The risks inherent in running a new Caribbean route must be mitigated, according to airline expert Chad Meyerson of JetBlue.
Mr. Meyerson said looking at the Caribbean as a whole, particularly given fuel costs, there was a significant risk and therefore revenue guarantees were often entered into with destinations.
“We look at the economics of individual destinations; if they want to be higher on our (list of potential destinations) we will talk about new guarantees to share the risk and bring destinations online quicker,” he said.
Typically, he said, JetBlue has a long list of 50 ‘interesting destinations’ and this is constantly changing. He said frequent meetings begin one year before the commencement of a route and that staff would visit the destination to understand the dynamics of a place, including site visits and in-person discussions with tourism and airport authorities, governments and other stakeholders. About seven to nine months prior to a route commencement would see this ramp up and the selling window open.
Mr. Meyerson further said the Caribbean Diaspora was a critical part of the company’s operations, but that there was a directional traffic from the United States to the Caribbean. He said it was important to monitor customer behaviour and realise that some consumers simply did not travel in the summer. However, special festivals could also have a significant impact in attracting people to a destination.
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