| – mulls increasing cash bond for new airlinesDelta Airlines’ surprise announcement that it was pulling out of the Guyana route has Government puzzled.Not only was the US airline doing well, indications are that it was commanding near full passenger loads, this year racking up its highest percentage…89 per cent, according to a government spokesman.Transport Minister, Robeson BennIts average loads when it started in June 2008 was 77 per cent full on average.Yesterday, Minister of Transport, Robeson Benn, in expressing government’s “dismay” at Delta’s announcement that it was discontinuing the Georgetown to New York flights from May, denied that the airline was unhappy over reports that it was pressured after the luggage of former President Bharrat Jagdeo was searched.One newscast on Friday suggested that Delta was not pleased after Government intervened after the incident.Benn said he was not aware of that incident and that neither Delta nor Jagdeo has made any official complaint.Airline sources are now saying that Delta could have been upset because it lost all Government business to Caribbean Airlines (CAL), including the transfers of mail and diplomatic pouches.CAL and Delta were the two only remaining airlines on the lucrative Georgetown/New York route after Redjet and the EZjet folded last year. Guyana would remain the biggest market for the Trinidad, government-owned CAL.In December, Government announced it had decided to grant CAL the status of being the country’s flag carrier. This has not yet happened, the official admitted yesterday.“Route profitability has been cited as the reason for this action. This announcement by Delta, coming almost on the heels of the cessation of flights by low cost carriers REDjet and EZjet, is a very disappointing one,” Benn said in a statement during a press conference at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).The situation of having one main carrier to New York has sent Government now scrambling to find additional flights, fearing possible hikes in the fares.The Minister provided figures of how well Delta was doing moving from 36,695 passengers between June-December 2008 to 78,Maglia Roma 2018/19,221 last year.Puzzling“The 84 per cent average payload and the increased passenger growth are contrary to the statement of ‘significant decline in passenger loads’ issued by Delta’s Corporate Communications Manager.“We have noted claims by Delta elsewhere of higher fuel cost and of a Guyana passenger profile which is biased towards the low end of the market in respect of fares,” Benn said.The official believed that Delta Airlines’ announced acquisition, in December, of Singapore Airlines’ 49 per cent share in Virgin Atlantic for US$360M,Nike Air Max 90 Baratas Espa?a, could be the reason for pulling out as the airline concentrates its resources in that more lucrative Trans Atlantic route.But all is not lost, the Minister said optimistically.“The Guyana aviation sector and its passengers have benefitted from the Delta experience. The ongoing and intended improvements at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport,Jerseys NFL Cheap, especially the slated runway extension and new terminal building,Arsenal Fc Jersey 2019, allow us to hold the door open for Delta’s rethink of its options for its engagement in Guyana.”Government, through Trade Minister, Irfaan Ali,Maglietta Juventus Bambino, has had initial talks with Delta but Government is “actively pursuing other suitable replacement services to meet the needs of the travelling public,” it was disclosed yesterday.Meanwhile, regarding the issue of CAL receiving a fuel subsidy from the Trinidad Government, a development that could be seen as unfair,Authentic Air Max 720, the Minister said that Guyana is aware but that the matter is one for the Trinidad government.Government would be surprised if it is being argued that Delta was losing money on the New York route, Benn disclosed.He declined to name the other players in the airline industry who are now being courted to fill the gap, except to say that some of them are already here in Guyana while the others are in the region.Bond increase?Regarding Fly Jamaica, a new airline based in Jamaica and which is eyeing the Guyana route, the Minister revealed that the company is still to fully submit all its documentations and other mandatory requirements to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. Fly Jamaica is partially owned by Guyanese pilot, Ronald Reece.These requirements would include corporate and financial information and the establishment of a cash bond at a local bank.Questioned yesterday whether government would be considering raising the amount of the cash bond that airlines operating in Guyana would be required to lodge, Minister Benn said that it is an option. Another alternative, also, is the placing of passengers’ monies for tickets into an escrow account until the flight would have landed.This particular issue has been a troubling one for passengers over the years after a number of charters and airlines folded, leaving the hapless fliers in the lurch.The EZjet case was a classic example. A US$200,000 cash bond at Scotiabank was not enough to pay all the passengers who were left stranded after authorities in Guyana, US, Trinidad and Canada, suspended the airline in December. Government would badly want more airlines to pacify a weary Guyana flying public who knows all too well the story of being stranded without the possibilities of a refund. |
