Cybergus From Venezuela, joined Mar 2006, 323 posts, RR: 6 Posted (7 months 1 week 10 hours ago) and read 1603 times:
Quoted from their web page:
Port of Spain, February 20, 2008
Caribbean Airlines Starts New Flights to Venezuela
Caribbean Airlines announces today that it is expanding its network to South America with the introduction on March 9th of a new non-stop flight to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. The new daily service is the first network expansion since the airline started operating on January 1st 2007.
The daily non-stop flight will be serviced by a Dash-8 aircraft with a schedule built to provide excellent connection time in Port-of-Spain for passengers wishing to continue their journey to New York City and Toronto. The 70 minutes flight will include Caribbean Miles accumulation and rewards, web check-in, on board refreshment and the reliable and warm service that Caribbean Airlines' customers are now accustomed to on all our routes.
"Caribbean Airlines is proud to add a new route to South America with its first flight to Caracas in March", says Caribbean Airlines' CEO Philip Saunders. "This is a new milestone in our strategy to fully utilise Piarco International Airport as a hub linking North and South America and to further strengthen our position as the airline of choice in the region".
The daily Caracas flight departs Piarco International Airport at 0705 and arrives in Caracas at 0815. On its return journey it leaves Caracas at 0855 and lands in Piarco at 1105. Operations are planned to commence on March 9th and the flights are opened for sale. Caracas is the third destination served by Caribbean Airlines in South America. The airline already flies to Georgetown in Guyana and Paramaribo in Suriname.
Customers are encouraged to visit caribbean-airlines.com or contact the Airline's Reservations Department or their Travel Agent for further information.
So this is a big kick to VH's monopoly and bad service to POS, what do you think?. There also says that they will offer connections to NYC and YYZ so maybe AC and AA should be aware?.
UPPERDECKFAN From Spain, joined Jun 2007, 849 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (7 months 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 1473 times:
Quoting Avianca (Reply 1): fares are around 800 VEF return including taxes...
What a bargain, around 150USD on the black market........another one to thank Mr Chavez and his CADIVI dollars,
Quoting Cybergus (Thread starter): There also says that they will offer connections to NYC and YYZ so maybe AC and AA should be aware?.
There is an open thread regarding AC's decoupling the triangular YYZ-POS-CCS-YYZ,
On the side of AA, they progresively reduced and at the end dropped completely JFK-CCS so I don't think venezuelan traffic to NYC is even close to what it used to be in the past (CO also dropped IAH-CCS).
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 4770 posts, RR: 27 Reply 3, posted (7 months 6 days 15 hours ago) and read 1461 times:
Quoting UPPERDECKFAN (Reply 2): On the side of AA, they progresively reduced and at the end dropped completely JFK-CCS so I don't think venezuelan traffic to NYC is even close to what it used to be in the past (CO also dropped IAH-CCS).
you mean CO dropped EWR - CCS or better to say it is still operating 1 a week.. IAH-CCS is still daily and as I know doing very very good due the oil traffic.
2travel2know From Panama, joined Apr 2005, 2739 posts, RR: 3 Reply 4, posted (7 months 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 1429 times:
Quoting Avianca (Reply 3): you mean CO dropped EWR - CCS or better to say it is still operating 1 a week.. IAH-CCS is still daily and as I know doing very very good due the oil traffic.
I think both AA and CO operate once a week services to CCS from DFW and EWR respectively not to lose their route rights from the Venezuelan authorities. There were rumors of extra IAH-CCS, which I don't think is possible now a days. A sizable number of CCS and MAR passengers do fly via PTY to/from IAH.
Won't the Caribbean Airlines Dash-8 face excess-baggage problems on the CCS route?
My guess is that it will.
Voodoo From Niue, joined Mar 2001, 1829 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (7 months 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 1421 times:
Quoting 2travel2know (Reply 4): Won't the Caribbean Airlines Dash-8 face excess-baggage problems on the CCS route?
My guess is that it will.
Do Trinis still seek to shop in Caracas? The Trinidad economy is much more open than it used to be. However, I do not know what the price of goods in Chavezland is nowadays.
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 4770 posts, RR: 27 Reply 6, posted (7 months 6 days 13 hours ago) and read 1410 times:
Quoting Voodoo (Reply 5):
Do Trinis still seek to shop in Caracas? The Trinidad economy is much more open than it used to be. However, I do not know what the price of goods in Chavezland is nowadays.
well its actually expensive... but if you have USD in cash its relativly cheap...
Quoting 2travel2know (Reply 4): I think both AA and CO operate once a week services to CCS from DFW and EWR respectively not to lose their route rights from the Venezuelan authorities.
I don't see any direct EWR/CCS at all anymore...but I do see JFK/CCS 2 times a week as AA975...
IAH /CCS is still daily and I believe CO is routing all CCS traffic thru there...
SJOtoLIR From Costa Rica, joined Jul 2007, 1135 posts, RR: 3 Reply 8, posted (7 months 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 1309 times:
Quoting Cybergus (Thread starter): So this is a big kick to VH's monopoly and bad service to POS, what do you think?. There also says that they will offer connections to NYC and YYZ so maybe AC and AA should be aware?.
AC isn't getting traffic rights between POS-CCS in the triangular route AC YYZ-POS-CCS-YYZ.
AC does not fly the leg CCS-POS.
Regards.
"Goin' up to the spirit in the sky" Song performed by Norman Greenbaum. 1969.
CayMan From Canada, joined Aug 2003, 797 posts, RR: 7 Reply 9, posted (7 months 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 1300 times:
They claim it will work well with connections to YYZ and JFK but it must involve an overnight stop in POS, because the POS CCS flight leaves at 0705 hours, so I can't see too much appeal for people to want to spend a night in the terminal in POS or get a hotel.
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 4770 posts, RR: 27 Reply 10, posted (7 months 6 days 2 hours ago) and read 1293 times:
Quoting CayMan (Reply 9): They claim it will work well with connections to YYZ and JFK but it must involve an overnight stop in POS, because the POS CCS flight leaves at 0705 hours, so I can't see too much appeal for people to want to spend a night in the terminal in POS or get a hotel.
AA1818 From Trinidad And Tobago, joined Feb 2006, 1953 posts, RR: 3 Reply 13, posted (7 months 5 days 13 hours ago) and read 1216 times:
I don't think CALs focus here is on connecting traffic, however, given the lack of expansion opportunities on the USA-CCS routes, I think CAL is hoping to attract a few passengers who might desperately need to get to the USA, but due to full flights (limited) supply cannot do so non-stop out of CCS.
There is a lot of O&D travel between POS and CCS and I expect this is what Caribbean AIrlines is hoping to tap into. I don't think Trinis are too big on the idea of shopping in CCS anymore, now that you can buy just about anything you want to in POS.
I expect this daily flight to do exceptionally well. The limited cargo capacity of the Dash8s might be a limiting factor, however, CLA has very strict baggage limits on the Dash8 and so I don't thihk it will be a cause for major concern such as left bags etc.
Purely speculation, but perhaps if this route proves successful, we might see it upgraded to double daily and eventually it could warrant 737 service. Of course this would only be possible if VH were off the route and also if CAL acquired more 737s.
Anyone knows how the first flight yesterday went? Was it full? On time? Any pictures? Was 9Y-WIP used int he new livery?
A388 From Netherlands Antilles, joined May 2001, 5019 posts, RR: 8 Reply 14, posted (7 months 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 1154 times:
Quoting AA1818 (Reply 13): I think CAL is hoping to attract a few passengers who might desperately need to get to the USA, but due to full flights (limited) supply cannot do so non-stop out of CCS.
Venezuelans who want to go to MIA will most likely opt for flying via CUR or AUA instead of POS. They already do so to be more precise. As I have said before Venezuelans prefer CUR or AUA as it is closer to CCS with much more flights on Venezuelan carriers. POS doesn't even come close to being competitive capacity wise compared to CUR and/or AUA. Why go on a small Dash-8 with limited cargo capacity (even if they would offer twice daily flights) when you can fly four times daily to CUR on MD80s, 737s, DC9s, F100s and/or ATR42s? The same goes for AUA who also has plenty of connecting possibilities from Venezuela and to the U.S., more than POS has. All but one major U.S. airline fly to AUA and most have twice daily flights. CUR is growing as well to the U.S. but modestly. Our maket is still in a growing stage.
Avianca From Venezuela, joined Jan 2005, 4770 posts, RR: 27 Reply 15, posted (7 months 5 days 5 hours ago) and read 1148 times:
Quoting A388 (Reply 14): Venezuelans who want to go to MIA will most likely opt for flying via CUR or AUA instead of POS. They already do so to be more precise. As I have said before Venezuelans prefer CUR or AUA as it is closer to CCS with much more flights on Venezuelan carriers. POS doesn't even come close to being competitive capacity wise compared to CUR and/or AUA. Why go on a small Dash-8 with limited cargo capacity (even if they would offer twice daily flights) when you can fly four times daily to CUR on MD80s, 737s, DC9s, F100s and/or ATR42s? The same goes for AUA who also has plenty of connecting possibilities from Venezuela and to the U.S., more than POS has. All but one major U.S. airline fly to AUA and most have twice daily flights. CUR is growing as well to the U.S. but modestly. Our maket is still in a growing stage.
easy, the connection via POS would be with 1 carrier, and not as via CUR or AUA with carrier that are always delayed and you always loose your connection... when I search for flights to the US from I honestly see never connections offered via CUR or AUA... the only 2 carrier conections via the caribean that I see are via SDQ.
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