~ In particular Air Berlin's ~
By Michael R. Granger
AIRPORT--Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) operating company PJIAE Director Regina Labega attended and participated in the first Routes America aviation meeting, which was held in the Bahamas recently. It afforded the St. Maarten delegation the opportunity to lay groundwork for possible new airlift and ways to strengthen or expand current relationships. The event attracted more than 400 airlines, airports and industry representatives.
The conference opened with a strategy forum that provided invaluable insight into aviation in the region and an opportunity to meet face-to-face and discuss issues that have a profound impact on sustainable air transport.
Issues discussed, specifically for St. Maarten, included the future pre-clearance strategies for visitors beyond St. Maarten, the service level agreement (SLA) with Curaçao for civil aviation matters, the fuel crisis, taxation and the economic impact of the aviation industry, among other subjects.
The St. Maarten delegation gave individual specific presentations to the airlines, depicting a profile of PJIA, including terminal facilities, the role of St. Maarten, St. Maarten's air travel market as a stopover point, and St. Maarten's air travel market as a regional hub.
One of the highlighted opportunities of the presentations was the interest of Air Berlin, which, according to the Curaçao Tourism Authority, is interested in a double stop with Curaçao, given the recent expansion of service to Curaçao. PJIAE followed up with the Curaçao authority, which was vital considering that Air Berlin was looking at Barbados and not St. Maarten. Curaçao's Tourism Authority and government emphasised its interest in the double stop in St. Maarten.
Air Berlin utilises large aircraft (approximately 300 seats) and any agreement more than likely would have to be based on seat revenue and marketing guarantees. Of the average visitors who travel with Air Berlin to the region, 50 per cent hail from Germany, another 40 per cent from The Netherlands and 10 per cent from Switzerland.
Additional airline news included:
Tiara Air Aruba has interest to commence service to St. Maarten in the third quarter via Aruba from Venezuela and Columbia.
Air Tran also is interested in servicing the island. Its Baltimore and Orlando services present good opportunities.
United/Continental is maintaining its Dulles and Newark frequencies, bolstered by its year-over-year increase in the Chicago-St. Maarten service, which now will run through August.
Gol is interested in resuming its suspended service, however, would require marketing support. Gol also stressed the opportunity that Venezuela represents and encouraged a bilateral agreement.
Spirit Airlines is interested in operating after 11:00pm. This opportunity will be explored further with industry partners, given the apparent information that passengers are in favour of travelling late for a cheaper price.
Copa Airlines will increase connectivity and hence open new secondary markets, i.e. Manaus, Brasilia, Paraguay, etc., and other areas in South America, with improved slots (time of arrival and departure).
Delta Airlines' advance booking numbers are good through March 2012, with April numbers currently below expectations. However, this probably will change, based on the booking period (persons visiting St. Maarten tend to book closer to travel date, hence 45 days).
Labega explained that RedJet's entry into St. Maarten as of May was "the buzz," while pointing out that it was too early to tell whether JetBlue's San Juan-St. Maarten flight was profitable. She said St. Maarten had been a great destination for JetBlue's customers and an Orlando and Fort Lauderdale service seemed to be the next logical step, but not in 2012.
The St. Maarten delegation also paid a courtesy visit to Peter Dolara of American Airlines, who appreciated the presentation and recommended it be presented to other international tourism and industry partners.
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