Surinam Airways may fly GT-NY route from mid-year

By Danielle Campbell-Lowe –

Surinam Airways Country Manager Rudi Westerborg said that the airline will welcome with open arms, all passengers who have expressed a preference for flying the Georgetown-New York route with the Dutch-owned airline.
Westerborg was responding to reports about the possible entry of the airline into direct competition with Caribbean Airlines, which could eventually dominate the market should Delta Airlines carry through with its announced withdrawal in May.

He told Guyana Times International that although proposals and plans are in their initial stages, the possibility of Surinam Airways flying the Georgetown-New York route could prove a positive move in the right direction.
According to Westerborg, officials, including Vice President Clyde Cairo who met with Guyana’s Head of State Donald Ramotar will now prepare a report for the board of directors as the first step toward concretising plans.
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Westerborg said when asked about the likely effects on the Guyanese travelling public.
Manager of the airline’s North America route, Henk Fitz-Jim had previously disclosed that Surinam Airways was examining the possibility of re-establishing flights to New York.
This is not the first time the airline has serviced this route since during the 1980s it provided flights to New York from Georgetown. The government of Guyana on Monday approached Surinam Airways to initiate discussion on having the airline service the Georgetown-New York route. If all goes well, Surinam Airlines is likely to fill the void that will be created by the May exit of Delta Airlines from the Guyana market.
President Donald Ramotar and a delegation, which included Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee met with Cairo on the sidelines of the 24th inter-sessional Caricom heads of government meeting, in Port- au-Prince, Haiti. Minister Rodrigues-Birkett said the two sides will have a follow-up meeting shortly as they continue to explore the possibilities of the airline servicing the route.
Cairo said the meeting with President Ramotar and his delegation was fruitful and he will relay the details to the board of directors of Surinam Airways, according to a statement from the Government Information Agency (GINA).
“We have discussed possibilities; yes, there are options which we will look into… I need to report to my board first… effective July we can begin servicing this route, either non- stop or via another point,” Cairo said in an invited comment.
Cairo had earlier promised the airline was preparing to offer better packages to the Guyanese travelling public. Surinam Airways has created a niche for itself, influencing the fares of the competition ever since its introduction to the local scene. It offers a non- stop service with direct flights to Miami and excellent connecting flights to other destinations, including Amsterdam, Brazil, the Middle East, and even China.
The airline re-entered the local market in August 2011, after a six-year hiatus from the industry. The intention of the airline is to operate in Guyana for the long haul, as executives explore the possibility of landing flights in other Caribbean territories. Surinam Airways has plans to extend services not only to Miami, but also to other parts of North America.
The airline believes that much of its success will depend on continued bilateral talks between the governments of Suriname and Guyana.