St. Maarten: CARIBAVIA highlights Caribbean inter-connectivity, lower fares By Kathryn Creedy.

Trevor Sadler was forced into a circuitous routing to get from his base on the Island of Turks & Caicos to St. Maarten, but his experience is excruciatingly familiar to those traveling around the Caribbean, writes Kathryn Creedy.

What made his experience more frustrating was the fact that Sadler is the CEO of InterCaribbean Airways.

“I couldn’t get here on my own airline,” he told attendees at this year’s CARIBAVIA Summit. “I had a choice when I got to Miami. I could take a flight that left four hours after I arrived in the US and pay an extraordinary sum of money, or I could spend the night and leave at 6:00 a.m. the next morning. But that flight was a connection over Charlotte. So, I had to fly to Charlotte in order to get to St. Maarten. That is a perfect example of what getting around the Caribbean is all about.”

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Tropic Ocean Airways CEO Rob Ceravolo agreed. “It’s faster to get from Miami to Singapore than around the Caribbean.”

Sadler’s experience is exactly why the CARIBAVIA Summit, designed to improve air lift in the Caribbean region, was created. Indeed, the new services described at this year’s CARIBAVIA, illustrate how thinking outside the box provides economic and service benefits.

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Frontier Airlines and Air Belgium (the latter speaking on Zoom) said their new flights are specifically designed, not only to improve connectivity but to bring down the price of Caribbean-bound travel by challenging higher cost airports and airlines that have kept travel costs prohibitive.

In addition, the Bahamian decision to add US mainland pre-clearance into the archipelago has succeeded in opening up new markets for business investment and tourism and, once expanded beyond Fort Lauderdale to other points or even Latin America, new markets will skyrocket, according to CEO of the National Association of Black Hotel Owners, Operators & Developers Andy Ingraham.

Pre-clearance alone changes the dynamics of Caribbean demand as illustrated by Tropic Ocean Airways’ new markets.

One such market successfully opened on June 11 when Tropic Ocean flew from Fort Lauderdale to its new amphibian base in Nassau to support Jimmy Buffet’s latest Margaritaville resort, and becoming the first amphibious landing in 19 years in Nassau.

Many resorts have eyed the acquisition of seaplanes for direct-to-resort service. Tropic Ocean has already created direct-to-resort connections from its base in Fort Lauderdale, lending the critical expertise needed for safe operations. Tropic Ocean is in the middle of developing an operation in Antigua after having set up one in Panama.

Benefits of Inter-Caribbean Travel

Service to St. Maarten is definitely on Sadler’s radar and was, in fact, his reason for attending CARIBAVIA. He wants to explore how the airline, local governments and regional airlines can work together to improve service.

“I couldn’t get here on my own airline,” InterCaribbean Airways CEO Trevor Sadler told delegates.

The airline is a veteran of 29 years in the Caribbean, but its focus is now on growing its footprint in the region by improving inter-Caribbean connectivity.

In just eight years, it has connected Havana in the North to Georgetown Guyana in the South. Its participation in global distribution services and online travel agencies has increased interest in the region, and for interCaribbean increased traffic 300-400%. Now, half of passengers hail from around the world, including Australia.

“The development of service is tied to economic benefits which is a concern to governments and businesses across the region,” he told delegates. “By building our network economies benefit. Building our cargo network created a new business for us. We are developing a Caribbean marketplace enabling entrepreneurs across the Caribbean to create a presence and sell their products across the region with inexpensive shipping. That is how we want to help the small businesses in the Caribbean.”

Aircraft Right Sizing and private jet connections

Sadler dispelled the myth you need narrow-bodies for successful service. In fact, the small aircraft used by regional airlines are perfectly sized for the markets. And, they are accepted by the highest of rollers coming into the region. A perfect example is St. Barth Commuter with its single engine Cessna Caravans, connecting incoming private jet passengers to their properties and yachts on the nearby 10,000-resident island.

“Saying aircraft are too small, does not come from those living and working in the region,” said Sadler. “They know applying B737 economics to the region where most flight times are under an hour won’t work. Aircraft choice cannot be dictated by artificial economics. We don’t have the population density for 737 service between islands, so comparing aircraft size of what is being flown with a 737 has absolutely no value.”

He noted the region has only six countries with multi-million population and more at about half a million.

“The rest of the islands have between 15,000 and 100,000 population,” he explained. “So, we have to consider the economy of each country and the potential to increase trade with neighbours. The opportunities that can be created are what matters.”

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 24th June 2021 | Issue #611

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