US charter carrier Dynamic Airways launched scheduled operations between Georgetown, Guyana and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport in its own right last week having previously served the route on an ACMI basis for EZjet. The company launched the year-round four times weekly offering on June 26, 2014 using a Boeing 767-200ER.
Dynamic is currently the only US carrier to serve the route, which has attracted much interest from Caribbean based airlines. Earlier this year, the US Department of Transportation rejected seventh-freedom applications from both Caribbean Airlines and Fly Jamaica Airways to service the route. New York is the most in-demand route from Georgetown, Guyana, where nearly a quarter of a million Guyanese reside.
The launch of the route has been supported by aviation consultancy ASM, part of UBM Live, which highlighted the opportunity to serve the Guyana – New York market to the US operator and brokered the deal on behalf of Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
“We are very happy and excited that Dynamic Airways has decided to provide airlift to Guyana. Aviation is an extremely competitive industry and to ensure Guyana makes significant strides we partnered with ASM to market the route,” said Ramesh Ghir, chief executive officer of Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation that manages the main airport in Guyana, located in Georgetown.
“I was privileged to be part of the negotiating team that courted Dynamic Airways, and I am confident that this successful collaboration will continue way into the future. The interest shown by the airline to ply the Guyana route will augur well for us economically and it cements the argument that an expansion of our airport facility is vital as we push to court more airlines,” added Ghir.
This is likely to be the first step for Dynamic Airways in Guyana and supported by the Guyanese Government, it plans to operate further underserved or unserved routes from the Guyanese capital. The carrier has already recruited 50 local flight attendants creating an indirect positive contribution to the local economy of over 100 jobs.
For the past 20 years world route development consultants ASM has lead the world for route development expertise. Now a new team has been formed to address the changing landscape of air services over the next 20 years. “We are delighted to be part of the team that helped to establish this direct service to New York from Guyana,” Dave Stroud, managing director, ASM told The HUB.
“There is a large Guyanese diaspora living in New York and New Jersey states, who will now benefit from reliable all year round air service to Georgetown. We expect this direct route will considerably stimulate the tourism flows into Guyana and bring significant wider economic benefits to the country,” he added.
Our analysis of network data from OAG Schedules Analyser shows five different airlines have served the Georgetown – New York market over the past ten years with North American Airlines, Travelspan and Universal Airlines all offering flights during the 2000s. US major Delta Air Lines was the last American carrier to serve the route with flights between June 2008 and May 2013, while Caribbean Airlines currently flies between Georgetown and New York as a continuation of flights from Port of Spain.
In the chart, below, we look at O&D passenger demand between Georgetown and New York. With regular air services bi-directional O&D demand on the route grew significantly between 2004 and 2009 with passenger numbers more than doubling from around 95,000 to 204,000. Over the subsequent three years demand has slipped but grew again last year by 12.8 per cent to 195,000, the second highest figure over the past ten years.
Data provided by 
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