Archive for August, 2010
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.
Chairman of the Board of the St Christopher Air and Sea Port Authority (SCASPA), Linkon Maynard (right) shakes hands with Veling Ltd Chairman Uday Nayak after signing the contract for the construction of a multi-million dollar jet facility that officials BASSETERRE, St Kitts, Thursday August 26, 2010 – Construction of St Kitts’ multi-million dollar private jet facility at the Robert L Bradshaw International Airport is set to begin in February next year.
And officials are expecting the new terminal – estimated to cost between US$15 million and US$20 million – to boost high end tourism in St Kitts and Nevis.
“It would make the country much more attractive to the high-end travelers, the celebrities, etc who…like to be pampered and like hassle free travel,” Chairman of the Board of the St Christopher Air and Sea Port Authority (SCASPA), Linkon Maynard, said at the recent contract signing ceremony . “I think that is what the Fixed Based Operations (FBO) facility guarantees to that type of traveler.”
The project is part of the general upgrade plans for the ports. Maynard disclosed that four proposals were submitted for the construction of the private terminal, and the bid by UK-based Veling Aviation Ltd was selected.
“Apart from the profit sharing arrangement to bring more revenue into SCASPA, it is also going to have significant spinoffs into the economy as a whole,” Maynard added, noting that the negotiated contract allows current FBOs access to the facility for their business and first class passengers.
Minister of Tourism and International Transport Senator Ricky Skerritt said the construction of the terminal is a significant step forward in the transformation of the country’s tourism product.
“With competition for the global private jet market so intense, this project is designed to facilitate the type of arrival and departure experience that discerning travelers, including entertainment celebrities, sports stars and international investors, expect,” he said. “This new private air terminal will enable St Kitts to deliver the highest quality of personalized service to passengers on private jets, as well as scheduled VIP arrivals, featuring our genuinely welcoming Kittitian hospitality.”
The terminal amenities will include an upscale lounge, bar, meeting room, business center, showers, open air plaza and other interactive features found in similar facilities. The designers have incorporated green areas that will feature plants, moats and a water fall.
Construction will be done in three phases and is scheduled to start in February 2011 with the first phase completed and operational by August 2012.
Veling consultant Michael Dingemans said the construction phase will provide work on site for locals while the FBO itself will employ a minimum of 10 full time persons, with the staff count increasing to 20.
The project is a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) project with a term of 30 years.
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. — NASA will host a Green Aviation Summit Sept. 8-9 to highlight the agency’s work to develop environmentally responsible aviation technologies.
The two-day meeting at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., will bring together experts from NASA, other federal government organizations, industry and academia. They will discuss groundbreaking solutions that NASA and its research partners are developing to reduce aircraft noise, emissions and fuel consumption, and to ensure the safe and manageable growth of the aviation system.
The Green Aviation Summit will feature keynote presentations by leading policymakers as well as detailed technical presentations and panel discussions on the current state-of-the-art and emerging technologies. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will address the participants on Sept. 8.
Seating is limited. Journalists interested in attending the summit must register online by Aug. 31. Portions of the event will be broadcast live on NASA Television’s Education Channel.
For registration and more information, visit:
http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/calendar/20100908.htm
Air travel between TT and India is expected to improve through an agreement between Caribbean Airlines and Air India.
This plan came about during a meeting on Tuesday between Works and Transport (MoWT) Minister Jack Warner and India’s High Commissioner to TT His Excellency Malay Mishra and Second Secretary Mahavir Bhardwaj at the Ministry, Port-of-Spain.
In a release, the MoWT said Warner recommended the bilaterial air service agreement and Mishra responded the Ministry would have his cooperation for it to be finalised.
According to the release, Mishra said when the agreement is reached passengers would travel from Trinidad to New York on Caribbean Airlines and then get a connecting flight to Mumbai or Dehli. Their luggage would go straight from Trinidad to India.
During the meeting, Mishra offered support to TT in the areas of agriculture, health care, food production and infrastructure.
He advised Warner of the Prime Minister’s Rural Development Project in India which dealt exclusively with rural development. This was of interest to Warner who spoke of the neglect of rural areas such as Siparia, Naparima, Barrackpore, Mamoral where no work was done on roads, bridges and drains. Warner hoped that TT could benefit from India’s knowledge and expertise to assist TT with flooding problems.
Mishra said his government was willing to assist the engineers of the Works Ministry and scholarships were being offered for engineers to be trained at the highest level so training and technology can be transferred.
The High Commissioner asked for a work plan to which Warner promised to have one prepared and dispatched next week.
At the meeting Warner disclosed that he would take legislation to parliament to deal with littering. It will put the responsibility on citizens to clean the drains and roadways in front their homes and business places. The legislation was promoted by the clogging of rivers and drains which result in severe flooding in parts of TT.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s TAM Airlines and LAN of Chile announced plans Friday for a merger that would create Latin America’s largest airline.
The two airlines — both the biggest in their respective nations — said their memorandum of understanding was nonbinding, with approval needed from shareholders of both companies and regulatory agencies.
They said the two airlines would retain their individual identities, with TAM’s headquarters remaining in Sao Paulo and LAN’s in Santiago, Chile.
“The group would be among the leading airline groups in the world in terms of size, profitability and market reach,” the companies said in a joint statement.
The merged company, to be known as LATAM Airlines Group, would include LAN and its affiliates in Peru, Argentina and Ecuador; Lan Cargo and its affiliates; TAM Lineas Aereas SA; TAM Mercosur and all other holdings of LAN and TAM.
The airlines said the combined airline group would provide passenger services to more than 115 destinations in 23 countries. The airlines of the group would operate a fleet of more than 220 aircraft and have more than 40,000 employees.
Last year, the carriers had combined revenues of US$8.5 billion, carried more than 45 million passengers and transported 832,000 tons of cargo.
The statement said LAN Airlines SA would be renamed LATAM Airlines Group SA and absorb TAM. TAM’s shareholders would be offered 0.90 share of common stock of LATAM for each share of TAM.
Under the deal, TAM would continue to operate as a Brazilian company with its own structure. The current holdings of LAN Airlines SA would operate as an independent business unit within the group — and be referred to as LAN Airlines.
Mauricio Rolim Amaro, currently vice chairman of the board of directors at TAM, would be chairman of the board of directors of LATAM. Enrique Cueto, currently CEO of LAN, would serve as LATAM’s chief executive, the statement said.
“Together, LAN and TAM will be able to offer new destinations that neither company could have supported on its own,” said Marco Bologna, CEO of TAM. “This will position us to compete with the foreign carriers that continue to increase service to our region, while creating new jobs in our home countries.”
WILLEMSTAD–During
the fi rst half year of 2010,
the declining trend in Curaçao’s
air traffi c continued
in comparison with the
same period of the previous
year.
The total number of arrivals
and departures during
the fi rst six months of 2010
at Hato Airport amounted
to 658,966, of which 482,749
were international travellers
and 115,222 local passengers,
while the transit
traffi c amounted to 60,995.
From these fi gures, it appears
there was a decrease
of 49,237 passengers or 6.9
per cent, as 708,203 travellers
were registered during
the same period last year.
The number of transit passengers
at Hato did show
an increase of 15.9 per cent
compared to 2009.
Curaçao Airport Partners
(CAP) is of the opinion that
these developments can be
attributed to waves of recession
elsewhere that will
only affect Curaçao later
on. It could furthermore be
an indication that 2008 was
a peak year and that the air
traffi c gradually returned to
the normal number in 2009
and 2010.
The month of June showed
a decrease in passengers by
13,026, which is 11.36 per
cent compared to 2009,
when there were 6,918 arriving,
4,951 departing and
1,157 transit passengers.
This year’s month of June
registered 45,397 arriving,
48,854 departing and 7,397
transit passengers.
A number of matters struck
CAP when it compared this
year’s fi gures with those
of 2009. There was an increase
of 38.9 per cent in
arriving or transit travellers
from the United States and
27.5 per cent from South
America, but the latter percentage
does not include
Venezuelan travellers.
A decline of 16.4 per cent
was observed of arriving/
transit passengers from the
Caribbean area in comparison
with the same period
last year. A 55.8 per cent
decrease was registered for
Venezuelan travellers.
The numbers regarding
departures showed similar
trends as the number of
arriving and transit passengers.
CAP states that
Curaçao was mentioned
during the last meeting of
the Latin American & Caribbean
Air Transportation
Association (ALTA), with
the largest air traffi c growth
measured over the past ten
years.
In this regard, Curaçao
showed a 30 per cent
growth, followed by Aruba
with 20 per cent. During
aforementioned conference,
Curaçao was mentioned
as the sixth airport
regarding newly planned
fl ights in the year 2009.
Source: The Daily Herald