WinAir has decided not to honor its promise to introduce new flights from Antigua to Dominica’s Canefield Airport.
The new schedule was supposed to take effect yesterday.
Vice President of Marketing at WinAir, Claudio Buncamper, on the DBS morning news, said the move is no longer feasible. He said a study, which examined all factors, deemed it unnecessary considering the influx of flights coming out of Antigua to the Melville Hall Airport.
Discover Dominica Authority earlier this month had announced that there would be non-stop flights three days per week from the St. Maarten-based airline.
The move was greatly welcomed by Director of Tourism/CEO of Discover Dominica Authority Colin Piper.
Canefield Airport is only a five-minute drive to Roseau. And the flights were also to provide early morning and late afternoon departures each way, allowing travelers in Antigua and Dominica to make day trips between the two islands.
WinAir said it would nonetheless continue with its expansion efforts to the Melville Hall Airport.
Surprise Surprise !! The DDA could not have been serious when they announced Win Air into Canefield. They should have done so with utmost caution. Canefield has simply not worked economically for any carrier for any reasonable sustained length of time. A helicopter service should be considered like is done in St Lucia between the airports. I guess Dominica just does not yet have that sort of tourist activity to justify such an operation.
@warma:
Warma, we are on the same side. There is no net benefit to keeping Canefield open. My point was, despite the fact that there are a few employees stationed there, the airport is closed. Therefore all the benefits (as you listed) that could be acrued from an official shutdown are already there. Except for the cost of keeping the staff at Canefield, its present status will not take away form the other benefits that you outlined.
In general, I do not entirely agree with the slant of some of the benefits you outlined. By that I mean, you do not create artificial costs to others to benefit a few special interests. We are stuck with Melville Hall in its present location. Therefore it is what it is.
COMPLAINTS, COMPLAINTS when will we stop. do we realize that the world is reading and saying do I really want to go to this country for a vacation.
It depends how far you live from the airport in any country it is far. are you saying to me that if you leave in NY and you land in Kennedy airport you would get home in 10 min. or that they would take a helicopter to get you to your home? people of Dominica support your country not dump it.
Canefield IS a dangerous airport and I would not want to land there even if the flight was free. I would take the long ride from Melville Hall any day.
Dominicans and Dominica are a Big Bunch of Jokers Period!
Big hype for night operations at Melville Hall a month ago..
sadly the lack of knowledge which is typical in dominica these days due poor foresight and proffessionalism see them rush to melville hall a month after…the damm airport has a major safety issue….Dominica and Dominicans have already created a fear factor worldwide already…
do dominicans think all these bad aspects of safety…what you think the airlines and passeneger will do….many have doubts about making booking for evening flights. if they attempt to have it.
again this Labour Regime has brought dominica down to the Gutters!!
@Mikes: Mikes, I like the way you’re thinking and I totally agree – you seem to be envisioning something like an Empowerment Zone (EZ) in the US – businesses within that zone would benefit from very low taxes, incentives to locate and employment creation, etc – basically incentives geared to attracting businesses to Dominica. The government of Dominica must realize that a huge issue in the United States and Europe is the issue of outsourcing of jobs – in this new age of globalization and the internet, where it is no longer necessary to maintain a physical presence in the home country, businesses in these 1st world countries have been establishing satellite locations worldwide, in lesser-developed nations; case in point, Clear Harbour. Dominica, lacking mineral resources, has a unique opportunity to develop a service-oriented economy alongside a developing eco-tourism industry.
Other countries, especially in the far east, are doing it – lets get our share. We have a few advantages these countries do not have;
(1) close proximity to the US & Canada – it is much more convenient for business leaders from those companies to pop into DA and head back home IN THE SAME DAY – can’t say that about India;
(2) English as a first language and an abundant workforce, if we run out of employees, we can sure import some from our sister OECS countries. I just read – 350 students graduated from DSC – these students I am certain are qualified to fill vacancies in such industries.
(3) low operating costs; if, say, a US company pays a Dominican employee the same dollar value for their work, in other words, dollar for dollar, that company has just lowered their payroll by more that 2/3’s. The Dominican employee, on the other hand, has just gotten a significant raise.
I am sure if I take a little more time to think about the advantages, I could come up with more. A zone as you envisage is a WIN in all respects. BUT, it is necessary to have people in place negotiating these agreements who know how to negotiate and not sell our people for 30 pieces of silver.
Let’s do it.
Somebody should set up a shuttle from M Hall to Canefield via helicopter or small plane..
WinAir would be out of their mind right we dont have night landing at Melville-Hall so why would I want to leave north America to come home to be landing at cainfield airport I stand with the manager of the airline.
@warma: I can’t agree with you anymore cause I have been advocating similar sentiments.I will only add that I have documented a proposal whereby the land after the aitport closure, could be used for the development of an export processing zone(EPZ). I won’t go into the many benefits of such a project on this medium but I will mention employment creation, import substitution, technology transfer and balance of trade enhancement to name a few.
imagine for a moment incorporating all of the land north of Canefield river by Auto Trade and west of the main road to the Massacre playingfield into this project. The businesses in the area would all be geared towards producing goods and services for export. I see clean, light manufacturing, Call centres, other IT companies, software developement, etc. I see a new seaport facilitating the transfer of goods and services specifi to the area. Funding for developement of the area could come from EU and other friendly partners/nations on concessionary terms.
I am convinced that this move would truly take Dominica to the next level. As mentioned I have thoroughly conceptualized and written about this so i would be happy to pass my ideas unto the relavant authority if required.
@heart break in saint martin: you meant to say a”Jet Airport”.Dominica has two ‘International Airports’.An airport or seaport with Immigration and Customs can process Crafts from internation destinations.
@Piper: I think you missed the point. My comments are NOT premised on there being a voluminous amount of flights into Canefield – as a matter of fact, no where in my submission can you find any reference to that. Your comments, however, invariably proves my point – shut down Canefield and move its staff and all the financial resources that it takes to operate that facility to Melville Hall. By your own admission, Canefield is inefficient, which is exactly what i said in my first paragraph. Why pay for and operate it when the land on which it resides could be put to better use; valuable flat commercially viable development land, something that is scarce in Dominica, is not being used to its fullest extent.
this is sad but canefield is one of the most dangerous airports in the caribbean because of the way the run way is,,,,, ihate the drive to melville hall, i think some thing has to be done about flights to and from dominica sooner rather than later,but,all we ever hear is talk but never see any action.
idont know but for some reason i agree with u
@Poule Coutouni: Do you have to be politicising everything? Please emancipate yourself from this negativity within you. I have said this since from your comments on DNO you keep repeating yourself and most time the comments are out of context. Take a leaf from Warma who has made a meaningful contribution with suggestions. Please read and see how we can have a meaningful discussion and also learn from others. Deal with that problem deep down within you that you cannot seem to contribute without making references to certain individual and blaming them for all and sundry. When we hate we are only hurting ourselves since we can become obsessed with someone/somebody etc and we are not moving forward but becoming miserable in our thoughts etc. Please do look for some positive around you and dwell on that and replace your thoughts with positive things so you can look objectively at the matter on hand. Only then you can make some form of contribution respectfully even if you don’t agree with certain things.
Love to you and other DNO Readers. Warma yes I. I di enjoy your comments and I must say that I do agree with some. Good meaningful comments and suggestions.
It would certainly cut out the long trek back from Melville Airport. I know there is a demand for it. But the taxi’s would lose out so that may be why they backed out. Politics.
I work in the hotel industry and i was so elated for the move in having Winair flights directly from (Anu to DCF), 5 min. drive away from the City.
Being in the industry many persons, would rather opt to come in through Dcf because of the close proximity to the City (especially business clients) who have to attend meetings and so forth. Am disappointed that this will no longer be a reality.
Lets re group and see what else can be done.
Lets stay positive
@warma:
Your argument is based on the premise that there is a significant number of flights coming into Canefield. The fact is, these advantages should already be there because for all intents and purposes, notwithstanding the few staff who work at the aiport, Canefield is closed.
I LAND AT CANEFIELD AIRPORT A FEW TIMES,EACH TIME I WAN’T TO SHAKE THE PILOT HAND,WHAT AN EXPERIENCE.MELVILLE HALL IS ALSO A MAD DROP DOWN BUT THE RECONSTRUCTION MADE IT A LITTLE BETTER.THE MOOVE IS OK BY ME.
we really need an international airport, in our wonderful island.
I do not think this is a terribly bad idea. As a matter of fact, I have been saying for quite a while that Canefield needs to be shut down; I understand the convenience of it being an airfield in close proximity to Roseau, but I think its operation is inefficient. Convenience is not an excuse for inefficiency.
I think the government should close Canefield, move its staff and operating resources to Melville Hall, and concentrate on Melville Hall being the best airport we have. This has a number of benefits.
(1) it should provide for more taxis on the road; more taxis = more persons generating income
(2) it will allow the taxis to make more money; more money earned = more money spent = more money earned by other businesses
(3) it would facilitate the development of the North-East; hotels, tour operators, residential developments – all those could conceivably develop in that region. There are few reasons why people employed at Melville Hall or associated with a business linked to the operation thereof should reside all the way in the south. Also, the eastern coast of Dominica is absolutely gorgeous – I cannot see any reason why enterprising business people would not attempt to capitalize on the abject beauty of this country – and not just the coast, the interior as well. Traffic in and around Roseau is horrendous, we need to decentralize – spread the wealth, if you will.
(4) it would greatly assist new business that specialize in Dominican art and craft sell their wares to departing passengers; gift shops are a prime example of the type of business that would benefit from that. I would certainly LOVE to see a beautiful gift shop adorned with Kalinago artistry and wares. The possibilities are endless.
(5) the land Canefield airport sits on is prime development land. Dominica has very little flat land that could be developed for industrial use. An added benefit is this – the land is in close proximity to the capital and seaport, making it especially attractive to potential businesses that would require the services of the port as well as the commercial services in Roseau. Development of that land translates to direct investment in the country, jobs, jobs, and – did I mention jobs?
In the same vein, same concept intimated by Magistrate Behanzin when speaking about the number of constituencies in such a small island nation and an apparent equal amount of government ministers, two airports looks like one too many – it’s not as if one is overflowing with traffic and as a result, the overflow has to be diverted to another. That is not the case. Dominica needs to be smart and efficient, and in the process create opportunities for its people’s development.
But, that’s just my two cents
Major set back!!!
Now cuss I up…
weird. the advantages of flights to canefield are listed but the issues affecting the decision not to comply with the promise of flights to canefield are quite vague. hmmm. it would have been great, but i guess there are serious problems.
Soon they will stop coming into Melville Hall by DAY! We do face very very serious challenges people. The first major problem we face is national leadership. All these bogus promises from LIAT and Ian’s dog’s last chatter about Virgin Atlantic, Jet Blue and Jet Red connections to Melville Hall. A dispassionate look at where we are in Dominica will reveal that we are stuck in distractions created by our LEEADERSHIP. No apologies…
poor me what am i going to do i hated going to melville hall airport i always get sick with all that driving i cant take,due to travel this week,loyal customer wind air any way thanks winair.