NewsWhore
06-05-2008, 02:30 PM
American Airlines has announced another round of flight cuts to the Dominican Republic as of September 3, part of a global effort to reduce costs significantly to compensate for the spike in fuel prices and a weakening economy. American had already announced the suspension of American Eagle flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Samana in the northeast, the latest airport that American had begun to serve in the DR.
The airline has 29 daily flights from the DR, including 5 to NY, 10 to Miami, 12 to San Juan, 1 to Boston and 1 to St. Maarten. The airline serves Santo Domingo (SDQ), Punta Cana (PUJ), Puerto Plata (POP), and Santiago (STI) and La Romana (LRM) airports.
Minette Velez, American Airlines Caribbean communications manager, now says that come September the SDQ (Las Americas International) flights to St. Maarten and Fort Lauderdale will be eliminated.
Likewise, after the peak summer months traffic is over, as of 3 September flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, a very profitable route for AA, will be only served by American Eagle, and the jet service will be eliminated. Frequency will be increased from four to eight operations a day. AA flights from Las Americas International (SDQ) to John F Kennedy International in New York, will be reduced to one, from two. Santiago (STI) and Punta Cana (PUJ) will also only be served by a daily flight from JFK.
Earlier this week, Delta Airlines announced that it would suspend its JFK-SDQ flight as of 9 September, and reroute passengers through the Atlanta flight. The airline also plans to suspend its Santiago flight starting 15 September. US Airways has announced that it will reduce its operations to its Punta Cana route come September. The SDQ flight to Philadelphia could resume in November, the fuel situation permitting.
The director of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute, Jose Tomas Perez is advocating tax cuts on aviation fuel and other costs passed on to consumers in the fares, to compensate for the record fuel costs. The DR depends on airline transportation, says Perez, who said that traffic is at around nine million passengers a year, including departures and arrivals. He said that tourism and the aviation industry combined make up 32% of the Gross Domestic Product.
These cuts in flights come at a time when several small Dominican-based airlines hope to enter market to fill the void left by the big companies.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)
The airline has 29 daily flights from the DR, including 5 to NY, 10 to Miami, 12 to San Juan, 1 to Boston and 1 to St. Maarten. The airline serves Santo Domingo (SDQ), Punta Cana (PUJ), Puerto Plata (POP), and Santiago (STI) and La Romana (LRM) airports.
Minette Velez, American Airlines Caribbean communications manager, now says that come September the SDQ (Las Americas International) flights to St. Maarten and Fort Lauderdale will be eliminated.
Likewise, after the peak summer months traffic is over, as of 3 September flights to San Juan, Puerto Rico, a very profitable route for AA, will be only served by American Eagle, and the jet service will be eliminated. Frequency will be increased from four to eight operations a day. AA flights from Las Americas International (SDQ) to John F Kennedy International in New York, will be reduced to one, from two. Santiago (STI) and Punta Cana (PUJ) will also only be served by a daily flight from JFK.
Earlier this week, Delta Airlines announced that it would suspend its JFK-SDQ flight as of 9 September, and reroute passengers through the Atlanta flight. The airline also plans to suspend its Santiago flight starting 15 September. US Airways has announced that it will reduce its operations to its Punta Cana route come September. The SDQ flight to Philadelphia could resume in November, the fuel situation permitting.
The director of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute, Jose Tomas Perez is advocating tax cuts on aviation fuel and other costs passed on to consumers in the fares, to compensate for the record fuel costs. The DR depends on airline transportation, says Perez, who said that traffic is at around nine million passengers a year, including departures and arrivals. He said that tourism and the aviation industry combined make up 32% of the Gross Domestic Product.
These cuts in flights come at a time when several small Dominican-based airlines hope to enter market to fill the void left by the big companies.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#10)