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Friday’s Lodge Podge

May 9, 2008

As Market Growth is out the Window, Tourism now starts eating its own.

The fight for an increasing share of a decreasing market is on. What used to be a normal comparison, one travel package against another is now a weapon in the fight for survival, as was to be expected.

The Co-operative Travel, which is the UK’s largest independent holiday retailer, claims that all-inclusive cruise holidays can be extremely “cost-effective” and there are still plenty of good deals to be had with cruises. “Often…an all-inclusive package…can be very cost-effective - particularly for families,” said Trevor Davis of The Co-operative Travel, adding that there is a misconception that these types of breaks are for those with a lot of money to spend.

He continued: “I think when you consider the combination of things in terms of you not having to pay extra for the facilities that are there … you’re getting a very good fixed-price holiday for your money. I think that appeals at the moment.”-meaning as we are in a recession. Mr. Davis was pleased to announce that in April this year, The Co-operative Travel reported that cruise holiday bookings from families has increased by 31 per cent, on account of this type of vacationing

My observation here is that Caribbean Islands with cruise port facilities will see less onshore spending form cruise ship passengers, a phenomenon that is already displayed by the growing number of All-Inclusive Resorts. This is the first step of toning down vacation spending. The next step is Vacation optioning and the 3rd step is Vacationing out the window.

Some more exciting news from the travel front.

Now that we’re looking at rapidly rising airplane tickets, a slough of additional charges, major misery at airport security counters, what else can make me feel better about getting on an airplane?
Well, certainly not this American Airlines pilot.

The Federal Aviation Administration has asked American Airlines for a report on a flight that flew from Dallas/Fort Worth to Paris on April 20 after a panel on the plane’s underbelly fell during takeoff, according to an Associated Press report.

The 3-by-6-foot panel, which was covering one of the airplane’s two air conditioners, reportedly fell off during its ascent. A flight attendant onboard said it “sounded like an explosion,” according to an e-mail sent to Dallas television station WFAA.

According to a pilot memo obtained by AP, the crew kept going because cockpit instruments did not indicate that anything was wrong. The memo also indicated that passengers were never in danger.

An unnamed source at the airline told AP that three hours into the flight, the pilot heard no additional noises and found that fuel was burning at a normal rate. The pilot thought the noise might have been caused by a shift in the cargo hold, according to the source, so the pilot proceeded to cross the Atlantic.

My Comment: Wow, in my book that’s Ignorance playing with my life.

Last but not least for today:

I applaud the Jamaican Government for saying “enuff is enuff”.
They are (finally) going to unload the debt-ridden national carrier Air Jamaica.

State-owned Air Jamaica will go private, as the government of Jamaica announced plans to divest itself of all financial holdings in the debt-ridden airline by March 2009.

A grant of $820,000 from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency will be used to assist with technical services and aid in the privatization process, according to Audley Shaw, Jamaica’s minister of finance and public service. Further, an $825,000 grant from the International Finance Corp. enabled the Jamaican government to hire aviation consulting and advisory firm GRA Inc.

GRA will submit a report in mid-May to the government, addressing short-term fixes to improve operations, reorganize the company and provide management support during the privatization effort.

In the end, the divestment announcement came as no surprise. Prime Minister Bruce Golding had publicly identified the troubled carrier as a “drag on our national budget.”

Golding said that Air Jamaica has lost an average of $100 million per year since 2004, when the government took over the carrier following a 10-year period of partial privatization during which the government held 25% of the airline, employees held 5% and investors had control of the rest.

The government seeks to transfer ownership and full management control of Air Jamaica to the private sector but has specified that Air Jamaica be structurally or contractually linked to an experienced global carrier to help steer to economic viability.

“We are emotional about Air Jamaica but it still takes cash to care,” said Shaw. “In the end, it came down to whether we as a government allowed the airline to continue to hemorrhage and eventually close, or took strong action now to save the airline and make it a viable entity for the country.”

The Air Jamaica brand, considered a national symbol by many Jamaicans, will likely be retained, according to Shaw.

Question from afar: How are our national carriers doing? Winair still connecting the West Indies and who is now flying the Curacao route?

Written by stringdude · Filed Under News, Travel News 

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