BVI News

BVI Airways is the newest local airline.

British Virgin Islands’ airlines are more than capable of rising to the call of extra flights in the region and any efforts by larger rivals or critics to pour doubt on that should be seen for what it is — a desperate and futile attempt to maintain a status quo which only benefits large carriers at the expense of competition.

The territory’s aviation industry is currently undergoing major changes with the introduction of two locally registered and operated carriers – B.V.I Airways and VI Airlink.

But sadly not everyone is happy.

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United States registered airlines account for almost 100 percent of the territory’s aviation market since 1996.

The B.V.I Beacon in their May 12, 2010 issue addressed these changes in the article `Decision could restrict non-local airlines’ without, in my opinion, proper investigation and thereby distorting the facts.

Let’s start with the opening paragraph.  “A transportation regulator’s recent decision to rewrite the rules on how planes fly in and out of the territory may reduce the number of flights serving the Virgin Islands in the future.

The Department for Transportation, the territory’s United Kingdom regulator, did not rewrite the aviation rules regarding which airlines use B.V.I’s airspace, but rather they are finally enforcing the Chicago Convention of 1944 Article 44 Objectives thereby levelling the playing field.

What the Department for Transportation is ensuring is that the aims and objectives of the Organization – to develop the principles and techniques of international air navigation and foster the planning and development of international air transport – are met so as to:

(a) Ensure the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation throughout the world;

(b) Prevent economic waste caused by unreasonable competition;

(c) Ensure that the rights of contracting States such as the United States, European Union, Canada, United Kingdom. and it’s Overseas Territories, including the B.V.I., Anguilla, Montserrat and Caymans, just to name a few, are fully respected and that every contracting State has a fair opportunity to operate international airlines;

(d) And, to promote generally the development of all aspects of international civil aeronautics.

According to the B.V.I Beacon article, “For Jeffery Brown, operations manager at Fly BVI, the restrictions will limit his air company’s ability to serve tourists, business people and residents. He said his US-registered company bases its operations here in order to serve what he called the four Caribbean gateways: St. Thomas, San Juan, Antigua and St. Maarten. The rule change would restrict the St. Maarten and Antigua flights.”

The enforcement of the Chicago Convention only removes 25 percent of the territory’s aviation market from U.S. based companies.
What the reporter failed to mention is that the US-EU Transportation agreement Article 2 promotes Fair & Equal Opportunity and that every country encourages local participation at all levels of the aviation industry. Meaning, local aviation companies must be given the same opportunities as their larger and foreign rivals.

My question to Mr. Jeffrey Brown is how can there be a reduction of flights when around seventy five percent of the tourists who use Fly B.V.I. and Island Birds would still be on their flights from the U.S to the territory?

While the remaining twenty five percent of foreign flights will be shared between V.I. Airlink, Anguilla Air Services, B.V.I. Airways, Trans Anguilla, and Montserrat Airways which are all carriers in the Overseas Territories.

Does that not add up to 100 percent?

And, unlike Fly B.V.I. and Island Birds OT carriers can operate from any Overseas Territory without a Foreign Operators Permission due to regulators put in place in 2005 to fulfil International Civil Aviation Organizations standards (ICAO).

Yes, the monopoly has been broken. Finally!

Now, local pilots, engineers and flight attendants present and future would be afforded the opportunity to be involved in the aviation industry in the territory.

For over seven years, we have endure unfair competition from U.S. carriers that are enjoying almost all ICAO freedoms of the air throughout the Caribbean –
•    over flight
•    technical stop, e.g. fuel
•    deliver revenue passengers from the airline’s home country (U.S.) to another country (B.V.I.) and vice versa.
•    take passengers from home country (U.S.); deposit them at main destination (B.V.I.) and then flying additional passengers onto another international destination (e.g. Antigua).
•    carry on flights that originate in a foreign country (B.V.I.), bypass its home country (U.S.), and then deposit passengers at another international destination (e.g. St Maarten).
•    the right for an airline from a particular country (U.S.A.) to originate a flight in a foreign country (B.V.I.) and carry passengers from one point to another within the foreign country.

OT carriers only enjoy the first two freedoms, except for Cayman Airways, the first four.

Simply put, we have had a hard time accessing the U.S. market. But we intend to change this. V.I. Air Link in October 2009 started the certification process, yes another certification process, to operate commercially in the U.S. We have spent just between US$15,000 – US$25,000 on paper work and now we await final clearance.

However, U.S. carriers are allowed to operate here on the merit of their U.S. certification, while V.I. Airlink or any OT carrier also needs a US$250,000.00 bond for U.S. customs.

According to the B.V.I Beacon article, “Mr. Brown said he does not believe that the two locally registered carriers — BVI Airways and VI Airlink — will have sufficient capacity to serve the market. He added that while his company welcomes the competition, it has spent a lot of time and money courting European customers who rely on flights from Antigua and St. Maarten to get to the VI. Most of the world has been removed from our reach.”

Sounds to me like Jeffery Brown of Fly B.V.I. wants to get his piece of the cake, the OT carriers’ piece of the cake and then drink everybody’s milk.

I do not see how most of the world has been removed from U.S. carriers.

Please be advised Mr. Brown that the B.V.I is an OT and we can count on the other OTs to help with seat capacity.

In the B.V.I Beacon article Bob Lemire, president of Islands Birds, stressed that “the negative impact on tourism and business this decision will continue to have should not be underestimated, but rather taken very seriously.”

We should not accept an unfair aviation market because Fly B.V.I. and Island Birds and other Foreign airlines wanting to operate outside the recognized freedoms of the air. I am positive that the two local airlines would expand to meet growth in the market place.

We should not accept a status quo which only benefits large foreign carriers at the expense of competition.
Bob Lemire, it is an insult to the people of the Virgin Islands for you as a retired U.S. major airline to say that the enforcement of the rules adds insult to the Virgin Islands economy.

A country that has its own airlines, not only adds to the economy of that country, but also provides job opportunities for its citizens.

We are ready for changes in the territory’s aviation industry.

The enforcement of the Chicago convention of 1944 article 44, and US-EU Transportation Agreement Article 2 would not interrupt travel to the B.V.I. There are five OT carriers in the Eastern Caribbean, two of which operate in the B.V.I – V.I. Airlink and B.V.I. Airways.

We can handle 25 percent and more!

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of the management and staff of BVI News Online and its parent company.

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