AIRPORT--JetBlue corporate on Wednesday confirmed that it has decided to drop its once daily San Juan-St. Maarten route due to under-performance. The flight, popular among local and neighbouring travellers because of Puerto Rico’s shopping pull and the quick 30 minute hop-over, will take to the air for the last time on May 3, 2016.
Elizabeth Ninomiya, Manager of Corporate Communications Latin America and Caribbean for JetBlue told The Daily Herald: “JetBlue made the difficult decision to cancel its service between St. Maarten and San Juan. The last service on the route will be on May 3. JetBlue’s routes from St. Maarten to its focus cities of JFK (New York) and Boston, Massachusetts will continue.
Customers who are booked for travel on the St. Maarten-San Juan route on or after the effective discontinued date will automatically receive a US $100 JetBlue service credit. Customers who have questions can call 1-800-JetBlue [538-2583 – Ed.] for assistance.”
Though Ninomiya said the reason for cancelling the route was under-performance, she did not elaborate or provide comparative load factors or how the airline measured a good performing route. In any case, JetBlue’s departure on the route once again leaves St. Maarten with no daily, non-stop service to Puerto Rico.
JetBlue’s cancellation of the route is not just a development that will affect local travellers; it could hurt the airport’s hub function as the void could result in direct service from Puerto Rico to destinations like Anguilla and St. Barths. Also important to note is that many visitors to the island connect from the west coast of the US with JetBlue via San Juan to St. Maarten.
With no non-stop daily service to San Juan, St. Maarten now has only Seaborne Airlines and its 34-seat duo-prop Saab 340B aircraft operating three flights weekly, Winair using an ATR twin-turboprob that seats approximately 50 people also services the St. Maarten-San Juan route three times weekly and LIAT through Antigua a few times a week. JetBlue was the only jet aircraft using its Embraer 190 aircraft that seats just over 100 people.
Coincidentally, the news about JetBlue broke on the same day the US and Cuba signed an agreement to resume commercial air traffic for the first time in more than 50 years. Some charter flights currently fly between the countries but the new agreement could see as many as 110 flights a day – more than five times the current number. The flights could begin in autumn this year.
The news also comes as top decision makers gather in San Juan for the ninth Routes Americas air service development forum (February 17-19). Princess Juliana International Airport SXM reportedly is sending a delegation to this conference. Routes Americas brings together leading airlines, airports and tourism authorities to discuss air services to, from and within the entire Americas region. Some 85 airlines including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Air Canada, JetBlue, British Airways and Iberia have registered along with 225 airports and 40 tourism authorities.
This newspaper contacted Interim Managing Director of SXM Airport Larry Donker for comment but did not receive this by press time. Donker did indicate that he would work on the questions provided to him.
To obtain some clarity Donker was asked, among other things, if he was informed about JetBlue’s decision and when, if discussions were held with JetBlue in an effort to save the flight and if an attempt will be made at the Routes Conference to save the flight. He was also asked if there were any other under-performing routes by any other airline that is in danger of cancellation.
In the context of airlift, Donker also was asked what is SXM Airport’s strategy to maintain airlift in particular with the start of commercial flights from the US to Cuba, if there is any synchronisation with the St. Maarten Tourism Bureau vis-a-vis airlift and is the Air Service Maintenance and development Committee active since it was meant to maintain the country’s hub function and increase airlift.
The Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company, PJIAE NV in 2015 was recommended to take immediate action to form an effective Air Service Development Community with its country clients [to become country partners – Ed.], regional airlines and ferry services in order to drive the airport’s Air Service Development program to the benefit of all participants.
This recommendation was outlined in a study on Air Service Maintenance and Development conducted at the request of SXM Airport by El Perial Management Services. According to El Perial at the time, “The next steps and certainly the greater challenge falls with the management of PJIAE as it proceeds to implement the recommendations, in the full realisation that it does not have complete control over such implementation and as such has to create successful partnerships with varied grouping of stakeholders.”
It is unclear if SXM Airport Management has taken any steps to realise any of this.
Photo credit: planespotters.net by Benjamin Exenberger.
