Saturday, April 25, 2009

Recap on Recent North American Airlift Changes for Getting to Bonaire

There’s been many shifts in airline lift from North America to Bonaire in the past weeks and months, as airlines continue to deal with the sluggish economic situation.  Noted herein are the changes to date.

Delta:  Based on recent P&Ls and weak advance bookings, Delta will not operate JFK-BON between June 20 and October 31, 2009. All bookings to Bonaire will be transferred to the connection via Atlanta. If the traffic from the northeast flowing through Atlanta causes bookings to exceed the capacity of the presently scheduled aircraft, Delta will upgrade the aircraft to a wide-body for the remainder of the summer and early fall. 

As previously announced, a second flight from Atlanta to Bonaire will be added on October 2. Delta plans to leave ATL at two frequencies, and watch bookings for the winter.  If bookings are up year over year, they will then look to add a third frequency.

Continental: Based on low demand during the fall shoulder months, Continental has announced they will not operate EWR-BON between September 5 and October 31. All traffic coming from the northeast will be transferred to the connection through Houston.

The second Houston trip operates through the end of April, not in May and then again from June through August. It will not operate September, October and November, but will return in December. This four month seasonality is the same that was in place last year and is not attributed to weak load factors out of Houston. Should demand from traffic flowing over Houston from the northeast exceed the capacity of the presently scheduled airlift, the September and October seasonality of the second Houston will be revisited.

American Eagle: American Eagle has announced that they will cease operations to Bonaire on April 30, 2009. They have indicated on two separate occasions that they will consider returning to Bonaire in November, but that decision is pending.

(Source:  TCB)