Princess Juliana International Airport Media

Archive for June, 2009

The ministry of foreign affairs launches a summer campaign to encourage safer travel abroad for Dutch citizens.
The Hague – Most Dutch citzens do not adequately prepare for trips abroad, despite potentially serious consequences, reveals a recent study by the ministry of foreign affairs.
In response, the ministry launched a campaign dubbed ‘Travelling wisely’ to encourage safer foreign journeys Sunday where Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen handed out checklists to travellers at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
The list includes matters such as travel insurance and essential documents. Practical items are also included, ranging from mosquito nets to condoms.
The study revealed that a quarter of Dutch people are robbed or are the victims of violence while travelling abroad. Twenty percent of those questioned leave no contact information with friends or relatives, and 40 percent fail to take copies of important documents with them.
In the run up to the summer, a ministry campaign team will distribute the checklist around the country. The ministry’s ‘Travelling wisely’ website also offers a range of advice, encouraging travellers abroad to follow local rules and customs, and dress appropriately.

Radio Netherlands / Expatica

Amsterdam – Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport has been designated “best airport in Europe” by the European airport association, ACI Europe.
The jury report says that Schiphol is performing well in the field of sustainability and in maintaining good relations with its immediate neighbours.
The initiative to erect a sound reflecting barrier to prevent Schiphol’s ground noise from spreading to the nearby town of Hoofddorp received particular praise.
The ACI Europe prize for best airport is awarded annually.

Radio Netherlands / Expatica

Jun 19, 2009 –JetBlue Airways today begins flights to its 31st city: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox player and proud Santo Domingo native, joins JetBlue this morning at Logan to celebrate and welcome customers aboard its first departure to the Dominican capital. JetBlue is the official airline of the Red Sox and Fenway Park.
JetBlue is now offering the convenience of nonstop service from Boston to Santo Domingo three days per week on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with plans to expand to daily service over the peak winter season. JetBlue also offers one-stop connecting service every day to Santo Domingo as well as to Puerto Plata on the island’s north coast and to Santiago de los Caballeros in the central Cibao Valley.
Santo Domingo is JetBlue’s second new destination this week from its “Hub hub” at Logan, after Wednesday’s launch of twice-daily nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). JetBlue will further expand in Boston on Sept. 9 with the launch of four daily flights to a 32nd destination, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

JetBlue’s schedule between Boston and Santo Domingo:

– Nonstop service operates on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays –
– Connecting service available daily –

“Today we’re proud to launch yet another Caribbean route from Boston, giving our customers even more choice when they jet with JetBlue,” said Scott Laurence, the airline’s vice president of network planning. “Together with our nonstop flights from Boston to Aruba, Bermuda, Cancun, Nassau, San Juan, and now Santo Domingo, JetBlue is committed to being the carrier of choice for hub travelers, whether they’re headed to the Caribbean or any one of our two-dozen nonstop destinations across the United States.”
“JetBlue’s continued expansion at Boston Logan shows the popularity of the airline and the power of the Boston market,” said Edward C. Freni, director of aviation for the Massachusetts Port Authority. “We welcome the start of year-round service to Santo Domingo and look forward to JetBlue’s continued growth at Logan.”
“Aerodom is very pleased with JetBlue’s decision to begin scheduled low-cost air service between Boston and Santo Domingo,” said Rodolfo Salgado, CEO of Aerodom, the operator of the Santo Domingo airport. “Boston is a major US market with a significant and growing Dominican population and a steadily-increasing number of tourists from Boston and [the] surrounding area booking vacations in the Dominican Republic. We are confident that, as a result of this new route, tourism and commercial ties between these two vibrant cities will be strengthened, making this very good news indeed for the Dominican Republic.”
JetBlue’s new Santo Domingo service is offered aboard the spacious Airbus A320, which offers customers an industry-leading experience that includes roomy leather seats, the most legroom in coach of any US airline, and free first-run movies on its seatback TVs in both Spanish and English. JetBlue’s unlimited snack and beverage selection – plus its award-winning customer service – is included in every low fare to the Dominican Republic.

www.jetblue.com

Late travel bookings on the rise

Jun 20, 2009 –According to online travel agent responsibletravel.com, holidaymakers’ confidence has improved over the last three months as almost a fifth (19 percent) of its total customers have gone “late” and spontaneously inquired and departed within a four-week period. Furthermore, over a third (37 percent) of customers have traveled within eight weeks of first inquiring about their holiday.
These four-week, late-booking figures reflect a rise of almost a third (31 percent) compared to the same period last year and almost a fifth (20 percent) for eight-week, late bookings.
The increase comes at a time when tour operators and airlines have already reduced capacity for the upcoming season and across the year in general. The late availability holiday deals that are on offer are being snapped up fast, and according to Justin Francis, managing director of responsibletravel.com, it marks a pronounced increase in consumer confidence:
“There is no doubt that times were tough over the winter, and consumer confidence was severely affected as a result. However, these figures are a sign that holidaymakers’ confidence is definitely improving. While it’s far too early to call an end to what might be a long recession, it’s clear that in recent weeks more people are coming into the summer market looking to book and depart at short notice. Some will be disappointed that they cannot get their first or even second choice holidays as airline capacity has been reduced.”
Those countries topping the list for late bookings are: England, Italy, Morocco, Spain, France, Turkey, Wales, and Greece.

June 20, 2009 — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s jet made a “quick, steep, but safe” emergency landing in Los Angeles on Friday after the pilot reported smoke coming from the cockpit’s instrument panel, his office said.
Although there was no visible fire, the pilot diverted the jet to the Van Nuys airport 10 minutes before he was due to land at Santa Monica, near the former actor’s home, spokesman Aaron McLear said in a statement.
Fire crews met the jet on the runway.
“Upon landing the Governor exited the jet and travelled to his house,” McLear said. “The NetJets crew did an outstanding job and everyone aboard landed safely and unharmed.”

(Reuters)

June 20, 2009–US airlines, fed up with volatility in oil prices, are renewing pressure on the government to curb market speculation.
Oil prices, up 115 percent from a January low, directly influence jet fuel prices. Surging oil prices can be catastrophic for an industry that seems always on the brink of financial meltdown.
The stakes are especially high for airlines with the economy mired in a deep recession and travel demand off sharply.
“A repeat of last summer’s astronomical crude-oil prices will bring the nation’s economic recovery to a painful halt,” said Glenn Tilton, chairman of the Air Transport Association (ATA), in a June 11 letter to President Barack Obama. Tilton is also chief executive of United Airlines’ parent UAL.
“Businesses that spend billions of dollars on fuel each year, already dealing with the impacts of decreased consumer spending, are especially vulnerable,” Tilton said in the letter.
Airlines complained loudly about oil market speculation last year as prices rose to a record high near USD$150 a barrel.
Speculators profit from buying and selling a commodity by predicting future price movements. They provide needed market liquidity, but they also can dramatically influence prices.
It was speculators — not simple supply and demand — that led to last year’s oil price increase, airline executives say. Others have argued that the connection between investment flows and oil prices is ambiguous.
Soaring oil prices hit businesses and consumers last year and helped tip the economy into recession. Airlines, which often list fuel as their highest cost, were hit especially hard.
Despite the insistence of executives in many sectors, the George W. Bush administration resisted calls for added supervision in the commodities market. Airline heads and leaders of other oil-dependent industries hope the Obama administration will do more.
The White House reiterated its concern about oil speculation on Thursday. But the issue of excessive commodity speculation was not addressed in Obama’s proposed overhaul of financial regulations this week.
As oil prices creep higher, however — above USD$70 a barrel on Friday — airline calls for regulation are increasing.
“Of course, I’m nervous all the time about what could happen to oil,” US Airways President Scott Kirby told an investor conference last week. “We saw it run last year, for no fundamental reasons that I could see, up to USD$147 a barrel.”
“The fundamental supply and demand just certainly don’t seem to justify where it is today,” Kirby said.

VOLATILITY CUTS BOTH WAYS
In the first half of 2008, every major airline suffered from high fuel bills. Some industry leaders called for mergers to offset those costs, but only Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines actually merged.
In lieu of widespread consolidation, airlines downsized to cut capacity and costs. The downsizing continued into 2009 with Delta and American Airlines announcing new capacity cuts as recently as last week.
As airlines cheered a stunning 70 percent decline in oil prices in the second half of 2008, their demands for new energy market regulations died down.
But the surprising drop in the oil price caused airlines’ fuel hedge portfolios to lose value. Carriers such as United, Southwest Airlines and US Airways, posted hefty quarterly charges for that reason.
United suffered the most. Last year, the company wrote off USD$249 million in hedge losses. In the first quarter of 2009, its cash loss for hedges was USD$323 million.
Aside from the downsizing of 2008 and 2009, airlines are in no better position now than they were a year ago to weather an oil price spike, said airline analyst Robert Mann. Cash positions continue to deteriorate and revenue is weak, he said.
Airlines must not wait for government relief; they should do a better job hedging their fuel exposure, Mann said.
“They should be concerned about volatility, but the question is, should they be managing it themselves as opposed to complaining about the cause?” Mann said. “We could certainly speculate on who’s speculating, but ultimately it’s an airline business decision.”

(Reuters)

June 20, 2009 –The chief executive of Singapore Airlines will take a 20 percent pay cut as the carrier looks to cut costs after seeing profits battered by weak travel demand and volatile oil prices.
CEO Chew Choon Seng’s management will also see cuts of between 10 and 20 percent from July, while the directors have volunteered for a cut in fees of 20 percent.
The airline said in a statement it had also agreed with its more than 2,300 pilots to take one day of unpaid leave a month. The airline has cut capacity this year on a slump in business class passenger travel and cargo demand.
It said these measures would save SGD$21 million (USD$14.4 million) this financial year.
Other Singapore firms have also cut pay instead of laying off workers, while government ministers have seen reduced performance-related pay in the city-state’s worst ever recession.
The global aviation industry is expected to lose USD$9 billion this year, the International Air Transport Association forecast this month.
The CEO of British Airways, Willie Walsh, is working for no pay next month.

(Reuters)

June 20, 2009 –Airbus wrapped up the Paris air show with USD$6.4 billion of orders for 58 aircraft, marking as expected a steep fall from last year as airlines hold back from renewing fleets to stave off recession.
The world’s largest planemaker also reported preliminary commitments — yet to be placed in the order book — for 69 planes worth USD$6.5 billion at list prices at the biennial show.
At last year’s Farnborough Air Show — which alternates with Paris — Airbus notched up firm orders for 247 aircraft, and Airbus and Boeing between them booked 444 orders.
Boeing and Airbus are headed for their worst annual order tally in at least 15 years as struggling airlines cancel or defer almost as many planes as they are buying.
Last year, the pair took total net orders for 1,439 planes combined.
Purchases at the Paris Air Show were scarce but Qatar Airways issued a USD$2 billion order for single-aisle jets to repel low-cost competition and Malaysia’s AirAsia X ordered 10 new-generation A350-900s worth USD$2.4 billion.
On Friday, the final pieces fell into place when THY Turkish Airlines announced plans to purchase 10 planes from Airbus and seven from Boeing as part of a fleet-expansion plan, aimed at making it a global airline.
The purchases are the first under the plan to buy up to 105 planes from the two aircraft makers.
Airbus said it had booked a provisional commitment for A330-200 wide-body jets plus five A330-300s for Turkish Airlines worth USD$1.4 billion, making 7 in total.
Airbus does not disclose options and these apparently account for the discrepancy with the airline’s figure of 10.
Boeing says it does not highlight orders at the air show, preferring to announce them as they arise.
However it said this week MCAP had finalised an order for two single-aisle 737-800 aircraft worth USD$153 million.
With 7,000 orders in the Airbus and Boeing order books combined, analysts said new orders were less important than whether the airframers would manage to hold single-aisle production rates at announced levels for the coming year.
The industry is also focused on the timing of any recovery in airline traffic, which Boeing sees happening around mid-2010, and this in turn could help engine makers with their after-market parts businesses.
“Orders should be ignored,” said aerospace consultant Richard Aboulafia of Teal Group. “If you want orders look back in the order book. The only headlines people want to see are increases in traffic.”
Shares in EADS nonetheless rose 2.4 percent on Friday.
Analysts noted a chorus of comments from aerospace executives at the show that the economy was beginning to stabilise, though the timing if any upturn was hard to predict.

(Reuters)

KINGSTON, Jamaica, June 19, 2009 – As Caribbean tourism heads continue to lobby the British government over impending increases in a UK airline ticket tax on long haul flights, Jamaica says it could lose between £30 million (US$49 million) and £50 million (US$82 million) when the proposed hikes take effect in November.
The revised Air Passenger Duty (APD) places long haul destinations like Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean in one of the highest bands, with economy class passengers facing a tax of £50 (US$82) per ticket as of November 2009, and the amount increasing to £75 ($123) in 2010. The proposed tax for premium economy, business, and first class tickets, will be double that amount.
Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett was among ministers and members of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) who met with industry partners in London and also lobbied members of the British Parliament for a review of the classification criteria.
He said when the increase is implemented it will have a deleterious effect on UK visitor arrivals in the Caribbean. Bartlett said that it will not only affect the affordability of families visiting friends and relatives, but also have an enormous economic impact.
“The Caribbean is, indeed, the most tourism dependent region in the world,” the Jamaican leader said, adding that “1.4 million visitors from the UK come to the Caribbean on an annual basis and, on some of our islands, the tourism traffic is heavily skewed towards the UK”.
“In the case of Jamaica, we earn some £220 million (US$361 million) from the UK. A reduction in arrivals from anywhere of 10, 15 or possibly even 20 per cent could mean losses of some £30 million (US$49 million) to £50 million (US$82 million) to the Jamaican economy and the implication of that could be enormous,” Bartlett added.
He added that the proposed amendment to the APD had to be resisted as strongly as possible with the view of, if not having a stay on the increase, having the Caribbean placed in a lower Band.
“There are those who suggest that we could allow the APD to go through in its present configuration and then seek grants or funds, at a later stage, to ameliorate our position. I want to dismiss that summarily, as the Caribbean is not interested in any handouts, in any charity. We are interested in equity and fair play,” the Jamaican Tourism Minister contended.
The bands are based on the distance from London to the capital of the destination country, rather than on the destination itself. This means that flying to Los Angeles or Hawaii is effectively calculated as being the same as to Washington DC (Band B), while destinations in the Caribbean are charged at a higher rate of tax (in Band C).
Environmentalists have welcomed the tax hike, which takes effect in November, but the travel industry have criticised it because it will make tickets more expensive.
But Minister Bartlett maintained that the increased tax is inherently unfair “and not the least bit green”.
“The structure of APD as an environmental tax, suggests that the impact of a flight to Jamaica or Barbados is greater than one to Miami, Los Angeles or Honolulu. Why should Caribbean countries with relatively low emissions suffer the effects of an environmental tax, in favour of the world’s biggest polluter?” he questioned.

Jun 16, 2009 –U.S. airlines will be told they should check the private-plane flying records of pilots who are applying for jobs, part of an effort by regulators to boost regional carrier safety after a crash near Buffalo, New York.
The Federal Aviation Administration, following an all-day meeting with industry, said it also plans to update rules designed to prevent pilot fatigue and to ask more carriers to voluntarily share data with the government to improve safety.
The FAA wants “to make sure that people have the feeling that when they board a regional jet, it will be safe, and it will be flown by a pilot that’s well trained and well rested,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters today.
The FAA, part of LaHood’s agency, is taking action after the February crash at Pinnacle Airlines Corp.’s Colgan unit, the sixth consecutive fatal accident of a commercial passenger carrier that involved a regional airline. The crash killed 50.
Pinnacle has said Captain Marvin Renslow didn’t disclose that he had failed two flight tests in small planes when he applied in 2005 to join Colgan. FAA test records for such pilots aren’t available to airlines unless applicants waive their privacy for prospective employers.
The FAA in 2007 reminded carriers they can ask pilots for waivers to gain access to the records. Now, the FAA is going to recommend they do so, agency Administrator Randy Babbitt told reporters. The FAA also may recommend that Congress change the law to make pilot records more accessible.

Rules on Rest
Pinnacle, based in Memphis, Tennessee, has said it didn’t know whether Colgan would have hired Renslow had it been aware of his test failures.
Babbitt also said he wants to update rules, on the books since 1985, requiring pilots to get eight hours of rest in the 24-hour period before they complete a flight assignment.
The requirement could change given advances in research, Babbitt said. For instance, a pilot who makes only one landing in a shift may be able to fly longer, while a pilot who makes several landings a day, requiring more concentration, may need shorter shifts, he said.
“Some of the things I’ve seen and heard about practices in the regional airline industry are not acceptable,” Babbitt told industry officials gathered for an all-day meeting. “We need to look more deeply into what’s happening.”
He told reporters he would ask carriers to voluntarily join federal safety programs, such as one in which flight data recorders are regularly analyzed by the FAA for safety flaws. Carriers that don’t choose to participate will be disclosed to the public, he said.

Pilot Pay
Babbitt also said he is encouraging the industry to examine regional-pilot pay.
“If you want to get the best and the brightest, you are not going to do that for very long with $24,000,” Babbitt said, referring to the salary of one of the pilots in the Buffalo crash.
Regional crashes in recent years have included one at Delta Air Lines Inc.’s Comair unit, in which pilots used the wrong runway for a flight that killed 49 people in Kentucky in 2006. Also, a Corporate Airlines flight crashed in 2004, killing 13 people in Kirksville, Missouri, because the pilots didn’t follow procedures and flew the plane too low into trees.
In the Buffalo crash, the National Transportation Safety Board is examining whether the Colgan plane’s crew responded improperly to a stall warning. NTSB evidence shows the pilots let the plane lose more than a quarter of its airspeed in 21 seconds, setting off a cockpit warning for an aerodynamic stall from which the aircraft didn’t recover.
The Bombardier Inc. Dash 8 Q400 crashed Feb. 12 in Clarence Center, New York, as it approached Buffalo’s airport from Newark, New Jersey. The dead included one person on the ground and all 49 people on board the plane, which Colgan operated for Continental Airlines Inc.
Source: bloomberg.com