Caribbean Airlines fuel subsidy end to improve regional aviation

Trinidad and Tobago government is bracing to end fuel subsidy being provided so far to Caribbean Airlines. The government in a recent announcement said that it will stop providing this subsidy from October this year.

Media reports quoting some travel observers said that if this announcement by the government appears to be  true and not a hoax then there is every possibility that the regional aviation sectors, particularly in Guyana and Suriname, are going to benefit.

Caribbean Airlines has a monopoly over Guyana’s skies. This has deterred other airlines from entering the Guyana market fearing heavy losses. Even state-owned Suriname Airways has more often complained that the fuel subsidy being provided to Caribbean Airlines had been grossly an unfair competition.

As the news about the end of fuel subsidy to Caribbean Airlines hit the headlines, the Government of Suriname and Surname Airways have started discussing about a $200 million modernization and expansion plan for the state-owned carrier.

Suriname Airways has now made elaborate plans to begin flight operations to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport via Georgetown. The new flights are expected to be operational by the end of 2013. Apart from this, the airline is also planning to soon increase its frequency on the Georgetown-Miami route. The airline is presently operating two weekly flights on this route, which it plans to increase to three flights per week.