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Airfare Sale To St. Lucia

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Submitted by Adrian Loveridge

This afternoon we received an email highlighting special airfares from the United States and Canada to St. Lucia. It read:

‘Airfare Sales to St. Lucia from US$99 each way’ ‘Sample round-trip fares for Summer. American Airlines, JetBlue or Delta – New York – $198 – Boston – $312 – Washington (DC) – $292 – Baltimore – $282 – Charlotte – $360 and Chicago – $312 West Jet and Air Canada – Toronto – $298’

Not having seen these airfares before earlier this year, I then went of to American Airlines website and found a one way airfare of US$89 from New York to Barbados for travel in May.

Looking at the recently released forward hotel occupancy levels for this summer, I then went onto our national tourism website and was surprised not to find any links to details of these special fares. In fact on the site only two airlines are mentioned, US Airways and Air Canada, and I understand we have already lost the US Airways Philadelphia service.

I have to pose the question again, is our inactively and lackadaisical response loosing us critical long stay visitors during the softer summer months?

Are ‘we’ really happy to accept a national hotel occupancy level of just 24% in August again this year?

Are ‘we’ allowing our Caribbean neighbours to ‘steal’ our market share by them being far more proactive?

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32 responses to “Airfare Sale To St. Lucia”

  1. Austin Avatar
    Austin

    @ Adrian

    Your submission highlights an area of frustration I have had for our approach to doing business in Barbados. There appears to be a total lack of “competitiveness” and “drive” in government and the public at large, bajans just appear to do not get it.

    You call government officials and businesse in barbados they call you back 2-3 weeks later. This non-responsive approach to doing business and maintaining our competitive edge is absolutely going to “KILL US” in our efforts to overcome this global recession.

    Folks in Barbados simply see nothing wrong with slow, non-productive approaches to doing business and have no appreciation for “time”.

    I expect that we may be out paced by other islands in the year to come, as our bajan lacked approach to doing almost everything is about to bite us in the ass.

  2. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    SALE TO BARBADOS FROM TORONTO ON AIR CANADA

    From $198.00 + taxes of $98.86
    LUGGAGE – 2 PIECES, 50 LBS. EACH
    TRAVEL DURING MAY AND RETURN NO LATER THAN JUNE 30

  3. Avatar
    Anonymous

    @ Hants, what’s your POINT of $198.00 + $98.86 taxes. I get a total of $296.86 when I add the two quoted sums by you verses the article quoted $298.00, please help me to understand what you are getting at?

  4. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    Austin,

    We miss SO MANY opportunities.
    A classic example is the American Airlines AAdvantage programme, the world’s first frequent flyer programme launched in 1981 and now has over 50 MILLION members.
    I have been trying to get the BTA to launch a MILES programme for decades. As a private sector initiative we even registered and launched a programme called MILESCloser.
    The point being is that MILLIONS of AAdvantage members ALREADY have sufficient miles to get to Barbados and we don’t have to tempt them with US$300 per person subsidies.

    Recently AA launched a new sub-website (www.aa.com/milestones)
    which features the Caribbean and has a series of beautifully produced short films which include DOMINICA and the US and British Virgin Islands.
    There is also a MESSAGE BOARD for people to source tourism information which lists: Antigua, Jamaica, Bahamas, Nevis, Panama, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Sr. Thomas, St. Vincent, Tortola (BVI) Trinidad and the Turks and Caicos.

    Guess what !

    Not a mention of BARBADOS despite it being one of the leading destinations for AA in the Caribbean.

    Why does it take a small hotelier to repeatedly point out these lost opportunities when our national marketing agency has 130 employees spending BDS$92 million a year?

  5. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    DELTA Airlines are shortly increasing their WEEKLY flights from Atlanta to St. Lucia from 7 to 10. This together with a change in operating aircraft from B737-800’s to B757’s which will dramatically increase seating capacity.

  6. Austin Avatar
    Austin

    It really makes you ask the question of whether we have have the right civil service talent and leadership working at BTA.

    If the answer is “we do not” which I suspect it is, nothing will change and missed opportunites will continue to our detriment.

    It simply is unsatisfactory that we still cannot deploy innovative thinking at this critical economic time at the BTA, while we continue to praise BTA leaders for doing a small percentage of their jobs.

    We appear to be a nation of “half doers” in many areas, and are missing the simply opportunities due to a “lacked” civil service mindset and approach to real problem solving.

    I am not a marketing expert but the fact that we are being outpaced by others in the region is sad as hell.

    The US market outside of NY still do not know enough about Barbados as a vacation destination, I am always educating americans in my travels on “where Barbados is” and “why its a great vacation destination” (send me the money BTA) and I can get more visitors to Barbados.

    Jamaica and the Bahamas are running circles around us BTA, please get that BTA. The folks at BTA need to get on a plane and investigate their target markets and find real world ways to improve the Barbados Tourism industry.

    @David
    I wish there was a way to put together a BU – BTA suggestings list and formally provide to BTA officials, as I have expressed before. The BU family needs to start reaching out to BTA official directly using the “Government Contacts” link above, and move from talk to action.

    Barbados Tourism will be critical to our near and long term economic survive with so little else going for is as a nation. There are many reasons why BIM is the best vacation destination which the BTA leadership has seem to forgotten, and appear to can’t leverage.

    Lets do something about it BU….

  7. David Avatar
    David

    @Austin

    Rest assured your words are being read by the movers and shakers at the BTA and even ministers in government.

    Generally it is understood that Barbados has been reluctant to position as a mass-market tourism destination like a Jamaica or Venice being good examples.

  8. Young Bajan Avatar
    Young Bajan

    Adrian, what are the main restrictions you face outside of governmental ignorance that prohibit you/hoteliers from realising that their competitiveness is not up to par??

  9. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    Young Bajan,

    If ‘we’ are ever going to be competitive then I am afraid
    that it is going to have to include Government.
    There are so many things, like trying to re-new a liquor licence (3 visits to a Magistrates Court) or the BTA annual licence when you know there are at least 20 unlicensed accommodation providers within a mile of us. So much more could be done to improve our trading environment.
    I see a huge amount of complacency both in the private and public sector with many relying on others to build their businesses, rather than making the effort themselves.
    Those in policymaking positions seem almost terrified to try alternative ways of doing business or using was is readily available to us, on our doorstep.
    Often the easy way is taken by appointing people to control our destiny who know less about the subject than many of us that live here.
    And those few that maintain the passion and drive and know that it can be done better, get frustrated to a point when just giving up seems the best option.
    After 44 years in this industry I feel obligated to give something back as Barbados has been very good to us. But I tell you, its not easy!

  10. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @Austin “Jamaica and the Bahamas are running circles around us”

    Jamaica has “one love” by Bob Marley, and now Usain Bolt in a great TV commercial.
    Bahamas has great TV commercials.
    For years Jamaica and The Bahamas have been using TV advertising regularly.
    How often do you see TV ads for Barbados?

    Walk by Travel agencies in Toronto and you see hardly any advertising about Barbados.

    Toronto newspapers have very few ads about Barbados.

    There must be some other MARKETING strategy by Barbados than what the other destinations are using.

    With airfares from North America at less than $300 return, Barbados should be full of Tourists like Jamaica and the Bahamas.

  11. David Avatar
    David

    It would be useful to talk about a revamped role for the BHTA.

  12. David Avatar
    David

    Relevant links to support the discussion:


     

     

    Delta Website

  13. The Scout Avatar
    The Scout

    Then what about inter-regional travel? It is cheaper to travel to Miami or New York than to fly to many of our caribbean neighbours, and we’re talking caribbean intigration. I see caribbean airlines is looking at taking over the air travel in the entire region al companies, with the fares that they are offering this will make our neighbours strangers. The ferry services that has been mooted for years continue to be just “long talk”.

  14. Austin Avatar
    Austin

    @David

    I took a look at the bhta link provided and was left with the following thought:

    if the bhta is successful at living up to all they say, why the hell are we in this position. Is it the the bhta with all their experience and expertise also have not played an effective role in focusing on some of the root causes hindering progress in their own industry. I am always amazed in Barbados how industry elites at times also don’t get it. It’s about MARKETING 101 and getting back to basics:

    1. We need to invest in running Barbados tourism ads in a broad range of markets, folks in the US as a key market still in 2010 do not know Barbados.

    2. Development of our brand: we are the king of beautiful beaches in a family friendly environment.

    3. We are a safe island important to many.

    4. Aggressive online marketing with orbit and the like..

    5. Get them young: advertising at international colleges and universities

    6. Let’s co sponsor some international events

    7. Incentative hotels to lower room rates.

    8. Incentative hotels to offer all inclusive packages like Jamaica

    for starters…

  15. Nostradamus Avatar
    Nostradamus

    Adrian, If Alan Chastanet is still Minister of Tourism in St. Lucia I am not surprised that they are stealing our thunder. I have have heard him speacking on tourism matters and it sounded to me that as they say “he knows his onions” when it comes to tourism and is providing the necessary leadership.

  16. David Avatar
    David

    @Austin

    It seems Barbados is trapped in the mindset of traditional approaches and to top it off we have the nasty divisiveness which politics brings.

    As far as Chastanet goes he comes from a background of his hotel family business. When he speaks he does so against the background of an intimate and passionate feel for the sector.

  17. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    As I understand ‘over’ 60% of the marketing portion of the BDS$92 million allocated to the BTA in the last financial year was spent on E commerce.
    Currently the single only national marketing initiative is the Spring in Barbados programme, which according to the BTA website (www.visitbarbados.org) is ONLY available through a small number of ‘preferred travel partners’ in the United States.
    In 2009 the US produced slightly less than 24% of the total of long stay visitors.

    Therefore, for a staggering 76% of our overall long stay visitor market, there is no national marketing initiative in place.

    Up until the introduction of JetBlue, the US market was allowed to stagnate for nearly EIGHT years, despite massive increases in budget spending.
    During seven of those years, the US saw absolutely NO overall average growth whatsoever.

    When I queried this during the short time I was a BTA director, I was told ‘well the US is a different market’.
    Of course EVERY market is different and that is why you have to try different things.
    We didn’t, and kept the Best of Barbados programme going and going without even evaluating its cost-effectiveness. We paid the price and to a certain extent are still paying that price.
    ‘We’ must do a lot more than count the arrival numbers.
    ‘We’ must track these people and see where they are actually staying!

  18. Stale air Avatar
    Stale air

    Adrian a new airline based at Barbabdos named Air One is set to hire 75 Bajans and start with lower fares than Liat plying the Caribbean route. You hear about it? If so why you did not share the good news or you only interested in knocking Barbados and promoting islands that stab us in the back in the marketplace. Loud steupz. Lets hear you AL.

  19. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    Stale Air,

    Yes! I have been following the Airone story since reading an article in the Jamaica Gleaner on 7th December 2007.
    Subsequently the withdrawal of Irish businessman Leslie Buckley from the venture and various applications for air traffic rights since.
    Airone Ventures Limited was registered in Barbados on 22 January 2008 – Registration # 25852.

    I think if you have read my various articles over the years you would reasonably draw the conclusion that I am not ‘knocking’ Barbados or in fact trying to suggest that any other Caribbean destination is superior.

    I just KNOW there are better ways to do things and I think prove of that is beyond question!

  20. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    Sorry, should read ‘PROOF’

  21. David Avatar
    David

    Here is the relevant article referred to in the Airone comments:

    Private commercial airline hunts Jamaican licence – Airone Ventures names Digicel as sales partner

    published: Friday | December 7, 2007

    John Myers Jr., Business Reporter

    A new airline company, whose directors include a top Digicel executive, has applied to Jamaica’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a permit to operate commercial flights between the United States and Jamaica.

    Digicel Group Vice-President Leslie Buckley is one of four named shareholders in Airone Ventures Limited, a Jamaican registered company and subsidiary of St. Lucia-based Airone Holdings Limited.

    In addition, Airone and Digicel are forming an alliance but last night the latter company moved swiftly to dispel any suggestion that it was an investor in the airline.

    "It is an entirely separate legal entity to Digicel Limited," said group head of communications Maureen Rabbitt.

    "Airone Ventures Limited is not owned, controlled or managed by Digicel Limited."

    Pressed on whether the company’s chairman Denis O’Brien was involved with Airone, both Rabbitt and later ProComm, the agency handling media relations for Airone, said ‘no’.

    Airone has asked the CAA for permission to operate as many as 18 flights per week from gateways in Kingston and Montego Bay into Fort Lauderdale and New York in the US.

    Airone Ventures, in a copy of an outline of its business plan obtained by the Financial Gleaner, said it has successfully raised US$30 million (J$2.1 billion) so far from private investors to begin its operations.

    It plans to operate a fleet of five new Boeing 737s in the first eight months, with the intention of expanding to eight aircraft in two years.

    Airone has tapped Digicel for assistance, saying that it would be relying on the savvy mobile phone company for sales support.

    Rabbitt confirmed those talks.

    "Digicel has discussed a number of business opportunities with Airone involving the Digicel dealer/retail network, such as passengers being able to collect/purchase tickets at Digicel retail stores and the like," she said.

    The airline’s in its business plan said it plans to take on the market and woo passengers by "working with Digicel to create the most innovative and comprehensive sales and distribution channels of any airline in the world today and will also be working with them in the areas of marketing and promotion."

    The airline principals envisage Airone becoming the largest regional carrier under plans to to add routes to the wider Caribbean and Central American markets.

    That plan puts them in direct competition with national carrier Air Jamaica, whose fleet of 15 already flies the some of destinations that Airone appears to be targeting.

    Additionally, the company says it will be positioning itself as a low-cost carrier.

    "We are here to establish a headquarters and a home from which we will grow to over 25 planes spread over 7 bases within the Caribbean and the Americas," the company said in its business plan.

    It names Jamaica as its intended headquarters.

    "Airone is established to offer low fares in a market which requires development and growth and we have the ability to make it a reality. Airone is going to create a ‘low fare airline for the people’ and, through continuous investment, aggressive deal making, strategic alliances and hard work, develop to become the largest and cheapest carrier in the region," the principals said.

    That also would pitch it against Spirit Airlines, an American carrier operating cheap flights to the region and other markets.

    BJM Nominees and Buckley have been named as the main shareholders of the company, with the remaining 22 per cent being made up of promoters and cash investors.

    This new entity, which is comprised of interests with expertise in finance, telecommunications and aviation, plans to break into the Jamaican market as a Low Cost Carrier (LCC) with the ethnic Diaspora and cost conscious tourists as its main target.

    "There is also a large and growing market for low cost short holiday breaks and we will open Jamaica to these tourists who only travel to low cost carrier destinations," Airone said.

    By diving into what Airone described as this ‘untapped market’ it expects to bring to Jamaica over 300,000 new passengers in the first year of operation and grow that number to over 600,000 in two years.

    The company is confident that it can boost tourist arrivals by bringing one million new tourists to Jamaica’s shores within five years.

    Airone is promising fares priced as low as 80 per cent below current fares offered by airlines flying to Jamaica and other Caribbean destinations.

    The principals in their pitch for CAA approval, argued that the establishment of Airone in Jamaica would not only provide low cost travel to residents and foreigners alike, but it would also generate some 220 new skilled jobs in the first year of operation with 90 per cent of those positions to be filled locally.

    It estimates that its operations would contribute 2.0 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product, and contribute a minimum of US$65 million in taxes to the Government, excluding those to be had from new employment and third party service providers.

    Airone Ventures has targeted May 2008 as has set May 2008 to commence flights.

    The CAA has set December 12 as the final date for the public to object to Airone’s obtaining a licence.

    john.myers@gleanerjm.com

  22. Sweet Guyanese Tamarind Avatar
    Sweet Guyanese Tamarind

    Look it cost $900.00 USD dollar between New York City and Georgetown Guyana on the daily Delta Airlines flight, plus, it is cheaper to fly to Miami from Trinidad than it is to fly to Trinidad from Guyana. I think we should start up Guyana Airways and operate a route to New York City via Bridgetown from Georgetown and vice versa, and in this way both countries will benefit, you get the tourists and overseas based Guyanese get some relief from the sky high fares charged by Delta and Caribbean Airways

  23. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Guyanese paying the high fares on Delta Airlines between GEO and JFK and vs, so that they, Delta Airlines can turn around and offer $99.00 USD to St. Lucia, among other places.

  24. Green Monkey Avatar
    Green Monkey

    Somewhat off topic, but relevant to our dependence on tourism (and tourists from the UK) as the mainstay of our economy:

    Scientists forecast decades of ash clouds
    Many more of Iceland’s volcanoes seem to be stirring

    THE Icelandic eruption that has caused misery for air travellers could be part of a surge in volcanic activity that will affect the whole of Europe for decades, scientists have warned.

    They have reconstructed a timeline of 205 eruptions in Iceland, spanning the past 1,100 years, and found that they occur in regular cycles — with the relatively quiet phase that dominated the past five decades now coming to an end.

    At least three other big Icelandic volcanoes are building towards an eruption, according to Thor Thordarson, a volcanologist at Edinburgh University.

    “The frequency of Icelandic eruptions seems to rise and fall in a cycle lasting around 140 years,” he said. “In the latter part of the 20th century we were in a low period, but now there is evidence that we could be approaching a peak.”

    His findings coincide with new warnings that the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, which has disrupted air traffic across Europe for several weeks, could carry on for many months — and possibly years.

    Some geologists have also warned of a serious threat from a fourth volcano, Katla, which lies 15 miles to the east of Eyjafjallajokull. Two of its past three eruptions seemed to be triggered by those of its smaller neighbour and a report issued just before Eyjafjallajokull blew suggested Katla was “close to failure [eruption]”.

    snip

    The new rules in place for aviation mean Iceland and Europe can probably cope with Eyjafjallajokull, but an eruption by Katla could cause far bigger problems.

    Dr Richard Waller, senior lecturer in physical geography at Keele University, believes the ash cloud could be immense, but for Iceland the biggest problem would be massive flooding.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article7127706.ece

    Never mind concerns over higher fuel prices leading to higher priced airline tickets (as peak oil starts to make itself felt), we now also have to consider: will residents of the UK be so eager to travel overseas for holidays if they know that there is a good chance their flights might be canceled or delayed due to unpredictable Icelandic, volcanic activity? I am sure I also read recently in another article that if the Katla volcano blows, the ash cloud would be so immense it has a good chance of reaching North America and disrupting air travel there as well.

  25. Readydone Avatar
    Readydone

    I often wonder if we could get visitors to advertise Barbados for us themselves, i think free wifi in and around tourist areas would allow the tourist to upload videos directly from Barbados to popular web sites like you tube and such, and the personal videos would make a bigger impact than that of advertisements.

  26. BadMan Saying Nuttin Avatar
    BadMan Saying Nuttin

    Just one clarification. The BTA is not Civil Service. They are a cadre of highly paid internationally recruited professionals who although operating under a Minister do not have any of the constraints of the normal civil service bureaucracy. Whatever the problem is there be it inactivity or inefficiency or simply lack of creative or visionary thinking It is not because of civil service type activities.

  27. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    ReadyDone,

    Good idea, but I have been trying to get the BTA to put
    the enticing video destination endorsements shown on http://www.visitbarbados.org for YouTube for some time without any response.
    The free WiFi is also a good idea, BUT if we cannot even provide that at our our major Conference Centre (LESC) where are we going?
    At the recent re-DISCOVER the Caribbean Show our exhibitors were outraged at the daily cost to provide a WiFi service.
    We really also need a world class ‘things to do on Barbados’ video, rather like the one Sandals Ocho Rios produced and posted on YouTube recently.

  28. David Avatar
    David

    Internet access is a value-added which should NOT be seen as a revenue spinner. Certainly a simple meeting with LIME or Digicel caan persuade them to establish HotSpots are strategic locations to support the industry. There is advertising benefit for them as well

  29. suzy Avatar
    suzy

    agree with all comments

  30. David Avatar
    David

    Relevant information…

     

    Startup looks to launch Fort Lauderdale-Barbados service
    By: Gay Nagle MyersMay 20, 2010

    Airone Ventures, a startup airline based in Barbados, plans to launch low-fare service within the Caribbean and between the U.S. and Barbados in February 2011, according to an application filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation.

    Initially, the network would include a daily nonstop between Fort Lauderdale and Barbados, using a 150-seat, all-economy MD-82 leased from Allegiant Air, a 10% shareholder in the venture.

    Barbados is currently served by American, Delta, JetBlue and US Airways from the U.S.

    The airline is a subsidiary of Airone Holdings in St. Lucia, which named the Ireland-based communications firm Digicel as its marketing and sales partner.

    Three years ago, Airone Ventures tried to set up shop in Jamaica as a low-fare carrier with plans to operate up to 18 weekly flights from Kingston and Montego Bay to Fort Lauderdale and New York.

    That application was denied in January 2008, reportedly because the Jamaican government did not want to grant any new airline licenses until Air Jamaica was sold, according to the Jamaica Gleaner.

    When its Jamaica application was denied, Airone moved its headquarters and base of operations to Barbados.

    Airone’s founder and director of business development is Irishman Robbie Burns, who formerly worked for Digicel in new market projects in the Caribbean. His father, Ian Burns, serves as Airone’s chairman and CEO and formerly was a partner in RSM Robson Rhodes, an accounting and financial advisory firm in Ireland.

    The Burnses own 25% of Airone. The rest of the shareholders are Allegiant Air and investors from countries in the European Union, according to the application.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    Examples of St. Lucia tourism initiatives:

    http://www.stlucianow.com/familyescape.aspx

    http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-23253–20-20–.html

  32. Adrian Loveridge Avatar
    Adrian Loveridge

    ‘Already up about 14% for first 3 months of this year’

    Senator Allan Chastanet – Minister of Tourism – St. Lucia

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