Major airlines show interest in the BVI
Minister responsible for aviation services Kye Rymer has confirmed that some of the world’s major commercial airlines are anxious to schedule flights to the BVI once the territory implements the facilities to accommodate large aircrafts.
For years now, the BVI has been losing potential tourists to some of its Caribbean neighbours due to the territory’s lack of runway facilities to accommodate large jets.
Speaking in the House of Assembly on October 25, Rymer said he met with aviation representatives at the Routes World 2022 confernece that was recently held in Las Vegas, United States.
“The eight airlines our [local] delegation met with were South West, Jet Blue, Frontier Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, American Airlines, Air Canada, United Airlines and Breeze,” Rymer said. He said some of the airlines expressed that the length of the runway at the BVI’s main airport is a prohibitive factor but are anxious to schedule flights here once this issue is addressed.
“All of the airlines acknowledged that the BVI is a very attractive destination with very high potential and, therefore, they see that we have the demand for their respective profile of passengers. We found a few did not know as much as we would have liked about the BVI as a potential destination for their services. But after speaking with our delegation and viewing our presentation, they got a fresh perspective,” Rymer explained, adding that the BVI is now on the radar of these airlines.
The minister also said his delegation received multiple requests to provide further technical information to help airlines review their current stance on flying to the BVI.
“We also received interest from one airline with respect to charter options to the US mainland which is a possibility with the support of some of our industry partners. Another popular airline is very interested in considering a [partnership] with a ferry service to the BVI from St Thomas (USVI),” Minister Rymer expressed.
He emphasized that the information garnered from the recent conference will help to inform the government as it continues to make plans to extend the runway at the Terrance B Lettsome International Airport.
Airlift to the BVI has been a controversial topic for years. Successive governments have made promises to expand airport facilities and entice airlines to transport more tourists to the territory.
In 2020, the Andrew Fahie-led administration announced plans to expand the Terrance B Lettsome Airport at a cost of $158 million. The expansion was expected to permit tourists and investors to fly nonstop to the BVI from major cities such as New York, Toronto and London.
The completion of the improvements was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025. Still the BVI continues to lose many tourists to the USVI which has the facilities to accommodate larger aircrafts.
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The ignorance displayed as each Government keeps coming around to the necessity of an airport expansion is staggering! St Thomas has the capabilities and the convenience in place already.
Set up a fast, efficient ferry services that cater to the in-bound and out-bound US flights. The ferry service can have Customs and Immigration on Board, or prior to boarding the ferry for faster processing.
Beef Island can then continue to be used as a hub for smaller aircraft to deliver people regionally such as Santo Domingo, San Juan, St Maarten, Antigua, and Barbados. All of which have major carriers flying in and capacities to continue people on to the rest of the Globe.
Surely this is far more cost effective, reduced less red tape, and absolutely operationally viable working hand in hand with the private sector.
Just do not understand how this can be viewed as a complex equation/problem to be solved for the people of the BVI.
It really comes down to the elite and ‘behind the scene’ power brokers that are the ones that hold tight to the airport expansion because it is one of the big ‘honey pots’ to line the pockets with.
These Government officials just love jetting all over the world first class while racking up flyer miles on the taxpayer’s dime.
What happened to conference calls, video conferencing, etc.? This country is screaming for every cent to help our people while the ingrained and tone deaf, money grows on trees attitude of our leaders continues.
Pick up the damn phone!
I hope we get Tortola cleaned up before the first arrivals, they will never come back, we will just end up on tourists, Do not Return list.
WOW that is why American Airlines isn’t operating American Eagle any longer even they are so anxious to fly into the BVI.
So what is the government going to do. It has little money and no one is going to lengthen the runway for free. Another puff piece with no concrete plans. Give the public a real plan with realistic goals and a way to pay for it. Otherwise stop talking about it.
We have had discussion before ad nauseam about this matter. Its has been known for many years now that the short airport length is a major factor that will make it next to impossible for many of these carriers to add the BVI to their flight destinations.
The current airport length is simply too short and poses a safety risk. No airline is going to assume that risk by placing passengers and their aircraft in harms way and exposing themselves to legal liability in the event something bad happens.
We know what needs to be done, had an opportunity to extend the airport in the past, but as typical in this country everything becomes political fodder and nothing gets done.
The government needs to extend the airport based on consultation with these airlines as to what potential equipment they are most likely to use to fly into that airport safely and the minimum landing and takeoff length needed to address those safety concerns.
That’s the important step that’s needed here before the government seek out airlines to fly here. We know what the answer is already: The runway is too short.
Additionally, the government of the day needs to do a better job of explaining to the public why the airport extension is necessary, and the public needs to understand that the BVI’s economy is in dire need of increased and improved airlift. In order for the economy to grow and get better, improved airlift is essential.
Simultaneously, the re must be a coordinated to encourage the hospitality industry to likewise upgrade and improve their facilities to deal with the expected influx of day travelers.
This is not rocket science. We know what needs to be done. Lengthen the airport and stop wasting time.
Been hearing this for the past 20 years. SMH ?
You always hear the same thing from government officials: “lots and lots of airlines want to fly here”, and yet they never want to commit, and they never actually come.
AMEN! That can be done NOW! Sick of all this talk about the BVI airport. There is a way to fix the current problem now with better ferry service between STT and Tortola and STT to VG. Get those ferries running and coordinate local ferries so it is easy to make it to the sister islands in a short period of time. Love the idea of having customs/immigration on the ferry! BVI get creative, we are loosing tourists who can’t make it here in a reasonable amount of time.
We are never going to recoup 250-400 million dollars its going to cost.
fast efficient ferry service to St Thomas Airport, NOT Charlotte Amalie is the answer.
their airport is under utilized as it is, why is that??? they dont have enough customers!!!
Airline industry is changing rapidly in 15 years a long runway will be obsolete.
By chance I met with the CEO of an airline recently and the subject of flying into BVI came up. He made several interesting points about the possibility of stol planes such as Embraers and Saabs flying into BVI. He did point out that it is not only the length of the runway but it surface composition , ability to drain and so on that affects whether planes could land.
It seems to me that rather than try to build an airport for jumbo jets, we should look at what it takes to get these smaller jets that can still fly direct to the USA , flying here.
The B.V.I is just fine the way it is. They want to come in ferry’s and smaller planes get you here just fine. Large planes will decrease quality of life; especially in the EE. This man just trying to justify his fancy trip to Vegas on tax payers dollars. Try again ma boi.
ferries from STT to the BVI and return are the solution NOT expensive unnecessary runway extensions at Beef Island.
AA Does still operate American Eagle, just not in the Caribbean. The Eagle is used for short domestic flights in the US and they use the small Embraer Jets for those runs. Those same jets can fly from Miami and are capable of landing at Beef Island but not sure if it can take-off at full load for the return flight.
Now really, really, really now??? Are we that F**KING STUPID around here? BVI delegation of elected and senior officials are at a meeting with Airline officials. Now what else do you think the conversation would be? OF COURSE they are going to say “Yes we want to fly to BVI XYZ!”. This is what they say ALL THE TIME!!! But what is the XYZ? The XYZ is that in order for us to fly there you need the proper airport infrastructure along with extended runway then you have to provide us with revenue guarantees etc. Instead of teasing people with bulls**t, feel good stories, tell the whole story. Airlines are a business and does what’s good for the bottom line, that’s it. Yes they want to fly here but won’t be lining up to do so unless it’s expanded and their money is guaranteed. We continue to elect people who have never ran any businesses and are totally clueless then acting shocked and surprised at the results. Our elected people most times are so glad to be in the same room with these execs in their suits that they don’t even know how to represent our interests, which is what they travelled for in the first place. Shameful!
Yes! I agree!
“Set up a fast, efficient ferry services that cater to the in-bound and out-bound US flights”.
That is the solution that has been staring us in the face for 30 years.
Here we go again,a other 7 million in the ditch
Could you imagine 250 people getting off a plane @ Beef. It would take customs & immigration 8 hours to process them.
Important meetings like are always more productive than phone or video. They cannot be replaced by video calls
The BVI Government needs to stop pussyfooting and, like Anguilla and Dominica recently, negotiate for direct flights between Miami as a major international hub and Tortola (Beef Island). All this longstanding talk about direct flights from Europe and other long-haul destinations is totally unrealistic. And depending on ferry service via another country (St Thomas) as primary airlift gateway is also untenable. Anguilla, like the BVI, had been dependent on a neighboring country (St Martin) for international airlift access and, like the BVI, utilized ferries and smaller planes to bring in passengers.
Now Anguilla, not pursuing some unrealistic notion of jumbo jets direct from Europe and North and South America, has direct flights (first twice weekly, now daily) via the small American Airlines Embraer 175, 76 seat regional jets. Consider:
“What it means is unprecedented air access to the island, particularly for the winter season, opening up an island that was always one of the most sought-after vacation spots in the Caribbean, but among the most arduous to reach.” – [CaribJournal]
“In a highly competitive arena, it is essential to have a non-stop service and easy connections from major markets. With this new Miami route, our guest from the US, UK, South America, Dubai and Canada now have convenient access to our wonderful island.” – Anguilla Parliamentary Secretary Quincia Gumbs-Marie
Hadyn Hughes, Anguilla’s minister of tourism, added that the direct flights were achieved without minimum passenger guarantees from the destination. “We’re not paying [American] to bring visitors to Anguilla,” he said. – [TravelPulse]
Perhaps the BVI could learn something from Anguilla about how to address the challenge of airlift.
You forgot the bit about where this is about our Sovereign distinction. Despite we do not have a SD, because we are a territory of the UK. It’s complicated!!??
Trust me to am fed up…. action speaks value ???
Trust me to am fed up…. action speaks value ??? and right now we don’t have nothing to show.
It doesn’t take a rocket science to know that many airlines would love to fly to the BVI but the runway is just too short for major airlines to come here. Every government know this already but we keep going to meet with airlines to come here and we’re not taking time to modernize our infrastructures Airport, Roads, Sea Ports etc. Kye save your breath talking to these airlines until we can fix what needs to be fix first.
While I wholeheartedly agree with the ease of utilizing the USVI Airport, recent events such as the pandemic and the Hurricanes of 2017 are sufficient evidence to support the need for our airport development project. When the USVI and PR choose to close their boarders, where does that leave us. Let’s pull our heads out of the sand for a minute.
One free option to increase tourism would be to open the Virgin Gorda airport back up to private flights. The Pilatus PC-12 is perfectly suited aircraft to land at this airstrip and a very popular aircraft, but we are not letting people who own one land in Virgin Gorda. Aircraft owners are the type of tourists the BVI should be trying to attract, not cruise ship tourists who spend no real money in the BVI.
Come and have a look at this bag of money we got sitting on the innocent looking plane ,#no sting
Don’t watch Anguilla (AXA).If Anguilla want to expand and lengthen the runway, they have the land to do it.Right now they are comfortable with MIA to AXA.The BVI is thinking too broad with no land to expand.
This, exactly.
But that wouldn’t line the pockets of officials acting on behalf of private jet owners wanting to fly into ONB after tax payers pay for their new runway under the pretence of “improving tourist access”
American Eagle operates direct flights from Miami to Anguilla!
They should learn to fix the roads before talking about more concrete for a runway!
VG has a very reliable flight from SJU but it is too expensive. Can BVI subsidize the costs to bring down the ticket price. Many cities help out this way