into sharp decline and then got to a standstill,” Gardiner says. “So, we had to change our strategy. It was no longer bringing people to and from the Turks and Caicos, because there weren’t many people left that wanted to come. We saw an opportunity of becoming the con- necting force in the Caribbean and with that, we rebranded the company interCaribbean Airways. Shortly thereafter, Trevor Sadler came and joined us as the company CEO, with the sole focus of modernizing the airline and seat- ing, the sales and marketing machinery in place that makes an airline tick. For instance, being able to buy tickets – right now, you can buy our tickets in 170 countries at thousands of loca- tions, including all the online travel agencies. And that was certainly not an amenity we were able to offer our customers prior to a couple of years ago; it was all people who knew the company, or they had to go to a certain spot and we were the only ones going there. And that’s how most of our sales were gotten. Now, we’re operating in nine countries and 18 destinations, and we have a pretty good connectivity within the northern Caribbean. “Also, in 2016, we expanded our FBO facility; we created a new, 10,000 square foot facility and we paved about 12 more acres of land for parking for the airplanes.We have the world’s only golf cart customs and immigration facility, INTERCARIBBEAN AIRWAYS to service elderly people or people who have mobility issues. They can get off the airplane and drive through the facility on a golf cart and go through the whole customs and immigration process at the other end. That’s a one-of-a-kind amenity. And, there are a lot of other amenities that we offer at the FBO.” In fact, the new Provo Air Cen- ter is capable of hosting aircraft as large as a Boeing 777. It has expanded pilot facilities, multiple arrival and departure halls with enhanced flexibility, private con- ference rooms, dining space, a gift shop, a club lounge, a special chil- dren’s lounge, a coffee bar, a ded- icated pet area, a well-equipped catering kitchen, an onsite laundry, and complimentary, upgraded Wi- Fi throughout the entire facility. Over the next several years, Gardiner expects to grow interCa- ribbean Airways’ footprint through- out the region. “It is our view that through alliances and associations with other entities and airlines in the region, we can form a web that allows people to have more free movement throughout the Caribbean,” he states. “Part of our strategy involves putting down