February 19, 2013, Guyana Times, Delta's sudden departure worrying – Harmon,

February 19, 2013, Guyana Times, Delta's sudden departure worrying – Harmon,

A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) shadow aviation minister, Joseph Harmon has contended that while the government is courting other airlines, addressing some of Delta’s undisclosed concerns needs to be a priority.

Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali

According to Harmon, Delta's pull out from the Guyana market was a severe detriment to persons travelling to and from Guyana, and the sudden manner in which it happened was of concern.

Harmon told Guyana Times that "from what I hear, it is not a problem with filling the aircraft so it has to be something else".

He added: "There is still a large passenger load in Guyana and it is a lucrative market," noting that for Delta to fully remove all direct flights meant that "they are dealing with a variety of operating costs that are out of the normal range".

The APNU parliamentarian stated that "some of these flights are leaving with drugs and that compromises companies," adding that Delta would have to pay fines to the Federal Aviation Administration in cases where drugs were found entering the United States.

He also said that "no airline wants to take chances like those", pointing out that in regions where trafficking was an issue, airlines were taking a larger risk in serving those constituencies.

Harmon told this publication that CAL's various concessions and the flag carrier status was also of detriment to an aviation industry that was in need of more committed airlines.

"Delta leaving Guyana is not beneficial, because now you have Caribbean Airlines as the only carrier that is serving a large amount of Guyanese living in the U.S. and Canada,” Harmon said. He said,

"I hope Caribbean Airlines takes this opportunity to not take advantage of Guyanese, but now there is no competition.”

APNU parliamentarian Joseph Harmon

Harmon focused on the fact that Guyanese could be at the mercy of CAL’s pricing as of May 6, if the government is unable to court Delta into resuming some of their flights.

Detrimental

Moving on, Harmon also noted that the high cost of aviation fuel was yet another detriment to growth in Guyana's aviation industry. Harmon noted that "if the cost of fuel is expensive, improving on the airport will still be an issue."

He noted that the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expansion was necessary to "break into the South American and African markets"; however, he said that the airport would need refuelling capabilities to ensure that the airport is able to address the refueling needs if it was to become an international hub.

Captain Gerry Gouveia, the owner of Roraima Airways, stated that "at the domestic level, over 50 per cent of operating cost is fuel."

He stated the cost for that aviation fuel was determined by the global market, so it fluctuated and there was no way to really subsidise the cost. Gouveia noted that CAL has been in Guyana for years, noting that "CAL is highly subsidised by Trinidad and Tobago, but it is their airline and they can do that because Trinidad has oil".

Roraima Airways proprietor Gerry Gouveia

"Trinidad has a US$31 billion GDP; Guyana has a US$3 billion, we cannot afford to subsidise fuel costs for airlines coming and going in Guyana."

He further noted that while the CJIA was undergoing an expansion, it was “the economic possibilities that we need to focus on” instead of the fact that Guyana has lost one of the two North American destined airlines. Gouveia said that "there will be other airlines and the expansion will attract more investment."

Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali said the government is engaged in courting a number of airlines while they deal with the void in wake of Delta Airlines pulling the plug on its direct New York to Georgetown flights.

He said Guyana "has taken some blows at the beginning of the year", noting that "we started the year at 28 per cent less seating capacity… last year, this time we still had Red Jet and EZ Jet."

The minister noted that the government was “trying to ensure that we’ll fill that void", while noting that "it is our priority and our interest to ensure that Delta continues its flight to Guyana".

He also said that the government is willing to work with the airline to support any further initiatives that would see a direct route back in Guyana. The minister said that demand was not the issue, citing that since Delta began direct flights from John F Kennedy International to CJIA, its average seating capacity was at 85 per cent.

"Delta has added hundred of flights" since first entering the Guyana market in 2008, he said.