Please continue your discussion and to post your updates here.

Link to previous thread:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1349583

JetBlue seems quite intent to have the Caribbean market, even little islands like Grenada. They just announced a Saturday Mint service to the island. That makes 5 flights a week, on par with what JM had in its hayday to Grenada. I think they also have Mint Service to Barbados and other bigger islands.

I and quite a few people are hoping for a FLL flight. That would make life much easier to get to MEX (my frequent destination), which is going to now be difficult with AA upcoming flight time change.

http://nowgrenada.com/2017/01/jetblue-begins-mint-service-grenada/

Yes Mint operates into BGI from both JFK and BOS I have heard a lot of positive reviews of B6 from friends and family but I have yet to try them out.

captaink wrote:

JetBlue seems quite intent to have the Caribbean market, even little islands like Grenada. They just announced a Saturday Mint service to the island. That makes 5 flights a week, on par with what JM had in its hayday to Grenada. I think they also have Mint Service to Barbados and other bigger islands.

I and quite a few people are hoping for a FLL flight. That would make life much easier to get to MEX (my frequent destination), which is going to now be difficult with AA upcoming flight time change.

http://nowgrenada.com/2017/01/jetblue-begins-mint-service-grenada/

Fly Jamaica looking to acquire 4 more a/c as per link.

http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/ ... o-cuba-jfk

GUYAIR707

Sorry wrong link.

https://www.stabroeknews.com/2017/news/ ... ng-public/

(Jamaica Gleaner) Fly Jamaica Airways will consider listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) in order to finance the cost of acquiring four additional aircraft, according to Chief Executive Officer Captain Paul Ronald Reece.

The airline requires these aircraft in order to maintain its viability and expand. Fly Jamaica currently operates two aircraft. The company, founded in 2011, started operations on February 14, 2013.

“For Fly Jamaica to expand and increase our market share, we need to acquire four more aircraft immediately so that we can offer services to short market to Florida, and to continue being reliable on the long haul,” he said on Wednesday at the JSE Capital Markets Conference.

Reece added, when asked about the timeline for acquiring these aircraft: “We are looking for financing at this time and looking at the possibility of joining the stock exchange to raise capital”.

Airlines across the Caribbean have a tradition of emerging or receiving government support. Therefore it was unheard of, in the mind of bankers, that a man from the region can start and maintain an airline, Reece said in recollecting conversations with bankers about backing his operation.

Despite the need for investment, and the dominance of Caribbean travel by US carriers, he said he remains optimistic about air transportation.

The future of Fly Jamaica includes expansion beyond the region, he said, noting that his carrier was weighing entry into South America and even Africa. Fly Jamaica now flies Kingston, Georgetown, New York and Toronto, and offers charter flights for cargo.

And accompanying text.

GUYAIR707

GUYAIR707 wrote:

Fly Jamaica looking to acquire 4 more a/c as per link.

http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/ ... o-cuba-jfk

GUYAIR707

they could "acquire" a livery first... lol

leleko747 wrote:

GUYAIR707 wrote:

Fly Jamaica looking to acquire 4 more a/c as per link.

http://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/ ... o-cuba-jfk

GUYAIR707

they could "acquire" a livery first... lol

LOL, yeah they should. Apparently they already have a livery for "Air Guyana" and it was supposed to be on an a/c before Christmas '16, but due to the accident at GEO it was pushed back. Hopefully soon though.

Regards,

GUYAIR707

Going public will allow people to set a sense as to the real financial position of this airline.

I would assume the financials have to be decent for them to be attempting an IPO.

guyanam wrote:

Going public will allow people to set a sense as to the real financial position of this airline.

baje427 wrote:

I would assume the financials have to be decent for them to be attempting an IPO.

guyanam wrote:

Going public will allow people to set a sense as to the real financial position of this airline.

This will be interesting given how conservative Caribbean capital markets are. Not much evidence of non legacy companies trading on Caribbean stock exchanges. There is no way that a small Caribbean company can trade on non Caribbean exchanges.

Maybe some sort of private placement might be more realistic. A preferred equity issue.

More drama with the airport in St.Vincent.

http://www.iwnsvg.com/2017/02/01/large- ... one-video/

Well we will see if BW and Sunwing will actually fly into AIA, or whether it will be just Dynamic.

Insel is in full meltdown. They make LI look like a brilliantly run very customer friendly outfit. I don't know what their long term survival will be, given that much of their traffic is hub related and CM, with PTY, and now PAWA with SDQ, will take away much of this business.

Still no news on LI's USVI plans. What is interesting is that even the airport authorities on STT/STX appeared to be shocked, when informed that LI had stopped accepting booking after the end of Feb. They also stated that LI does a "decent" amount of business out of STT. I wonder if this is a plot to attempt to reduce landing fees, which LI had previously complained where high.

Hello everybody,

One of my photos has just won the Photographer's Choice Award on this website. See it on the frontpage, it's a KLM head on shot at take off!!! I'm soo happy


Cheers,

A388

guyanam wrote:

Still no news on LI's USVI plans. What is interesting is that even the airport authorities on STT/STX appeared to be shocked, when informed that LI had stopped accepting booking after the end of Feb. They also stated that LI does a "decent" amount of business out of STT. I wonder if this is a plot to attempt to reduce landing fees, which LI had previously complained where high.

I spoke with the corporate office at LI and they informed me that the routes will indeed be cut. This is unfortunate, as we have lost a direct passenger and cargo link with several other Caribbean islands.

What is the situation down in curaçao? With insel nearly bankrupt, will they be adding retiring or removing planes in terms of fleet plans? Because barely 4 out of their 18-strong fleet are vying with the rest unserviceable

Congrats on you picture especially as the 747 is being phased out with KLM.

A388 wrote:

Hello everybody,

One of my photos has just won the Photographer's Choice Award on this website. See it on the frontpage, it's a KLM head on shot at take off!!! I'm soo happy


Cheers,

A388

baje427 wrote:

Yes Mint operates into BGI from both JFK and BOS I have heard a lot of positive reviews of B6 from friends and family but I have yet to try them out.

captaink wrote:

JetBlue seems quite intent to have the Caribbean market, even little islands like Grenada. They just announced a Saturday Mint service to the island. That makes 5 flights a week, on par with what JM had in its hayday to Grenada. I think they also have Mint Service to Barbados and other bigger islands.

I and quite a few people are hoping for a FLL flight. That would make life much easier to get to MEX (my frequent destination), which is going to now be difficult with AA upcoming flight time change.

http://nowgrenada.com/2017/01/jetblue-begins-mint-service-grenada/

Price differential too darn great between Coach and Mint. I'll do it when I think it is value for my money on one of my next trips to Barbados.

dominicl316 wrote:

[
I spoke with the corporate office at LI and they informed me that the routes will indeed be cut. This is unfortunate, as we have lost a direct passenger and cargo link with several other Caribbean islands.

A blow to USVI E/Caribbean people who still retain ties to the OECS islands. Especially for SLU which isn't served by Seaborne. Not every one wants to fly a long distance on the tiny planes offered by Hummingbird. I guess many in STT will take the ferry to EIS and then LI from there. STX no such luck.

I sometimes wonder about LI. Obviously the STT/STX sectors would be lightest given that they are the end of the line so no intransit passengers. I wonder with no USVI passengers how will that impact their overall northern routes as a certain number of passengers were intransit at SXM through to these islands.

Also given that WM and InterCarib have entered the EIS market I wonder how that is working now for LI. Both of those airlines have inter line arrangements with the big carriers that LI lacks, so I suspect will gobble up passengers destined to points beyond the Caribbean through SXM/ANU.

kennedyspotter wrote:

What is the situation down in curaçao? With insel nearly bankrupt, will they be adding retiring or removing planes in terms of fleet plans? Because barely 4 out of their 18-strong fleet are vying with the rest unserviceable

They are going to implement some sort of turn around plan. We will see how this works, given that the person who is heading this was fired from BWIA when he almost ran it into the ground.

kennedyspotter wrote:

What is the situation down in curaçao? With insel nearly bankrupt, will they be adding retiring or removing planes in terms of fleet plans? Because barely 4 out of their 18-strong fleet are vying with the rest unserviceable

There is a statement out today about them cutting SJU and BQN i think.....

First Air Caraibes A350 first flight:

Air Caraibes Airbus A350-941 cn 082 F-WZNL // F-HHAV by Clément Alloing, on Flickr

Yes, Insel Air is in a bad position now and is leasing aircraft to do the flying for them. From a spotter's point of view this is great of course but for the airline it's very bad. SJU and BQN indeed will be cut what I've heard.

Guyanam, I don't know the person who was hired to implement a turn around plan. Can you tell me more about them. I thought I read in the local newspapers here that he was CEO at LIAT in the past. His name is Mr. Filiatreault. He also worked for Air Madagascar to get that airline back on track. Here's a link to a press release from Insel Air:


https://www.fly-inselair.com/en/news/in ... e-network/


817Dreamliiner, that's one nice looking A350!!! Thanks for sharing it with us.


A388

A388 wrote:

.

Guyanam, I don't know the person who was hired to implement a turn around plan.

A388

He was LI's CEO for a while in the mid 90s. Didn't achieve much, but was then recruited to be BWIA's CEO after it was privatized. BW then ran into a situation where its fleet was grounded because of spare parts shortages, and lessors were threatening to seize their aircraft. He was fired and a Trinidadian replaced him.

Don't know if this guy improved his performance since his BWIA days. These characters seem to reappear. Wegel of Eastern Airlines was part of the initial team of the privatized BWIA. He was a disaster. I don't even think that they needed to fire him. He just left knowing that the axe was going to fall on his head.

Okay thanks guyanam. I don't know what will happen to Insel Air. I do hope they will come out good from the situation they are in now.


A388

Local VI news has finally confirmed from LIAT that they're cutting STX and STT as well as Dominica-Guadalupe.

A388 wrote:

Guyanam, I don't know the person who was hired to implement a turn around plan. Can you tell me more about them. I thought I read in the local newspapers here that he was CEO at LIAT in the past. His name is Mr. Filiatreault. He also worked for Air Madagascar to get that airline back on track.


A388

This guy has been around the block a few times. He was also integral in the startup of Caribbean Star.

Tough times ahead for passengers traveling between STT/STX and ANU. Seaborne doesn't fly there so they will have to fly to SJU and continue on to ANU on LI.

Even SKB it will be tough as Seaborne is charging almost $700 in June. Also the return to STT will only be possible on Sa and Su. Not every one likes traveling on those tiny Hummingbird planes as they don't travel about the weather so it can be a rough flight.

I suspect many of the elderly will never see their homelands again as the lack of direct service makes it a tough trip. This being especially true for those traveling to ANU.

I find it hard to believe that LI does more business out of PTP than it does out of STT. They will have to fill a plane to PTP as this will no longer be shared with DOM.

Maybe WM will start service to STT. STX is out of luck as the loads are smaller.

The curse of our long departed JM has finally hit the invincible B6 on the FLL-BGI route. After operating the service on a daily basis for the last year effective June 1-October 26 the service will operate only 3 times weekly, TU/TH/SU in both directions.

Knowing that JM was never able to make the same service last very long, I always wondered what B6 thought would work better for them. There is certainly no Bajan diaspora of any significance in Broward and Dade counties. Further the departure time was always quite early 8am and remains as such even during the reduced schedule. Certainly no "feed" for this flight from any of the northern Jet Blue cities. They often offered fares as low as $158.00 round trip but in the end giving the flights away but in the that did not work.

When B6 publishes its schedule for after October 26 should be interesting to see if they resume a daily service. Bottom line, I was skeptical if this would ever work and in the end it did not.

I think they were a bit too ambitious initially with the route however, I think it will work in the long run lets not forget Bajans also travel to shop and Saw Grass Mall is in FLL. Perhaps they could use the E190 instead I think it has the legs for the route B6 have also used the A321 on this route so perhaps it is just a seasonal reduction.

jmdc861 wrote:

The curse of our long departed JM has finally hit the invincible B6 on the FLL-BGI route. After operating the service on a daily basis for the last year effective June 1-October 26 the service will operate only 3 times weekly, TU/TH/SU in both directions.

Knowing that JM was never able to make the same service last very long, I always wondered what B6 thought would work better for them. There is certainly no Bajan diaspora of any significance in Broward and Dade counties. Further the departure time was always quite early 8am and remains as such even during the reduced schedule. Certainly no "feed" for this flight from any of the northern Jet Blue cities. They often offered fares as low as $158.00 round trip but in the end giving the flights away but in the that did not work.

When B6 publishes its schedule for after October 26 should be interesting to see if they resume a daily service. Bottom line, I was skeptical if this would ever work and in the end it did not.

Looks like the new Airport in St Vincent had its first international flight today:



Said to be Dynamic Airways from New York

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQfYNf6gG5t ... Dq74AqkA0/

Video of the landing:

https://www.facebook.com/lydia.pope.79/ ... 0490697376

That was a bit of dust there, I hope this goes well for St. Vincent but an outfit such as Dynamic is not a great start.

jmdc861 wrote:

The curse of our long departed JM has finally hit the invincible B6 on the FLL-BGI route. After operating the service on a daily basis for the last year effective June 1-October 26 the service will operate only 3 times weekly, TU/TH/SU in both directions.

.

I too was skeptical as this isn't POS, or even GEO with large VFR markets. If they are down to 3X for the summer the winter isn't going to be any better, given that there is no feed from northern cities. Did this route get any incentives? If so maybe these are winding down.

BGI doesn't seem to have much luck on routes beyond JFK MIA. UVF gets 8x from ATL on DL and in the winter even gets PHL and ORD, which BGI doesn't get.

baje427 wrote:

That was a bit of dust there, I hope this goes well for St. Vincent but an outfit such as Dynamic is not a great start.

Landing a big 767 gets expensive. I doubt that this will be sustained. This plane continues on to GEO and Guyanese like nonstop flights. Not sure how a plane with 200 passengers dropping off 30 in SVD will look to the remaining passengers.

Only way this route works outside of Xmas, Easter and Summer is with a carrier that can attract tourists bound for the Grenadines. Even BW doesn't seem interested in a scheduled service from JFK, despite today's charter.

Maybe AA and B6 will be there by winter. A problem that this airport will have is that many of the tourists might continue to connect to the Grenadines via BGI, which offers vastly better feed.

Anyway at least for today Ralph is as happy as a pig in mud. Let us see how long it lasts, as many remain skeptical that the airport will attract significant traffic from majors.

LI must be in deep panic now, hoping that the majors don't start. SVD is really a lot of what they have now as others are making increasing inroads into other markets, even DOM. 2nd largest market behind BGI, larger even than POS. I think that both GND and SLU want to work more with BW. Air Antilles, Winair, and even Inter Carib are increasing their route offerings.

B6 didn't have any support from BGI for the FLL flights. The loads were very good but the yield wasn't. They will likely retime these flights in the future.

BGI does indeed struggle with American routes not sure why but it is what it is. Has ET Joshua officially closed? If one of the majors were planning to start St.Vincent would it not be loaded into their schedules at this point? I think AA could start off a MIA-SVD route with the E175 or A319 I think that would work. With the BGI economy on the brink and AIA opening Liat days may be numbered.

guyanam wrote:

baje427 wrote:

That was a bit of dust there, I hope this goes well for St. Vincent but an outfit such as Dynamic is not a great start.

Landing a big 767 gets expensive. I doubt that this will be sustained. This plane continues on to GEO and Guyanese like nonstop flights. Not sure how a plane with 200 passengers dropping off 30 in SVD will look to the remaining passengers.

Only way this route works outside of Xmas, Easter and Summer is with a carrier that can attract tourists bound for the Grenadines. Even BW doesn't seem interested in a scheduled service from JFK, despite today's charter.

Maybe AA and B6 will be there by winter. A problem that this airport will have is that many of the tourists might continue to connect to the Grenadines via BGI, which offers vastly better feed.

Anyway at least for today Ralph is as happy as a pig in mud. Let us see how long it lasts, as many remain skeptical that the airport will attract significant traffic from majors.

LI must be in deep panic now, hoping that the majors don't start. SVD is really a lot of what they have now as others are making increasing inroads into other markets, even DOM. 2nd largest market behind BGI, larger even than POS. I think that both GND and SLU want to work more with BW. Air Antilles, Winair, and even Inter Carib are increasing their route offerings.

baje427 wrote:

BGI does indeed struggle with American routes not sure why but it is what it is. Has ET Joshua officially closed? If one of the majors were planning to start St.Vincent would it not be loaded into their schedules at this point? I think AA could start off a MIA-SVD route with the E175 or A319 I think that would work. With the BGI economy on the brink and AIA opening Liat days may be numbered.


[]

Think ET is closed. Don't think that SVG can afford to maintain 2 active airports a few miles apart. They already have to service the EC$ 700 million debt used to build the airport.

The big question for this airport will be the % of passengers who fly to SVD vs. the numbers flying to the Grenadines, where most of the leisure visitors are bound. The second question will be how many of those Grenadines bound passengers will connect via SVD instead of via BGI, which will always have vastly more connectivity. I guess better in transit times at SVD might be a draw. AA might be good for 3x weekly with an A319. B6 probably a Sat flight. BA has already indicated interest. I don't anticipate any service until this winter as they have already loaded in their summer schedules.

I will suggest that LI is in deep, deep trouble. Their POS ops must be down, given the slowdown in the T&T economy, and high regional fares (due to taxes) encouraging more travel to FL and less to the Caribbean. Then BW has taken away LI business from POS to GND and SLU, in addition to BGI, which they always dominated. Then as you mention BGI is also in a slump.

LI has ignored its northern routes. Part of their problems with the USVI is that they have made life hard for people traveling from those islands, and so many now elect not to travel, given that families ties have weakened. SXM is down because of the very high travel taxes on that island, and increased popularity of online shopping. Few people shop in SJU any more due to US visa issues, so the quick trips that that island used to get are pretty much gone. And again high fares vs. MIA/FLL.

And where there is a vacuum there will be a supplier. Bad service by LI has encouraged Air Antilles and BW to expand into traditional LI markets.

It will be interesting to see what will happen to airlift between STT and the OECS. Seaborne is charging US$650 for STT SKB, which is clearly ridiculous.

After years of observing the Caribbean Aviation Thread and Airliners.net in general. I've decided to make use of the account I created a few months ago.

Insel Air is in talks with Avianca for a possible strategic alliance or takeover.

http://curacaochronicle.com/politics/an ... ke-months/

During his visit to Avianca in Bogota, the Minister spoke with the representatives of the Colombian airline on the possibilities of a strategic alliance with InselAir. The parties agreed that they will continue their conversations soon.

Minister Rhuggenaath says that he is very positive that both airlines will reach an agreement. “The visit actually exceeded my expectations. We were welcomed with open arms,” says the Minister.

Welcome. I suspect that the only way that Insel will survive is with an alliance of this type. Insel is out $100 million that they will have to wrote off, and with the recent spate of bad news they will have to work hard to regain market share. CUR has become less tenable as a hub compared with PTY, given COPS's strong reputation.

Air Antilles has launched its FDF-BGI route and Virgin will launch LHR-BGI routes this winter. I don't anticipate the Air Antilles route will be around too long but lets see how it goes.

baje427 wrote:

Air Antilles has launched its FDF-BGI route and Virgin will launch LHR-BGI routes this winter. I don't anticipate the Air Antilles route will be around too long but lets see how it goes.

It might be around a lot longer than you think for reasons which may become public soon enough.

I just wish Air Antilles or Air Caraibes would consider Curacao but I don't see that happening as there's no historical or cultural tie between the French Antilles and Curacao. I think tourist demand is also practically nothing

A388

LimaFoxTango wrote:

baje427 wrote:

Air Antilles has launched its FDF-BGI route and Virgin will launch LHR-BGI routes this winter. I don't anticipate the Air Antilles route will be around too long but lets see how it goes.

It might be around a lot longer than you think for reasons which may become public soon enough.

I assume that you imply that LI might drop the French Antilles. I think that Air Antilles plans PTP ANU EIS service as an AF code share.

LI claims that further route cuts are possible once the USVI goes. I cannot think of any others aside from PTP and maybe FDF. SJU is another struggling route, but I suspect that LI isn't going to drop it, especially since STT/STX has gone. The only way to get from ANU to the USVI will be via SJU and only LI serves ANU SJU. That is unless some other airline enters, maybe Winair.

A388 wrote:

I just wish Air Antilles or Air Caraibes would consider Curacao but I don't see that happening as there's no historical or cultural tie between the French Antilles and Curacao. I think tourist demand is also practically nothing

A388

Maybe seasonal like the FDF/PTP PUJ service.

A388 wrote:

I just wish Air Antilles or Air Caraibes would consider Curacao but I don't see that happening as there's no historical or cultural tie between the French Antilles and Curacao. I think tourist demand is also practically nothing

A388

Air Antilles in partnership with Winair did fly SXM-SDQ-CUR but for some that didn't work out. Maybe they could try again now that Insel is in a weaker position. They could also fly SXM-CUR directly with the ATR's like DAE had done before getting their Fokker jets.It all depends on aircraft availability and their willingness to invest in the routes.

BonaireFly I know about those Winair flights but those weren't their own flights. I hope they will start flights to Curacao some day, charter flights like guyanam suggest might be more realistic. I hope they do this

A388

jmdc861 wrote:

The curse of our long departed JM has finally hit the invincible B6 on the FLL-BGI route. After operating the service on a daily basis for the last year effective June 1-October 26 the service will operate only 3 times weekly, TU/TH/SU in both directions.

Knowing that JM was never able to make the same service last very long, I always wondered what B6 thought would work better for them. There is certainly no Bajan diaspora of any significance in Broward and Dade counties. Further the departure time was always quite early 8am and remains as such even during the reduced schedule. Certainly no "feed" for this flight from any of the northern Jet Blue cities. They often offered fares as low as $158.00 round trip but in the end giving the flights away but in the that did not work.

When B6 publishes its schedule for after October 26 should be interesting to see if they resume a daily service. Bottom line, I was skeptical if this would ever work and in the end it did not.

I actually wrote JB about the times. I guess they didn't listen to me. I would have taken them out of DCA to FLL then on to BGI. But alas...

AEROFAN wrote:

I actually wrote JB about the times. I guess they didn't listen to me. I would have taken them out of DCA to FLL then on to BGI. But alas...

Some one I suspect didn't do their homework properly or they would have known that BGI lacks the VFR out of FLL that even GEO has, and it doesn't have the O&D leisure out of SoFL that MBJ has. When they announced the FLL BGI I assumed that it would have been a late morning departure out of FLL, to allow connections. Hopefully they will do so now.

In fact the DC area should allow good feed as it is affluent leisure market, and does in fact have a decent Caribbean population, so in fact should be supported via FLL.

A388 wrote:

BonaireFly I know about those Winair flights but those weren't their own flights. I hope they will start flights to Curacao some day, charter flights like guyanam suggest might be more realistic. I hope they do this

A388

Winair tried to compete against jets so the SDQ CUR route failed. Now PAWA is on the route. I think summer flights doing PTP FDF CUR might work if properly promoted. I don't see this as a year round route for reasons that you mentioned. CUR should be able to attract visitors who want an alternate to SXM, which does pull in a huge French Antillean visitor base in the summer. Maybe folks from CUR would give FDF a try in the summer as well.

The B6 FLL-BGI route is not dead..... This is a temporary reduction in frequency which i suspect will return to daily for the Winter 2017/18 season.
I do however agree that they need more feed at FLL to improve the economics of the route.

windian425 wrote:

The B6 FLL-BGI route is not dead..... This is a temporary reduction in frequency which i suspect will return to daily for the Winter 2017/18 season.
I do however agree that they need more feed at FLL to improve the economics of the route.

Given that there is lack of feed at FLL I would think that this route would perform better in the summer than in the winter. Leisure travel from FL to the Caribbean isn't winter based, and what ever northbound traffic and VFR on this route will also have a summer bias. Remember that FL attracts loads of "snowbirds" from the rest of North America during the winter.


In fact B6 is also reducing its FLL POS with flights on Mo We Fr Sa while flights to BGI will be on Tu Th Su. It looks like they are releasing a plane for service on other routes. This is likely a yield thing given that fares to both POS and BGI are quite low. Summer provides opportunities no doubt for the plane which is being released to serve higher yielding routes.

I suspect BW and AA will be quite happy as the arrival of B6 depressed yields on the FL POS routes.