Travellers may not get relief from spiraling airfares for flights in and out of Guyana anytime soon as legal action in the US has effectively grounded Fly Jamaica’s planned launch of direct flights between Georgetown and New York, while the other prospective carrier Fly Guyana is yet to formally apply to begin operations.
Fly Jamaica airlines had anticipated making its inaugural Georgetown to New York flight on Aug 6th but it can now give no definitive fly date as litigation in US courts by Airlines For America (A4A) and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has put an indefinite hold on the go ahead from the Department of Transportation (DOT).
“Everything from the local end is completed but I have no information on when they will fly other than what is in the press that is Fly Jamaica is waiting on DOT for approval,” acting Director of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Paula McAdam,” told Stabroek News.
A4A and ALPA have filed papers claiming that both Caribbean Airlines (CAL) and Fly Jamaica are not entitled to serve a route between the US and Guyana because they are based in third countries, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, respectively.
In their court papers, they stated that the applications by CAL and Fly Jamaica raise “serious and troubling issues for consumers” and for the industry, which traditionally takes a bilateral approach to international routes. That means the traffic rights between Country A and Country B are generally reserved for the airlines of those countries rather than carriers from third countries.
A4A said CAL’s third-country operations is responsible for “forcing the cancellation” of Delta’s Guyana service.
When Delta Air Lines was contacted, its General Manager for Corporate Communications in Latin America and Caribbean, Sara Lora, said, “Currently we have no intentions to return to the Guyana market….” Lord would not say what caused the airline’s pullout from Guyana but said “Delta Air Lines continuously monitors market demand and evaluates opportunities to make adjustments adding, modifying or deleting services as needed.”
With Delta Air Lines effectively ruling out returning any time soon after its recent pullout, for the time being Trinidad-based CAL remains the sole carrier that services the route between Georgetown and New York. CAL was granted Flag Carrier status by government but there have been claims of exploitation by travellers, after CAL’s prices went up significantly in the peak season this year and the argument has been made that the Guyana to Trinidad leg is expensively priced compared to the Trinidad to New York leg.
The Trinidad Guardian yesterday reported that CAL confirmed that it had applied to the US DOT to fly directly between the US and Guyana and that its application was being reviewed by the US aviation regulators even as a lobby group representing US airlines has taken issue with the fuel subsidy that CAL benefits from and is attempting to use this to block its application.
“With this application, Caribbean hopes to be granted permission to operate direct flights between GEO and JFK which would enable us to provide increased frequency and flexibility for Guyanese travellers to affordably connect with key destinations throughout the airline network,” CAL was quoted as saying in response to questions from the Guardian.
Asked whether CAL was aware of the status of the application and the length of time that such applications take, the airline said the length of time for the review and determination would be up to the US DOT. It also said that the US DOT had informed of the submissions by the lobby group and gave the airline an opportunity to respond. The airline said it is preparing its response.
According to the Guardian, CAL said a delay or rejection by DOT of the airline’s application would have a negative impact of passengers travelling to and from Guyana.
“While Caribbean can continue to operate its flights POS/GEO/JFK/GEO/POS, the delay or refusal to grant us permission to operate the direct flights will mean that the flexibility to improve the total value offering on the route (and to reduce fares) will be lost or delayed,” it said. “The whole purpose of Caribbean’s application is to improve the travel cost and options for the Guyanese public interest. In the event of the application being rejected, the airline will continue, wherever possible and viable, to offer passengers connectivity with key North American ports,” it added.
In the interim, CAL said it continues to find innovative ways to serve the Guyanese traveling public with non-stop flights to North America in addition to the many daily flights via Port of Spain.
‘Our fingers crossed’
Meanwhile, efforts to contact Fly Jamaica’s director Roxanne Reece on how the US litigation was affecting her company proved futile. An employee from the company’s local office, located at Ogle, told Stabroek News that Reece was currently out of Jamaica on business and access to her via mobile and email might not be possible until early next week.
However a source close to the airline, who requested anonymity, said that the delay in the start of flights was due to current litigation by US airlines in the US. The source said that the operators are now hoping for an early September launch. “Everyone wants to know when we will begin flying. People are coming with their money but what I tell them is what I tell you—I don’t know. I just don’t know when service will begin. If all goes well in the States, it could be next week, the week after, we are just keeping our fingers crossed and by early September we hope to begin,” the source said.
“Of course the delay is because of the court matter but that has a legal timeframe and we hope when that time has elapsed we will be given the go ahead because I don’t think we should be blamed… we don’t get fuel subsidy,” the source added.
The court documents also cite “doing business issues,” such as fuel subsidies from Trinidad and Tobago and “excessive taxes” as making it difficult for the US carriers to compete. Fly Jamaica was started by two aviation entrepreneurs, Guyanese Captain Ronald Reece of Wings Aviation and Jamaican Captain Lloyd Tai. The airline, which is based in Jamaica, commenced its service to New York from Kingston, Jamaica in February this year.
Meanwhile, the acting GCAA head said that up to yesterday there had been no application received from locally touted Fly Guyana Airlines. “We have not received any paperwork from Fly Guyana” McAdam said.
Owner of Fly Guyana Harry Chowbey had told Stabroek News early last month that he had made applications both locally and in the United States. He said that the airline will commence the Georgetown to New York route from October this year but declined to reveal the amount of the investment in the venture or who the investors were, saying that this information was confidential.
“The focus will be on [Georgetown] to JFK to start and then [we will] look at expansion,” Chowbey had said. Further he informed that the service will initially operate a Boeing 757-200 with a two-class configuration. He said that later on a second aircraft will be added as the service expands.
Chowbey pointed out that he formerly worked at Delta Airlines and before that he worked at Continental Airlines and Leading Edge Aviation Services. It is unclear why Fly Guyana is sure of an October start when its application has not yet been approved.
