Anthony: “major catalyst”
STEWART AIRPORT – Officials of the new US Global Airways hope to have the airline servicing overseas destinations from Stewart International Airport by the end of the year.
The airline is a rebranding of Baltia Airlines, a company that has been
based at JFK Airport, but has never flown in its 27-year existence. The
new leadership of the airline sought approval of its investors on Thursday.
The airline has already rented office space at Stewart and plans to house its aircraft when they are acquired, at the former General Electric Corp. hangar, which is now owned by Atlantic Aviation, one of Stewart’s two fixed base operators.
Joelle Caronna and Britany Beckett, aspiring
flight attendants for US Global
US Global President Anthony Koulouris said they hope to eventually provide
non-stop service to St. Petersburg, Tel Aviv, Naples, Barcelona, Athens,
Prague, Budapest, London and Paris.
Airline Vice President for Marketing and Development, Nico Anthony, said the airline expects to grow in the region.
“We fully understand the opportunity and growth potential in Orange County and the Mid-Hudson region and we plan on being a major catalyst for the development over the next several years in this area,” Anthony said.
The business community is already standing behind the plan as noted by Orange County Partnership President Maureen Halahan.
“If US Global Airline is coming here, then they are our airline, they are from our town, from our airport and every one of us has to stand behind them to make this a successful project, because with every airline comes a lot of jobs,” Halahan said
Koulouris sees his air service plan as a win-win.
“We are very proud and honored to be part of the Orange County community, to be part of Stewart International, and we to be here for a long time and help you grow and you help us grow, working together,” Koulouris said.
The airline is in the process of seeking US Transportation Department approvals to begin flight operations. It has an agreement to lease one Boeing 767 jet during the approval process and when approved, expects to increase that to three with plans to expand to at least 10 jets to service the Hudson Valley, metropolitan New York and adjacent areas of Connecticut and New Jersey.
