waves-dubai
15th Aug 2008, 01:22
The Digicel led company will relauch services next March with 2 737Gs....The BGI based carrier will fly to ANU, GND, CUR and GCM..North American cities will include MIA, MCO and JFK...Other cities will be added as the company expands..
They will be an ULCC that has copied the business model of Ryanair......
Future plans call for a total of 25 737Gs......Good luck to Airone Ventures Ltd..
AirOne Ventures Limited, which bills its yet-to-be-named airline as the Caribbean's first low-budget carrier, says that it will begin service to nine regional and United States destinations between March to April 2009.
Fares will be as low as US$10 but on average 40-70 per cent cheaper than existing airlines, said Airone commercial director Tara Playfair during an interview with Business Observer yesterday.
However, Airone is yet to get a response from the Jamaican government as to whether it will be allowed to land and take off from Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport under a 'fifth freedom rights' agreement. This after Airone was last year denied a licence to base itself on the island until Air Jamaica could be successfully divested, which forced the new airline to shift its headquarters to Barbados.
However, Playfair contended that Airone will not compete directly with Air Jamaica.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/images/20080812T210000-0500_138977_OBS_LOW_COST_CARRIER_SET_TO_BEGIN_SERVICE_BY_NEX T_APRIL_2.jpgAirone commercial director Tara Playfair during an interview with Business Observer at the Hilton Hotel in New Kingston yesterday
"A lot of people prefer the convenience of Air Jamaica where they have a certain amount of baggage, first class, free champagne and so on," she said. "We don't roll the cost of items such as meal, champagne and frequent flyer programmes into your airfare - you pay for the things that u really want."
Services like hold baggage, food and beverages will be provided at extra cost, said Playfair, who compared it to existing European low-budget airlines Easyjet and Ryanair.
Airone is yet to enter negotiations with Trinidad but besides Barbados will service Cayman, Grenada, Curacao and Antigua. After three months of operation it will be allowed to begin flights to US destinations Miami, Orlando and New York.
Beginning with two 160-seater Boeing 737-700 passenger aircraft Airone plan to grow to a total of 25.
The second year operations is scheduled to include Central and South America but with Airone holding to a principle of servicing destinations within fours of flying time from its Barbados hub.
"What we are saying is that we have opened these Spanish-speaking hotels and let's let Latin-American tourists come to Jamaica and do it at an affordable cost," she said.
Besides opening up the Caribbean to tourists on a lower budget, a survey by Airone showed an increasing demand for intra-island travel between nationals coming at a time of regional integration including visa-less travel between Caricom member states.
Surveyed on a basis of flight availability, price and convenience Jamaicans chose North American cities as their preferred destinations whereas other Caribbean nationals favoured other islands with Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, Cayman and St Lucia ranked as the top five.
"There is a perception that Caribbean nationals only want to travel to the likes of Miami, New York or London, especially for Jamaicans but we did some research and it was surprising that Caribbean nationals wanted to travel within the Caribbean itself which I thought was absolutely fantastic," she said.
The company previously projected that an estimated one million new passengers could be brought into Jamaica during its first five years of service.
The brainchild of a group of Irish entrepreneurs, including Digicel's vice-chairman Leslie Buckley, Airone has a close partnership with the cellular firm owned by fellow Irishman Dennis O'Brien. Originally based at Digicel's headquarters in New Kingston, there are plans for Airone tickets to be sold via Digicel outlets while ticketing and other information can be sent to customers using phones on that network.
Customers will eventually be able to receive their tickets sent via SMS text message to Digicel handsets in the form of barcodes which can be scanned upon arrival at the airport and a boarding pass issued.
The company also plans to remain streamlined with a staff complement expected to reach 220 by launch time including 10 at the Barbados headquarters. Meanwhile services like food will be outsourced.
Correction: August 13, 2008
The article incorrectly stated that Airone will fly only to destinations within fours hours flying time of their Barbados hub. However the four hours is to be measured per each journey and independent of the hub.
They will be an ULCC that has copied the business model of Ryanair......
Future plans call for a total of 25 737Gs......Good luck to Airone Ventures Ltd..
AirOne Ventures Limited, which bills its yet-to-be-named airline as the Caribbean's first low-budget carrier, says that it will begin service to nine regional and United States destinations between March to April 2009.
Fares will be as low as US$10 but on average 40-70 per cent cheaper than existing airlines, said Airone commercial director Tara Playfair during an interview with Business Observer yesterday.
However, Airone is yet to get a response from the Jamaican government as to whether it will be allowed to land and take off from Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport under a 'fifth freedom rights' agreement. This after Airone was last year denied a licence to base itself on the island until Air Jamaica could be successfully divested, which forced the new airline to shift its headquarters to Barbados.
However, Playfair contended that Airone will not compete directly with Air Jamaica.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/images/20080812T210000-0500_138977_OBS_LOW_COST_CARRIER_SET_TO_BEGIN_SERVICE_BY_NEX T_APRIL_2.jpgAirone commercial director Tara Playfair during an interview with Business Observer at the Hilton Hotel in New Kingston yesterday
"A lot of people prefer the convenience of Air Jamaica where they have a certain amount of baggage, first class, free champagne and so on," she said. "We don't roll the cost of items such as meal, champagne and frequent flyer programmes into your airfare - you pay for the things that u really want."
Services like hold baggage, food and beverages will be provided at extra cost, said Playfair, who compared it to existing European low-budget airlines Easyjet and Ryanair.
Airone is yet to enter negotiations with Trinidad but besides Barbados will service Cayman, Grenada, Curacao and Antigua. After three months of operation it will be allowed to begin flights to US destinations Miami, Orlando and New York.
Beginning with two 160-seater Boeing 737-700 passenger aircraft Airone plan to grow to a total of 25.
The second year operations is scheduled to include Central and South America but with Airone holding to a principle of servicing destinations within fours of flying time from its Barbados hub.
"What we are saying is that we have opened these Spanish-speaking hotels and let's let Latin-American tourists come to Jamaica and do it at an affordable cost," she said.
Besides opening up the Caribbean to tourists on a lower budget, a survey by Airone showed an increasing demand for intra-island travel between nationals coming at a time of regional integration including visa-less travel between Caricom member states.
Surveyed on a basis of flight availability, price and convenience Jamaicans chose North American cities as their preferred destinations whereas other Caribbean nationals favoured other islands with Tobago, Barbados, Grenada, Cayman and St Lucia ranked as the top five.
"There is a perception that Caribbean nationals only want to travel to the likes of Miami, New York or London, especially for Jamaicans but we did some research and it was surprising that Caribbean nationals wanted to travel within the Caribbean itself which I thought was absolutely fantastic," she said.
The company previously projected that an estimated one million new passengers could be brought into Jamaica during its first five years of service.
The brainchild of a group of Irish entrepreneurs, including Digicel's vice-chairman Leslie Buckley, Airone has a close partnership with the cellular firm owned by fellow Irishman Dennis O'Brien. Originally based at Digicel's headquarters in New Kingston, there are plans for Airone tickets to be sold via Digicel outlets while ticketing and other information can be sent to customers using phones on that network.
Customers will eventually be able to receive their tickets sent via SMS text message to Digicel handsets in the form of barcodes which can be scanned upon arrival at the airport and a boarding pass issued.
The company also plans to remain streamlined with a staff complement expected to reach 220 by launch time including 10 at the Barbados headquarters. Meanwhile services like food will be outsourced.
Correction: August 13, 2008
The article incorrectly stated that Airone will fly only to destinations within fours hours flying time of their Barbados hub. However the four hours is to be measured per each journey and independent of the hub.