airline - Haiti Observer Blog

Delta Airlines has not been able to keep up with the competition over Haiti. The company will stop its daily flights from New York to Port-au-Prince this month (March, 2015). Their Saturday flights will continue uninterrupted until April 25, 2015

According to the spokesperson for Delta that decision to reduce and eventually eliminate service to Haiti if things do not pick up is due to a decrease in demand. Ongoing competition from American Airlines followed by recent actors such as Jetblue providing daily service to Haiti had an impact on their sales.

Read more →  

On February 10, 2014, Sunrise Airways and BVI Airways have announced that they have entered a 'Subservice Flight Operations Agreement'. It is an agreement that gives contractors necessary flexibility in rendering services. It gives them permission to increase working capacity and authority to enhance skills and knowledge. A subcontractor can employ additional workforce or expand business on fixed term basis. Sunrise Airways has obtained the BVI Foreign Operators Permit with 'Seventh Freedom Rights' approval. 'Seventh Freedom Rights' is the right to carry passengers or cargo between two foreign countries without any continuing service to one's own country.

Read more →  

Just before the holiday season 2013, the once full of promise Haiti Aviation was forced to cancel hundreds of flights when it was revealed that their lease contract for their aircraft through Falcon Air Express (FAE) had been canceled, unceremoniously by Haiti Aviation's account. Adding to the dilemma, FAE CEO, Nelson Ramiz, had labeled the cause of the discontinuance of the agreement as non-payment of bills by the Haitian airline company. At the height of the fiasco, Haiti Aviation was forced to suspend the flights of thousands of passengers and is, just now, showing signs of a favorable turn in events for their company's future.

Read more →  

It has now been made that much easier for visitors from the Turks and Caicos Islands to come to Haiti, or, it will soon be following the announcement of new flight packages linking the two countries through Turks and Caicos' Providenciales' airport (PLS) and Haiti's Cap Haitien airport (CAP) that was made recently. The new flights, onboard the airline formerly known as Air Turks & Caicos, now interCaribbean Airways, will start operations on the 20th of January next year.

The new venture came out of a series of meetings between representatives from Haiti's Tourism Ministry and officials from interCaribbean Airways after an initial meeting in Las Vegas in October where the nascent idea was discussed. The concept was developed to include packages that would allow Turks and Caicos residents, visitors and Haitian citizens the opportunity for a day trip that would include departure from their initial destination in the morning and a return afternoon flight. The Cap Haitien location will enable them a scenic tour of one of Haiti's most renowned historical sites, the Citadel, as well as afford the visitors a tour of the cultural aspects of Northern Haiti, including the gastronomic delight to be found in the local cuisine.

Read more →  

While India may have cause to celebrate, having finally addressed some of the safety issues of their airplanes they may now be removed from the United Nations aviation watchdog blacklist, 12 other countries, including Haiti, have been included on its list of nations with a bad air safety oversight record.

The 13 nation list was put together with Haiti, Congo, Guinea, Angola, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Lebanon, Kazakhstan and Djibouti listed among its offenders. Following in India's lead should also secure Haiti a bump off the list, an advent that would bode well for the country's tourism hopes.

What India did was to correct the concerns raised about its ability to manage properly the general operations and airworthiness of its crafts after the audit completed by the Icao (International Civil Aviation Organization of the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). The DGCA then furnished the Icao with a plan set to be implemented in June 2013, aimed at correcting all listed oversights. The status of the corrective plan was verified recently by the team from the Icao and then the DGCA was briefed on the findings.

Read more →  

Cap Haitien is about to get an uptick in tourism this summer. Sunrise Airways, a new airliner, has submitted an application to Turk and Caicos Islands (TCI) Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) to ferry passengers between Providenciales and Cap Haitien International Airports (IA).

Sunrise Airways' application must be made public to permit competing air-passenger carriers to make objections. If objections are made, a hearing will be held to determine their validity. The outcome of the hearing will be the deciding factor to either approve or refuse the air carrier an operating license. If no one raises objections, the application will proceed through the review process and sign-offs more quickly. TCI ATLA Director, Tom Swann, has reported to the news media he is not aware of any objections to Sunrise Airways' planned service route.

Read more →  

JetBlue Airways is beginning non-stop service to Haiti from two U.S. international airports in December. It will be offering trips from both Fort Lauderdale and JFK to Port-au-Prince daily. The two new service routes have been added to encourage the Haitian Diaspora in these states to visit their homeland more often.

Haiti's economy has been dependent on remittances coming from the Diaspora, on average one billion dollars annually. Remittances make up 25% of Haiti's Gross Domestic Product. Motivating the Diaspora to visit more frequently will raise their awareness of Haiti's struggles to recover from the 2010 earthquake. And how their travel dollars--in addition to remittances--can help while the government of Haiti (GOH) improves their performance in handling outstanding donor-aid money.

Read more →  

Minister Stéphanie Villedrouin continues her 2013 push to free Haiti from international aid through tourism. Remembering president Martelly's opening speech at the Caribbean Community's (Caricom) 24th Intersessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of State and Government, in which he called the tourism industry a key sector and stressed its potential and importance in driving the country's economic growth, Villedrouin spoke of the need for a Caribbean airline.

She highlighted that travel would be easier to destinations other than Haiti or Jamaica, citing the Dominican Republic, with whom the government wishes to create a multi-destination package, as one such country to benefit. While this plan may seem counter-productive to driving tourism to Haiti, it would make it easier for visitors to neighbouring islands to take sojourns to the country that may have been too cumbersome before.

Read more →  

Tortug Air is a privately owned carrier in Haiti. It has made an application to US DOT, the United States Department of Transportation to seek permission to operate flights to the US.

Filing The Petition

Tortug Air has made a petition to operate flights non-stop from Cap Haitein International - Fort Lauderdale International service on a daily basis. Haiti is considered as a 'category two' country and it is a non compliant under the safety standards of aviation under FAA IASA or the ICAO the program. Hence the rental contract becomes necessary.

Read more →  

The prices of airline tickets vary depending on different factors. However, it can be noticed that airlines tickets to Haiti are quite more expensive than in other places. Many people wonder why going to Haiti costs them more than flying to other countries.

There are people who say that the reason behind higher airline ticket prices to Haiti is the fact that not every airline has direct flights to the Caribbean nation. Flights to Haiti are fewer than to other countries, making the cost of tickets higher. Other factors such as airport and international taxes also affect the ticket price, which tend to become more expensive.

Read more →