A travel company has ambitions to once again return to North American and Caribbean skies after seeking a licence to launch flights between Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago in partnership with US carrier Vision Airlines. The company, TravelSpan Vacations, had previously operated services from Guyana to destinations across the Caribbean and North America, but the operation stopped in 2008 due to crippling losses and poor investment initiatives.
Contrary to reports that the business was shutdown, it appears that it has continued to operate but in a much reduced form selling capacity on other airlines with one executive claiming it had simply taken a decision to “step back and re-position itself in the face of crippling losses, poor investment initiatives and an increasingly testing environment.”
TravelSpan Vacations and Vision Airlines have confirmed they will be applying to the US Department of Transportation for authorisation to begin non-stop service to Guyana and Trinidad from New York, using a wide-body Boeing 767, effective December 2013. TravelSpan has been serving these markets for over 18 years and in a statement says it now “recognises the need for a new carrier to operate in the market”.
The proposed flights –subject to government approval – will operate on a twice weekly basis from New York John F Kennedy International Airport with connections to Georgetown’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana every Thursday and Saturday and to Port of Spain’s Piarco International Airport in northern Trinidad on Tuesdays and Fridays. The company plans to introduce additional flights for the peak season.
The ambitions of TravelSpan Vacations to return to scheduled flying were likely fueled by the departure this year of Delta Air Lines from the New York – Georgetown market. This left Caribbean Airlines with a monopoly on the route, a situation it also holds on New York – Port of Spain, although JetBlue Airways last month revealed its own plans to enter this market, as well as serving the twin isle republic from Fort Lauderdale.
Related Content
