Keeping our fingers crossed
Editorial
Kaieteur News
December 3, 2006
Travel Span became the newest airline to provide a service between Guyana and North America, and it is certainly not going to be the last. Over the years, destinations like Guyana have provided many airlines with a steady source of revenue.
And recognising that Guyana is a worthwhile destination, there have been those who sought to capitalise by introducing charters, especially at the peak time of the year. The number of Guyanese living outside this country has been put at a figure which is in relatively close proximity to the people who live within the borders, and those overseas-based Guyanese always seek to come home, because of certain traditions.
For example, a Guyanese Christmas is incomparable. Nowhere else in the world do people celebrate Christmas as Guyanese do in their homeland. The dishes are unique, and the spirit is beyond description. That being the case, airlines rush to bring home those overseas-based Guyanese.
They offer interesting packages and deals. For the Guyanese, who are by no means affluent, the offer is often too good to refuse. But there is the saying that all that glitters is not gold. Many of these charters collapse before the season ends, leaving so many of the passengers stranded.
We had the debacle of Arrow Air, Leisure Air and, more recently, Universal Airlines. Even the local flag carrier, GA2000, went this route, to the chagrin of many. People were forced to borrow money from their relatives to get back to their adopted countries, and there were those who lost their jobs because they overstayed their leave.
Given those experiences, the government has insisted on an escrow account, money deposited into the Central Bank, in the event that the airline collapses, the stranded passengers would be afforded a ticket to return to their destination.
When Universal Airlines collapsed, the escrow account was not enough to cover the cost of reimbursing the stranded passengers, but it proved less onerous on the government to repatriate the passengers.
And so, Travel Span has come, but only after it deposited $40 million. An official of the Civil Aviation Authority said that the deposit is far more than Universal Airlines was asked to post, and for good reason. Universal Airlines was asked to post only $17 million, a figure that was thought to be adequate at the time.
Having gone to all that trouble to post such a bond, one would expect Travel Span to survive. It is coming at a time when travellers are being asked to pay a sum far in excess of the real cost of travel. We still remember that GA2000 began charging US$400 for a round trip, mere days after the other major airline was charging US$800. Before long, that airline was forced to drop its price.
The collapse of GA2000 was in no way linked to the airfare charged; that collapse was attributed to management.
The same trend was observed when Universal Airlines took to the skies. The fares had skyrocketed as the other airlines capitalised on the local passenger market. The advent of Universal Airlines saw a plummeting of the airfares. The same thing is expected to happen now that Travel Span has come.
Another airline is expected to begin operations out of Guyana in the not too distant future. Like Travel Span, that airline, E-Jet, is offering flights to North America.
The competition could only do the country good. Many visitors to this country baulk at the cost of travelling to a country that does not offer white sand and blue water, something that the Caribbean is marketing exceedingly well.
We are offering eco-tourism, a concept that is fast gaining currency. We are offering pristine rainforests with teeming wildlife. We are also offering our overseas relatives a chance to come home to the hospitality that is a trademark of this country, and people should not be made to pay through their noses to enjoy these things.
Yet, there is the lingering fear that we could see the collapse of another airline. This fear is preventing people from coming at this time of the year, knowing that they cannot stay for more than a few weeks. One of the driving forces behind this newest airline once presided over Leisure Air when it collapsed.
The government says that it will not hold that past experience against the man, given the high fares charged by the existing airlines. As the Cabinet Secretary put it, “Sometimes we have to cut deals with the devil.”
This deal has been cut, and we can only hope that it redounds to the benefit of the travelling public.