Aruban airline InselAir will begin flights to T&T from December 15, Edward Heerenveen, chief general and international affairs manager, has announced. The carrier will operate three flights weekly on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.Heerenveen made the announcement Wednesday during a reception at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre to welcome the airline.
"InselAir is making a contribution to T&T that will endure because we are trying by investing in your country to carry on the pioneering spirit of innovation that has fuelled the airline industry for over a century. I'm grateful to all of you here present who are willing to work side-by-side with the InselAir team to help pave the way for our company to execute flights into this part of the Caribbean. Your work is instrumental in creating the atmosphere for us to deliver on the promise to make sure that T&T will be part of the globally desired destination reachable through a harmonised aviation system," he said.
The company does not plan to compete with state-owned Caribbean Airlines, but is instead seeking an alliance.In the last five months, the company invested in five extra jet aircraft for flights out of Aruba and Curacao.Heerenveen said it has already won over travellers who know the brand and is now bringing that quality of service to local customers.
"Now if we look at how the aviation world is divided by big alliances, it will not take long before all the cake in the world has been eaten completely. Only in the Caribbean there is no such big alliance to guarantee our rights in this area. This creates the possibility that big capital and alliances from elsewhere will definitely take over. This is the reason why we always look for co-operation in the country where we operate," he said.
"We see full airplanes landing in Curacao and Aruba, daily in five cities in Venezuela–Caracas, Las Piedras, Maracaibo, Barquisimeto and Valencia–Miami, and Charlotte, Surinam, Bonaire, St Maarten, Medellin, Santo Domingo and Punta Cana. In the past years we have seen an increase in business travellers and the perspectives are great, with future destinations such as Quito in Peru, Bucaramanga, Medellin, and Cucuta in Colombia, Manos, Porto Velho and Brazilia in Brazil, some of them starting in January 2015."
InselAir Aruba and InselAir Curacao combined will account for a total of US$1.6 million passenger by year's end.Heereveen attributed this to the exemplary work of his colleagues in South America–a feat he hoped T&T would now replicate.
"We have a turnover per year of over 300 million and our input into the economy of our countries is enormous. We invest in our youth by giving them job security when they finish their study for being a pilot or mechanic abroad. We invest heavily in the social deficit on our island.
"This year, we will have spent about US$1.5 million with our community fund. We are together responsible for the well-being of more or less 500 employees and more than 4,000 indirect jobs. This also forms part of what we do in all the destinations we operate in," he said.Heerenveen said he is optimistic the Government of T&T will provide fertile ground in which InselAir will flourish.
He said the airline business is dependent on governments and his airline has had major obstacles with administrations in territories they entered with regulations, inspections and airports.