Consumer watchdog suggests State-sponsored airline for Guyana

TIMES INT'L

The Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission recently conducted a study of the airline industry and suggested that a State-sponsored airline be commissioned to end the monopoly-like behaviour over the Georgetown to John F Kennedy (JFK) International Airport route.
The CCAC said that the constant stream of players entering and then exiting the market serves as an indication that barriers to entry are not prohibitive. The exit of these firms, it added, places the citizens in a predicament.
Outlining the recent history of the airline industry in Guyana, the CCAC said that Dynamic Airways, after a shaky start in 2014, suspended its operations for four months. It returned and started to offer as many as five flights per week and that frequency climbed in the peak seasons. In July 2017, Dynamic Airways announced that it had filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition with the United States which was likely the result of an unrelated lawsuit.
Fly Jamaica started operations in Guyana in 2013. In November 2018, the airline’s fortunes made a sudden change following the emergency landing and crash of its 757 aircraft at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA). Mechanical problems forced the pilots to head back to Guyana and make the emergency landing. Several passengers were injured during the emergency landing. The airline has exited the market following this incident.
One recommendation, it stated, is to temper the monopoly by commissioning “our own State-sponsored airline.”
According to CCAC, it may not be the perfect solution, but it is a solution.
“The venture may be prone to all the ills of State-sponsored enterprise but if managed properly, we can ensure that there is competitive pressure for the incumbent firms to perform. There is no need to invest heavily in permanent fixtures or to have a permanent presence in the market,” the CCAC stated.
Guyana tourism statistical digest for 2016 indicated that for the years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 the number of visitors to Guyana was 200,060, 205,824, 206,819 and 235, 312 respectively.

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