Dear Editor,

Georgetown to New Amsterdam in less than an hour.

This businesswoman's dream has come true. Since mid-November, Trans Guyana Air has initiated twice weekly flights to and from Rose Hall. Actual flying time from Ogle is about 25-30 minutes. Flights now go on Tuesdays and Fridays and leave Ogle at 6:45 a.m. and 3:45 p.m. The return flights from Rose Hall turn around within fifteen minutes of landing there, so if you go in the morning you can get the flight back at 4:15 p.m. and have the whole day to do your business in New Amsterdam. The company might consider, however, a slightly later start in the morning.

Sitting comfortably in a nine-seater aircraft, I was overjoyed at the thought of not battling the minibuses and waiting for the ferry. I calculated that the time it took for me to drive from Georgetown to Rosignol and wait for the boat was three hours. The time the ferry takes to cross the Berbice River is a little more than the time it takes to fly from Ogle to Rose Hall. For me, the saving of time was of great value. I was in the office at New Amsterdam by 7:30 a.m. and was able to complete a full day's work there before returning to the airstrip for the 4:15 p.m. departure to Ogle.

The downside to travelling by air is that you need independent transport facilities to be met at Rose Hall and taken back to the airstrip, and for getting around if your business takes you out and about. However, this was easily arranged for us by the agent in Berbice and was provided courteously and efficiently. If you have a faint heart, then travelling over the high bridge just outside the airstrip at Rose Hall is not for you as you cannot see the other side and could do with some help directing traffic just in case a wide tractor decides to cross at the same time you are on it. As there are no railings, the thrill is unwelcome. Transporting things that would normally fit in your car trunk is also limited to what the aircraft can carry.

Altogether, it is a good service which I hope will take off and improve in the times and frequency of flights. The cost is $4000 each way.