Douglas DC-9 | 1975-77

(TOP)
Airline - Jade Airways
Aircraft - Douglas DC-9-30 | VP-LDU
Delivered to Jade Airways, 1975
Stored at Victorville, 1996
Scrapped at Victorville, 2001
Livery - Standard 1973
Country - Antigua & Barbuda

(BOTTOM)
Airline - Jade Airways
Aircraft - Douglas DC-9-50 | VP-LRO
Delivered to Jade Airways, 1976
Sold to CBL Asset Management, 1997
Leased to Air Canadien, 1997
Returned to SBL Asset Management, 2002
Stored at Pinal Airpark, 2002
Scrapped at Pinal Airpark, 2004
Livery - Standard 1973
Country - Antigua & Barbuda

In 1975, after just over two years of operation, Jade Airways took delivery of two Douglas DC-9-30s, registered VP-LDU and VP-LDV. In 1976 these were complemented with a single DC-9-50 (VP-LRO), followed by another DC-9-30 (VP-LDX). Together, these four DC-9s brought the airline's fleet up to six, with four being the most modern jetliners available at the time. This expansion not only increased the young carrier's prestige and credibility, but also allowed it to introduce high-speed 'Caribbean Jet Shuttle' service up and down the eastern Caribbean, expand its route map all the way to Caracas, Aruba, and Curacao in the southwest and Paramaribo and Cayenne in the southeast, and add service to San Juan and Miami from the leeward islands and the BVI. With the carrier's two HS 748 turboprops now not needed for core routes, they could be used to set up a vast network of what was referred to commuter routes, but actually mostly used by wealthy tourists to quickly and conveniently hop between islands, spending the morning on the beach in Sint Maarten, heading to Martinique for lunch, then watching the beautiful sunset in St Barts later that evening. Jade Airways was able to effectively market itself not just as the local airline of a few island nations, but as the region's main full-service travel solution - this of course included a rapidly increasing number of partnerships with hotels, resorts, and travel agents.