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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (2 September 2010) – The Caribbean will intensify its lobby for a fairer passenger tax system in the UK, when a high level delegation from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) visits the British capital next week for a series of meetings with travel industry and parliamentary bodies.
Between 6 and 8 September 2010, six Caribbean ministers of tourism, along with the CTO’s chief executive, will be in London for talks on the Air Passenger Duty (APD) with a range of organisations including the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), the Caribbean Council, Caribbean Diaspora representatives, the British Air Transport Association and the British Caribbean All Party Parliamentary Group.
The Caribbean delegation will be lobbying for a fairer alternative to the current APD system, which currently taxes flights from Britain to the Caribbean more heavily than travel to Hawaii , and is set to rise for the second time in a year within the next two months.
In November 2008 APD was re-worked into a four-tier band system, categorising destinations according to the distance between London and their national capital. From 1 November, APD on flights to the Caribbean will have risen by up to 94 per cent over two years, meaning that a four-person family travelling to the Caribbean in premium economy will pay £600 in APD alone.
The ministers will be lobbying for their region, officially the most tourism-dependent in the world (14.5 per cent of the region ‘ s GDP and, for some islands, over 70 per cent) to potentially be moved into the same band as the USA and Bermuda , or for the APD system to be replaced with a fairer structure.
Hugh Riley, secretary general and CEO of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, said, “We feel that the size of the delegation which is coming to the UK on 6 September underscores the importance that the Caribbean attaches to this issue and the seriousness of our intent to minimise the possible damage that this second set of price increases will bring about.
“The rises come at time when a second British recession is being forecast and the Caribbean governments and people feel that it is paramount that we discuss the issue with every responsible body in order to find a mutually acceptable solution as soon as possible”.
Next month the Caribbean Tourism Organisation is hosting a leadership strategy conference in Barbados where Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, will address the delegation about the importance of intercontinental travel and where he is expected to touch on the gravity of the APD issue and its ramifications for Caribbean tourism.
List of ministers visiting London in September 2010, and accompanied by CTO secretary general Hugh Riley
John Maginley MP, Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture , Antigua and Barbuda and Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation
Richard Sealy MP, Minister of Tourism , Barbados
Glynis Roberts MP, Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Grenada
Edmund Bartlett MP, Minister of Tourism , Jamaica
Senator Richard Skerritt , Minister of Tourism and International Transport , St Kitts and Nevis
Senator Allen Chastanet, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation, Saint Lucia
Barbados is among the Caribbean destinations that will see an increase in flights by Virgin Atlantic next yearPopular airline Virgin Atlantic have revealed that they are to increase the number of flights travelling to the Caribbean as British holidaymakers look to seek out the sun during the winter months. While not available for the upcoming season, the additions to the 2011/12 itinerary will start as early as October next year.
Revealing the details, which will make Virgin Atlantic the largest operator of flights from Britain to the Caribbean, the airline said that hotspot destinations including Grenada, Barbados and Tobago would benefit from the move. Starting from November 4th 2011, the operator will offer a service from Manchester to Barbados twice a week. Meanwhile London Gatwick will host new weekly services to Grenada and Tobago which will begin from October 31st. In addition, a new flight to Havana will be available from November 5th 2011, allowing tourists the option of a Saturday flight.
The move by Virgin Atlantic will see it become the UK’s largest service provider of flights to the region, offering 24 trips using Boeing 747-400 planes every week. Speaking of the extensive plans, the firms commercial and revenue planning director, Edmond Rose, said “I’m delighted to announce these additional services to Barbados, Havana, Tobago and Grenada. Our Caribbean services are among our most popular and these extra flights will permit more flexible holiday itineraries, with more frequent departures available from both Manchester and London Gatwick airports.” And with over 2.25m people having travelled to Barbados with the carrier since the service began in 1998, the popularity of flights to the Caribbean area looks to remain high.
AIRPORT (September 1, 2010) Aside from a few cancellations due to the weather conditions related to tropical storm Fiona, operations at PJIA are progressing as normal.
The airport resumed operations on Tuesday, August 31st 2010 shortly after the lifting of the curfew that was in effect during the passing of Hurricane Earl. Airlines and handling companies have since been working hard to restore normalcy. Airlines such as Air France and Caribbean Airlines added additional flights to accommodate stay-over passengers who had been stranded in St. Maarten.
All in all, the resumption of operations went smooth. Because of the expected weather conditions associated with tropical storm Fiona, a number of airlines did cancel some flights. PJIA is monitoring the situation. Meanwhile, we urge passengers to contact their airlines directly for information regarding their flight.
Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company NV
Simpson Bay, St. Maarten
drs. E.B. Holiday
President
Winair employees called to report to work
AIRPORT—Regional airline Winair resumed its services to Saba at midday on Wednesday. Managing Director Edwin Hodge said the airline managed to transport all passengers who were scheduled to fly on Wednesday as well as those on stand-by due the cancellation of flights during the passing of Hurricane Earl.
Hodge expects the airline to operate as normal on Thursday, with a few delays on Thursday morning. By the afternoon hours, he said, all flight operations to Winair destinations should be back to normal.
Hodge also asked all Winair employees to report to work on Thursday at the regular working hours.
In related news, InselAir cancelled its flights to St. Maarten from Curacao and from St. Maarten to Haiti on Wednesday. Airline management cited unfavourable winds at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) associated with tropical storm Fiona.
Passengers were asked to return on Thursday morning to Hato International Airport on Curacao to take their flight to St. Maarten. Passengers scheduled to fly from Curacao to Haiti were flown directly to Haiti late Wednesday, forgoing the stopover in St. Maarten.
PANAMA / PHILIPSBURG–Panamanian carrier Copa Airlines has confirmed that it will start service to St. Maarten in December, Commissioner of Tourism Frans Richardson announced Tuesday.
The Commissioner said he was “elated” that Copa had agreed to service the destination, a testament to St. Maarten’s potential for the airline and standing in the Northeastern Caribbean. “More business for the island means more work for our people and significant contribution to our economy. The effort of this administration, our tourist office and others is paying dividends in attracting new carriers to St. Maarten,” he said.
Copa is the third airline the Commissioner has secured for St. Maarten since taking office in July 2009. WestJet out of Canada and GOL out of Brazil are the other two.
Richardson and St. Maarten Tourist Bureau head Regina Labega met with Copa’s International Sales Director Adolfo Sen last week Wednesday. The flight will be a direct one from Panama City, Panama, servicing the island twice weekly. It will arrive on Tuesdays and Fridays at approximately 4:50pm. A 90-seat Embraer aircraft will be used for the flights.
Labega explained that Copa had been looking at both flights in the course of the workweek, but Fridays and Tuesdays would work best for St. Maarten, allowing both business and leisure travellers the advantages of the weekend and Monday.
St. Maarten will commit US $1 million in pulling and pushing the new market, while other promotions will be executed cooperatively with Copa. The new flight will be for an 18-month introductory period and both parties expect demand for the route and the flight to grow based on projections.
Sonesta Maho and Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resorts have already indicated that they will work with Copa in terms of packages rates.
“Copa is part of our continuing effort to attract new businesses to St. Maarten. We have been successful with GOL Airlines from the South American market and we are confident Copa from the Central American market will be successful as well,” Richardson told The Daily Herald.
Copa Airlines serves as Panama’s flag carrier. Its main base of operations is Tocumen International Airport, from which it operates approximately 148 daily scheduled flights to 45 destinations in 24 countries in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.
Source: The Daily Herald
On Wednesday September 1st, according to availability of airport facilities, with FIONA storm approaching, Air France plans on the following schedule :
• AF351C departure to Paris CDG at 9:00 am. Priority will be granted to customers originally booked on AF3515 August 31st
• AF3510 arrival from Paris CDG at 1:30 pm. ( usual schedule )
• AF3515 departure to Paris CDG at 3 :55 pm. ( usual schedule )
After Earl, and thanks to this additional flight, Air France will have accomodated all customers on September 1st.
For more and real time information, please go to www.airfrance.gp
Airport: The Princess Juliana International Airport NV hereby announces that it is open for business under normal operations. A number of airlines have confirmed that they will be operating today, Tuesday August 31 2010. However, passengers are urged to contact their respective airlines directly for flight details.
All airport concessionaires are also requested to come in and resume service.
drs. E.B. Holiday
PJIAE President
LONDON, UK ( 31 August 2010] –Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, will be visiting the Caribbean this October. The three-day visit to Barbados , between 8 and 11 October 2010, will coincide with a leadership strategy conference, organised by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation. The CTO, a Barbados-based development and sustainable tourism organisation representing 34 Caribbean countries and territories, will also be hosting the UK flag carrier’s CEO during his stay.
As well as attending meetings with various Caribbean ministers and commissioners of tourism, Walsh will deliver the keynote speech at the Sunday morning conference on the future of intercontinental travel and the importance of partnerships between airlines and the destinations they serve. One of the highlights of the visit will be a BA-hosted dinner on the evening of Sunday 10 October.
Walsh’s visit to the Caribbean will not only highlight BA’s commitment to Caribbean tourism through addresses at, and involvement in, CTO seminars, the airline’s chief executive will also be attending a fundraising lunch in aid of the CTO Foundation, where he will address university students and local business leaders.
Commenting on his forthcoming visit, Willie Walsh said, “We have a long and proud history of serving the Caribbean stretching back many decades. It is a favourite holiday destination for thousands of our customers who return time and again to enjoy the fantastic Caribbean hospitality.
“I am looking forward to visiting Barbados to see how British Airways can continue to contribute to one of the world’s premier tourist destinations and to discuss the challenges facing us.
“The global financial crisis and changes to UK taxation are expected to impact areas of the world that are important to British Airways including the Caribbean .”
Hugh Riley, secretary general of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, said, “The CTO is delighted at Mr Walsh’s visit. We have always been grateful for the crucial support that British Airways has shown our region over the years and we feel very honoured that the company’s chief executive will be helping the Caribbean ’s tourism experts to consider how our region can remain competitive, enhancing our brand and staying ahead of current marketing innovations.
“It’s also very exciting for our region to see the launch of such a prestigious, large-scale leadership strategy conference, attended by so many high profile individuals and we look forward to seeing the outcome and benefits to the Caribbean .”
The conference will include a business component during which a new CTO chairman will be elected.
AFter it poured down with heavy rains and flooding, ripped out trees and blew down power lines in St. Maarten, Hurricane Earl is gaining strength as it brought heavy winds and rain to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Monday.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say Earl intensified into a Category 4 storm late Monday as it moved into the Caribbean region.
Warm water temperatures and calm upper winds are creating conditions for Earl to strengthen even more on Tuesday.
Forecaster Todd Kimberlain says the storm is beginning to turn northwest on a path that will take it away from land.
“The high sustained winds are now 135 mph [217.26 kph] with higher gusts. There is some potential for Earl to strengthen a bit more,” said Kimberlain. “The good news is that, on our forecast track, the center of Earl will be moving away from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico tonight. And on the forecast track, we are forecasting it to pass east of the Turks and Caicos islands on Tuesday.”
U.S. Coast Guard officials on Monday suspended all traffic in and out of ports in the U.S. Virgin Islands and eastern parts of Puerto Rico because of strong winds.
The forecast shows Earl will not hit Florida or other southern U.S. states in coming days. But forecaster Kimberlain says it is too early to tell whether states from North Carolina to Maine are at risk.
“At this point, our forecast track does keep it offshore, but it’s probably going to get uncomfortably close, enough so that people are going to have to pay very close attention to this,” he said. “Depending on how it plays out, there is the potential for watches and warnings.”
Forecasters say another tropical storm, Fiona, has formed in the Atlantic Ocean, and is moving on a path similar to Earl’s. Experts say Fiona might gain strength and begin to affect eastern parts of the Caribbean by late Tuesday.
SAO PAULO–GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (BM&FBovespa: GOLL4 and NYSE: GOL) (S&P/Fitch: BB-/BB-, Moody’s: Ba3), the largest low-fare and low-cost airline in Latin America, began selling tickets yesterday to its newest domestic destination: Montes Claros, in the state of Minas Gerais. Scheduled flights, already authorized by the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) and other authorities, will begin as of November 1, 2010, flying out of Belo Horizonte/Confins.
Montes Claros is the largest and most important city in the North of Minas Gerais State. Its surrounding area has a population of around two million and houses several large industries in addition to a diversified retail market. It also has a highly developed agricultural sector and an important national university center.
Despite having Brazil’s second largest road intersection, the Montes Claros region is far from the country’s other major centers and suffers from a lack of air transport options. In addition to shortening travel time and increasing comfort, GOL’s new route will offer clients from the entire region the possibility of immediate connections in Confins to Sao Paulo (Congonhas), Rio de Janeiro (Santos Dumont and Tom Jobim/Galeao), Brasília, Curitiba, Salvador, Campinas, Recife and Vitoria.
Tickets to Montes Claros can be purchased on GOL’s website (www.voegol.com.br), through the Customer Relationship Center or through travel agencies.