GUYAIR707 wrote:

The local newspapers are reporting that AA will meet with GCAA in June, and the Head says it should take about a month to process their application to GEO.

I wonder if this (the fact that sales seem to be suspended in the interim) will delay the startup or if it will still be in December?

A388 wrote:

Why would AA chose such inhumane flight times in and out of GEO? Why don't they do daylight flight times like other Caribbean destinations?

A388

I know it is to cater to leisure "hotel" traffic, but I rather hate AA's evening flights to MIA. I am based in GND and I have to overnight in MIA for most of my trips now, and even when there is a "last" flight, it is quite the rush through Immigration and Customs to make it. When we had the morning flight, I was able to connect in MIA and DFW and still make my final destination the same day. I rather envy the proposed GEO times. We are don't have to traffic to sustain two daily flights a la BGI, so I guess we are stuck.

captaink wrote:

A388 wrote:

Why would AA chose such inhumane flight times in and out of GEO? Why don't they do daylight flight times like other Caribbean destinations?

A388

I know it is to cater to leisure "hotel" traffic, but I rather hate AA's evening flights to MIA. I am based in GND and I have to overnight in MIA for most of my trips now, and even when there is a "last" flight, it is quite the rush through Immigration and Customs to make it. When we had the morning flight, I was able to connect in MIA and DFW and still make my final destination the same day. I rather envy the proposed GEO times. We are don't have to traffic to sustain two daily flights a la BGI, so I guess we are stuck.

You can thank Sandals for that. The times suit hotels as they don't have to hold open a room late and then discover that its a no show. For people who must connect via a hub in addition to MIA, or on a route where there are few flights to MIA its a huge problem. BW must be getting more business now, even though there is a POS connection, in addition to MIA.

Clearly AA sees GEO as a "South American" route. And it is aimed mainly for the business market, based on rumored airfares.

BW must be getting more business now, even though there is a POS connection, in addition to MIA.

Clearly AA sees GEO as a "South American" route. And it is aimed mainly for the business market, based on rumored airfares.

If it wasn't for AAdvantage/OneWorld I would use BW. But without participation in an alliance, flying BW is a hard sell for me.

Those miles.. that elite status...

Brickell305 wrote:

GUYAIR707 wrote:

The local newspapers are reporting that AA will meet with GCAA in June, and the Head says it should take about a month to process their application to GEO.

I wonder if this (the fact that sales seem to be suspended in the interim) will delay the startup or if it will still be in December?

The head of the GCAA seems to be in a reconcilatory mode since his last statement, so it seems he is anxious to get AA here on schedule. God forbid he causes AA to cancel their plans.

Article: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/ ... e-meeting/

GUYAIR707 wrote:

Brickell305 wrote:

GUYAIR707 wrote:

The local newspapers are reporting that AA will meet with GCAA in June, and the Head says it should take about a month to process their application to GEO.

I wonder if this (the fact that sales seem to be suspended in the interim) will delay the startup or if it will still be in December?

The head of the GCAA seems to be in a reconcilatory mode since his last statement, so it seems he is anxious to get AA here on schedule. God forbid he causes AA to cancel their plans.

Article: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/ ... e-meeting/

I’m surprised it takes that long to grant approval to an airline like American. What would be the length of time were it not an already established carrier?

Brickell305 wrote:

GUYAIR707 wrote:

Brickell305 wrote:

I wonder if this (the fact that sales seem to be suspended in the interim) will delay the startup or if it will still be in December?

The head of the GCAA seems to be in a reconcilatory mode since his last statement, so it seems he is anxious to get AA here on schedule. God forbid he causes AA to cancel their plans.

Article: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/ ... e-meeting/

I’m surprised it takes that long to grant approval to an airline like American. What would be the length of time were it not an already established carrier?

The Guyana government has been accused of letting Exxon come in and do as it wishes. Maybe the GCAA head doesn't want to be accused of allowing AA to sell tickets before they have even applied for permission to fly to GEO. Note that Guyana isn't a tourism destination so AA isn't as vital as it is to other places. I doubt that their presence will greatly increase passenger arrivals. Maybe they also need to be told that the US$900+ for GEO MIA is just too high.

guyanam wrote:

Brickell305 wrote:

GUYAIR707 wrote:

The head of the GCAA seems to be in a reconcilatory mode since his last statement, so it seems he is anxious to get AA here on schedule. God forbid he causes AA to cancel their plans.

Article: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/ ... e-meeting/

I’m surprised it takes that long to grant approval to an airline like American. What would be the length of time were it not an already established carrier?

The Guyana government has been accused of letting Exxon come in and do as it wishes. Maybe the GCAA head doesn't want to be accused of allowing AA to sell tickets before they have even applied for permission to fly to GEO. Note that Guyana isn't a tourism destination so AA isn't as vital as it is to other places. I doubt that their presence will greatly increase passenger arrivals. Maybe they also need to be told that the US$900+ for GEO MIA is just too high.

AA seems to command high prices on many Southern destinations though, though previous post say BGI is an exception. GND-MIA is usually hovers around $732.

Brickell305 wrote:

GUYAIR707 wrote:

Brickell305 wrote:

I wonder if this (the fact that sales seem to be suspended in the interim) will delay the startup or if it will still be in December?

The head of the GCAA seems to be in a reconcilatory mode since his last statement, so it seems he is anxious to get AA here on schedule. God forbid he causes AA to cancel their plans.

Article: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/ ... e-meeting/

I’m surprised it takes that long to grant approval to an airline like American. What would be the length of time were it not an already established carrier?

Those small startups usually take months or years.

AA is very cheap into POS. Slightly cheaper than BW. Usually less than $500.

captaink wrote:

guyanam wrote:

Brickell305 wrote:

I’m surprised it takes that long to grant approval to an airline like American. What would be the length of time were it not an already established carrier?

The Guyana government has been accused of letting Exxon come in and do as it wishes. Maybe the GCAA head doesn't want to be accused of allowing AA to sell tickets before they have even applied for permission to fly to GEO. Note that Guyana isn't a tourism destination so AA isn't as vital as it is to other places. I doubt that their presence will greatly increase passenger arrivals. Maybe they also need to be told that the US$900+ for GEO MIA is just too high.

AA seems to command high prices on many Southern destinations though, though previous post say BGI is an exception. GND-MIA is usually hovers around $732.

I don't think it has anything to do with geography. It depends entirely on each market's individual dynamics. As stated, flights to POS & BGI (both southern destinations) from MIA are generally cheap year round outside of peak demand periods. Prior to B6 starting FLL-BGI, AA charged significantly more on the route. Flights to ANU & SKB (both northern destinations) from MIA are generally expensive year round.

AA also tries to fill its MIA route from feeder cities. Often these fares are only slightly higher than the MIA O&D fare. Competition on MIA O&D seems to be a huge factor.

guyanam wrote:

AA also tries to fill its MIA route from feeder cities. Often these fares are only slightly higher than the MIA O&D fare. Competition on MIA O&D seems to be a huge factor.

Yep, I once did BGI-EWR for $200 one way via MIA.

guyanam wrote:

AA also tries to fill its MIA route from feeder cities. Often these fares are only slightly higher than the MIA O&D fare. Competition on MIA O&D seems to be a huge factor.

The tourism industry in GND is not as big as most Caribbean Islands, hence the lack of competition on most flights. We have few large hotels (though there are few niche luxury oriented ones being built right now). What we do have here is a relatively large Yachting industry (10 marinas) and large University with mostly foreign students. Connecting passengers account for a significant portion of our GND-MIA flight, principally NE USA, but also West Coast & Latin America. This is due in part to the movement of staff, faculty and students to and from the University here. The business office for SGU is located in Great River, NY.

Interestingly it is frequently cheaper to get to those connecting cities via MIA than it is to MIA itself. Case in point, next Wednesday one week return (relatively last minute);

GND-MIA - $844
GND-DCA - $652
GND-JFK - $572
GND-LAX - $986

It's important to note that when the Students are going home for the holidays, we usually get DL flights to ATL and JFK.

GND is doing very well in growing its tourist industry, even though smaller than other islands. The "Spice Island" is a good hook.

I see even BW is running a few direct YYZ/JFK flights into GND for the carnival.

D.R. Update:
Dominican Wings relaunches as Flycana. To start ops in Q4 2018 with 5 A320. Will start with Caribbean routes at first. Yet to determine main airport base.
Sky High rec'd 1st Jetstream 41, reg HI1013 & already at SDQ.
Air century launching SXM, AUA, CUR with a Saab 340. CRJ ops pending due crew training etc.
InterCaribbean doing well with regular flights to AUA, CUR, SXM, EIS, PLS. Crew base at SDQ with the ERJ145 is rumoured.

CAL's Caribbean Plus official launch is this week. A/C reconfigured so far: 9Y-BGI, 9Y-JME, 9Y-JMF, 9Y-KIN, 9Y-SXM, 9Y-POS.
Tobago airbridge for Q1 vastly improved over 2017 Q1.
No official word yet on refleeting.

Thanks for the update TriniA340, nice to see more happening in the Caribbean aviation industry

A388

AA has only now submitted its application for proposed GEO service.

[quote="guyanam"]AA has only now submitted its application for proposed GEO service.[/quote:

Yep. Here is the link:

https://www.stabroeknews.com/2018/news/ ... a-flights/

Dynamic now Eastern. I wonder if they will be coming back to Guyana.

beeweel15 wrote:

Dynamic now Eastern. I wonder if they will be coming back to Guyana.

It was mentioned somewhere that was their intention. Did they get rid of all their 738s?

Apparently WestJet is looking to fly to GEO.

Link: https://sflcn.com/westjet-looks-to-offe ... nd-guyana/

beeweel15 wrote:

Dynamic now Eastern. I wonder if they will be coming back to Guyana.

hard to see how that's viable if JetBlue starts service from JFK. I remember seeing them one year while I was flying out of T7. They were still long lines checking in at midnight. Don't see how that could compete if B6 gets going.

Aruba Airlines announced nonstop service to St. Maarten from Aruba starting July 1st

tphuang wrote:

beeweel15 wrote:

Dynamic now Eastern. I wonder if they will be coming back to Guyana.

hard to see how that's viable if JetBlue starts service from JFK. I remember seeing them one year while I was flying out of T7. They were still long lines checking in at midnight. Don't see how that could compete if B6 gets going.

The one advantage they have over Jetblue will be the ability to carry baggage.. The A320/321 aer not baggage friendly when it comes to Caribbean folks traveling. CAL 737 can do a better job at carrying bags.

beeweel15 wrote:

tphuang wrote:

beeweel15 wrote:

Dynamic now Eastern. I wonder if they will be coming back to Guyana.

hard to see how that's viable if JetBlue starts service from JFK. I remember seeing them one year while I was flying out of T7. They were still long lines checking in at midnight. Don't see how that could compete if B6 gets going.

The one advantage they have over Jetblue will be the ability to carry baggage.. The A320/321 aer not baggage friendly when it comes to Caribbean folks traveling. CAL 737 can do a better job at carrying bags.

The stereotypical West Indian traveler with 2+ bags all bursting at the seams is a things of the past. Ever since airline baggage fees have become commonplace for flights to the Caribbean, people adjusted and now travel much more lightly than they have in the past. JetBlue won’t have an issue with bags. At most, there may be a slight backlog during the week of Christmas. Any other time of year, they’ll be more than fine.

Brickell305 wrote:

beeweel15 wrote:

tphuang wrote:

hard to see how that's viable if JetBlue starts service from JFK. I remember seeing them one year while I was flying out of T7. They were still long lines checking in at midnight. Don't see how that could compete if B6 gets going.

The one advantage they have over Jetblue will be the ability to carry baggage.. The A320/321 aer not baggage friendly when it comes to Caribbean folks traveling. CAL 737 can do a better job at carrying bags.

The stereotypical West Indian traveler with 2+ bags all bursting at the seams is a things of the past. Ever since airline baggage fees have become commonplace for flights to the Caribbean, people adjusted and now travel much more lightly than they have in the past. JetBlue won’t have an issue with bags. At most, there may be a slight backlog during the week of Christmas. Any other time of year, they’ll be more than fine.

I agree that JetBlue will not have a problem filling seats, but to GEO, some people given a cheap seat with 2 free suitcases vs 1 free and pay for 1, Dynamic will win. Guyanese still bring the everything including the kitchen sink although everything is available in Guyana. They will complain about delayed flights and luggage left behind, but they will still use the airline in droves. Also a chunk of immigrant Guyanese still depend on travel agents to direct them to a carrier, so here again Dynamic will get the pax.

Brickell305 wrote:

The stereotypical West Indian traveler with 2+ bags all bursting at the seams is a things of the past. Ever since airline baggage fees have become commonplace for flights to the Caribbean, people adjusted and now travel much more lightly than they have in the past. JetBlue won’t have an issue with bags. At most, there may be a slight backlog during the week of Christmas. Any other time of year, they’ll be more than fine.

I agree. The 50lb limit, the baggage charges and aggressive over weight charges have reduced this. Online shopping has become popular and increasingly people understand that these days retail options in the Caribbean aren't that bad. When I travel I see many people with bags only slightly larger than those that the ones that they bring on as cabin.

GUYAIR707 wrote:

I agree that JetBlue will not have a problem filling seats, but to GEO, some people given a cheap seat with 2 free suitcases vs 1 free and pay for 1, Dynamic will win. Guyanese still bring the everything including the kitchen sink although everything is available in Guyana. They will complain about delayed flights and luggage left behind, but they will still use the airline in droves. Also a chunk of immigrant Guyanese still depend on travel agents to direct them to a carrier, so here again Dynamic will get the pax.

There will either be Dynamic or B6. Not both. BW also deals with travel agents so can cater to the travel agent dependent part of the market. I don't see 3 carriers slugging out on this route as its really only for Xmas, Easter and the Summer that its very heavy. I bet B6 will precondition their decision based on whether Dynamic is allowed on to this route or not. They are happy to compete against BW, but some charter, with unpredictable behavior, will be a whole other issue.

As far as the Guyana gov't is concerned B6 is the higher prestige option to allow on the route as compared to Dynamic. BW is the "old faithful," even if much maligned, airline which has served GEO for generations. Through the worst days when no airline was able to remit airfares BWIA still flew to GEO, even though at a loss, given that its $$$ were trapped in Guyana. BA, Pan Am and others fled.

BW having as its CEO a former telecommunications person seems to be driving changes. BW is expected tp go wifi by year end. Given that most people bring their own programming, even if its inflight IFE offering is more limited that will not be a huge problem, once people can operate their devices. I assume that their wifi will be available for the entire flight.

guyanam wrote:

GUYAIR707 wrote:

I agree that JetBlue will not have a problem filling seats, but to GEO, some people given a cheap seat with 2 free suitcases vs 1 free and pay for 1, Dynamic will win. Guyanese still bring the everything including the kitchen sink although everything is available in Guyana. They will complain about delayed flights and luggage left behind, but they will still use the airline in droves. Also a chunk of immigrant Guyanese still depend on travel agents to direct them to a carrier, so here again Dynamic will get the pax.

There will either be Dynamic or B6. Not both. BW also deals with travel agents so can cater to the travel agent dependent part of the market. I don't see 3 carriers slugging out on this route as its really only for Xmas, Easter and the Summer that its very heavy. I bet B6 will precondition their decision based on whether Dynamic is allowed on to this route or not. They are happy to compete against BW, but some charter, with unpredictable behavior, will be a whole other issue.

As far as the Guyana gov't is concerned B6 is the higher prestige option to allow on the route as compared to Dynamic. BW is the "old faithful," even if much maligned, airline which has served GEO for generations. Through the worst days when no airline was able to remit airfares BWIA still flew to GEO, even though at a loss, given that its $$$ were trapped in Guyana. BA, Pan Am and others fled.

BW having as its CEO a former telecommunications person seems to be driving changes. BW is expected tp go wifi by year end. Given that most people bring their own programming, even if its inflight IFE offering is more limited that will not be a huge problem, once people can operate their devices. I assume that their wifi will be available for the entire flight.

I agree Dynamic should be the last resort. I am happy to hear BW is adding wifi. I look forward to it. I flew GEO - MIA today and I winced at the IFE. As a matter of fact I await AA to EWR as we speak. Have you seen GEO, looks spiffy, but I still didn't get the full effect as it is not complete.

I last flew into GEO's temporary terminal in 2017. It seems as if the airport expansion project won't be finished until the end of this year. I wonder who is paying for the cost overrun.

I'm guessing that AA's meeting with the GCAA went well. They now appear to be starting MIA-GEO service earlier than previously planned as per the OAG thread.

AA MIA-GEO NOV 0>0.3 DEC 0.2>0.6

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1395657#p20453553

Flights are scheduled to start on 15 November on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, departing 1800 and arriving 2340. The return flights are on the following day, departing 0115 and arriving 0455. AA will use the 319.

The competition is PY (MIA-GEO-PBM three times a week) and BW (MIA-POS-GEO daily). CM also flies from MIA to GEO four times a week but an aircraft change is required at PTY.

One way business fare MIA to GEO Nov. 15th BW $630.00. PY non-stop $649.00. AA non-stop $4933.00!!! Give me a break!

jmdc861 wrote:

One way business fare MIA to GEO Nov. 15th BW $630.00. PY non-stop $649.00. AA non-stop $4933.00!!! Give me a break!

Economy is just as atrocious AA $1,834 vs PY $190. The only viable competitors I see are BW & B6 without either two of these carriers hoping on the SoFLo- GEO n/s route you can expect AA fares to remain through the roof

INFINITI329 wrote:

jmdc861 wrote:

One way business fare MIA to GEO Nov. 15th BW $630.00. PY non-stop $649.00. AA non-stop $4933.00!!! Give me a break!

Economy is just as atrocious AA $1,834 vs PY $190. The only viable competitors I see are BW & B6 without either two of these carriers hoping on the SoFLo- GEO n/s route you can expect AA fares to remain through the roof

I think that AA is selling the seats in bulk to someone so these aren't available for O&D traffic.

Also their site says subject to gov't approval so the formal process is still not finished. Maybe in a month the real fare will show up. I cannot think that AA is so crazy.

INFINITI329 wrote:

jmdc861 wrote:

One way business fare MIA to GEO Nov. 15th BW $630.00. PY non-stop $649.00. AA non-stop $4933.00!!! Give me a break!

Economy is just as atrocious AA $1,834 vs PY $190. The only viable competitors I see are BW & B6 without either two of these carriers hoping on the SoFLo- GEO n/s route you can expect AA fares to remain through the roof

I suspect that those are dummy fares. I don’t think it allows you to book if you attempt to complete the process.

So according to this article http://www.aviationpros.com/news/12415703/copa-airlines-to-commence-suriname-operations-avianca-officials-visiting, Copa is to announce service to PBM, Surinam soon.

They also mention AV officials visiting Surinam to meet with the government and the airport authorities.

Spirit announced MCO-STT 3x weekly starting in November

Anything new for SXM?

AmeriJet has ended B727 Service and they are scraping them #RIP-B727

BW has posted openings for First Officers B738 and has openings for Cabin Crew based in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. Could some sort of expansion be on the cards?

BW600 wrote:

BW has posted openings for First Officers B738 and has openings for Cabin Crew based in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. Could some sort of expansion be on the cards?

Guyana? Interesting. Taking advantage of cheaper labour I see. They clearly are taking a page from FlyJ’s book. I’m curious to see how this goes. Are BW’s FA’s unionized?

For the winter season AA will be adding a third daily BGI-MIA and going daily on the CLT-BGI route. I am kind of surprised to see this expansion to BGI given the economic conditions on the island.

These flights are mostly tourism driven so the local economic conditions will have little impact. Hopefully these additions will promote a swift economic recovery next year.

It would take a lot more than these additions to cause an economic recovery in BGI.

But its a start....

I was also surprised by the addition of a daily Charlotte flight to Barbados. Not because of the economic conditions there but because of the fact that they already added the extra Miami flight. That’s a lot of additional capacity for Barbados especially since AA is also adding an SVD flight which will cannibalize some (not a large amount) BGI traffic. Also, the fact that DL couldn’t make ATL work with a larger hub and with it as their only connection to BGI made me think AA would keep Charlotte where it was. I’m happy for BGI though as I am for all the Caribbean destinations this winter season. There’s a significant capacity increase for the entire region with additional flights added to: ANU, BGI, CUR, FPO, GEO, MHH, POS, SDQ, SVD and UVF. (I might be missing some). I hope they all do well.

So SXM:

This past weekend we saw a lot more cuts for August - February... Why is that? Hotels are back up (somewhat) and the airport is making record recovery..

Why are they cutting more planned service other then trying to revive?

[twoid][/twoid]

Balloonchaser wrote:

So SXM:

This past weekend we saw a lot more cuts for August - February... Why is that? Hotels are back up (somewhat) and the airport is making record recovery..

Why are they cutting more planned service other then trying to revive?

Most hotel rooms aren’t up and running and the majority of the term charter fleet hasn’t been replaced. French side will be lucky to have 25% of their pre-storm hotel rooms. Haven’t seen numbers for the Dutch side, but i suspect it’s about the same.

BW600 wrote:

BW has posted openings for First Officers B738 and has openings for Cabin Crew based in Jamaica, Trinidad and Guyana. Could some sort of expansion be on the cards?

Route-wise, haven't heard anything yet. Aircraft-wise, at least not this year. They're also hiring F/Os for the ATR fleet.