Dear Editor,

Last evening (Sunday 2 December), I had the pleasure of flying to Guyana on American Airlines’ new direct service from Miami. Very enjoyable flight, and it arrived at CJIA 15 minutes ahead of schedule!

It was also memorable that the Captain of the A319 aircraft was Wayne Gumbs, who was very proud to announce that this was the first occasion that a Guyanese had piloted this sector since its inception in mid-November (out of the 10 Guyanese-born pilots working for American).

At this announcement, nearly all of the passengers broke out in spontaneous applause – it was quite moving, and I was delighted to be a part of recognising this significant achievement.

Well done Wayne! May you and the other Guyanese pilots working for American enjoy flying the aircraft down to your homeland many times in the coming years.

Yours faithfully,