| Until Guyana finds other airlines to fly the Georgetown/New York route, passengers are likely to continue to pay high prices for tickets. This is because the Trinidad-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) and newcomer, Fly Jamaica, which have applications in the US to fly directly between there and Guyana are essentially being blocked by airlines from that country.CAL, which has been under fire from the Guyana government recently for the high fares, has confirmed that a delay or rejection of its application by the Department of Transportation, the regulators of US airspace,Wholesale Stitched NFL Jerseys, would have a negative impact on passengers travelling to and from Guyana.CaribbeanAirlinesAccording to the airline, in response to questions by the Trinidad Guardian newspaper on the blocking of its US application,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, while CAL can continue to operate its flights from Port of Spain/Georgetown/New York/Georgetown/Port of Spain, the delay or refusal will mean that the flexibility to improve the total value offering on the route (and to reduce fares) will be lost or delayed.“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,NFL Jerseys China, to offer passengers connectivity with key North American ports,” the airline is reported as saying to the Guardian.“During the interim period, Caribbean Airlines 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.”The words will have little comfort for Guyanese who have reportedly been paying over US$1,000 (G$200,000) for a return ticket to Guyana.According to papers filed by Airlines for America (A4A) and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), the two carriers — Caribbean Airlines and Fly Jamaica — are not entitled to serve a route between the U.S. and Guyana because they are based in third countries — Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica, respectively.Citing unfair competition, the advocacy groups in their complaints said that the two applications raise “serious and troubling issues for consumers” and for the industry,Wholesale Jerseys China, which traditionally takes a bilateral approach to international routes.Airlines for America said Caribbean Airlines’ third-country operations are responsible for “forcing the cancellation” of Delta’s Guyana service and added that so-called “doing business issues” such as fuel subsidies from Trinidad & Tobago and “excessive taxes” in some countries make it difficult for U.S. carriers to compete.In such an environment, A4A said the Transportation Department should be working on “clearing away” these impediments rather than granting special favours to the region’s carriers.In the same vein, ALPA said neither of the Caribbean carriers “can point to any compelling U.S. public interest that would be served” by their proposed operations, especially since “a U.S. carrier has just surrendered its service in the market.”The Government of Guyana is to meet shortly with Caribbean Airlines officials to discuss the various issues.The meeting which was originally scheduled for this week has been pushed back a few days, with officials of CAL confirming their attendance, according to a Tourism Ministry official.Recently, Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali expressed frustration over complaints of CAL’s high fares. There were also complaints by passengers of long waits and hassles during stopovers inPort of Spain. Earlier, to pave the way for the airline to fly directly to the US from Guyana,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, the Government granted it flag-carrier status.Two low-cost carriers, RedJet and EZjet, folded last year while Delta pulled out in May this year, leaving CAL as the only player.Suriname Airways has been contemplating flying the route while a new airline, Fly Guyana,China NFL Jerseys, has announced intentions to do daily flights from October. |
