Open-skies policy brings good business
Published:Sunday | March 6, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Since Jamaica finalised negotiations on seven new air services agreements in 2010 and renegotiated three others, open-skies business with Canadian carriers to the island has flourished.
"Jamaica has seen an almost doubling of the number of points in Canada from which we now have air services. Little known cities such as Moncton now boasts flights to Jamaica," Colonel Oscar Derby head of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority told The Sunday Gleaner.
He said Jamaica has seen an average four per cent growth in arrivals over the last decade arising from the open skies agreement with the United States, and Canada's double digit figures came when the service was upgraded July last year.
Additionally, he said, "We began negotiations on nine agreements which are expected to be finalised in 2011", and there is the likelihood that two additional agreements could be negotiated in 2011 to bring the total for the year to 11.
Derby's revelation are in tune with the target set by Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry for agreements over the five-year period 2010 to 2014 for the country to sign at least 50 air services.
The minister plans to use the avenue of the International Civil Aviation Organization Conferences for Air Services Negotiations to maximise the country's chances of achieving this target, said Derby.
Open skies liberalises the movement of airlines between countries, creating a free market and competition. The agreement is meant specifically, to remove limits on the number of carriers, the number of frequencies per week and the size of aircraft operating between the states that are party to these air-services agreements.
Airlines capitalise
Airlines such as Canada's WestJet and Air Transat have capitalised on the benefits, with Westjet increasing service from one daily flight from Toronto to 24 flights per week at the height of the winter season. "Air Transat has moved from a charter airline to a regular-schedule airline, allowing for better flow of passengers in both directions and easier ticket purchase," Elizabeth Scotton, MBJ's chief commercial officer said.
A believer in the "immense potential" of open skies, Scotton says it stimulates travel, creates jobs, support tourism and the flow of cargo.
Derby concurs, stating that the obvious benefits to tourism stems from the increased stopover arrivals. "The domestic-aviation sector would also enjoy a boom in business by moving passengers from the major international airports to smaller aerodromes serving resorts across the island," he said.
Less obvious benefits, he said, include the increased employment and wealth generated in the agricultural sector and the many other sectors supporting tourism. The export sector also stands to benefit from lower freight charges which are expected to result from the increase in spare belly-hold cargo capacity. More importantly for the export sector, though, would be the access to new markets resulting from the increased connectivity from Jamaica.
And even though Jamaica's thrust is being heavily pushed, Jamaican pilot, Howard Levy, managing director of International Airlink feels the skies need to be more liberalised.