Two entities are keen to become the national carrier of Guyana - one is Guyana Airways (Georgetown Cheddi Jagan), led by a local businessman and the other is Caribbean Airlines (BW, Port of Spain) - and yet despite the country's APNU/AFC caretaker government showing its support for establishing a flag carrier airline, it is still to become a reality, according to a report on the Guyana Times.
Colin Abrams, Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Airways, has been planning to start services since the end of February 2019, having been originally registered in 2016, yet the current administration continues to thwart the privately-owned carrier. In December 2018, the High Court of the Supreme Court of Guyana cleared Abrams to use the name Guyana Airways derived from the long-defunct, state-owned Guyana Airways (1963) (Georgetown Cheddi Jagan).
The company was planning to start operations from Georgetown Cheddi Jagan with two B737s to destinations such as Havana International, Port of Spain, Bridgetown and ultimately to US cities.
During this continued wrangling, and in light of the country's need for a national carrier, Caribbean Airlines (CAL) indicated its interest in securing flag carrier status in Guyana. However, according to Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson, the government is not considering granting this authority, ostensibly leaving the nation in limbo when it comes to having a national airline.
"Status is a complicated issue, because even granting it there is no guarantee that prices will go down, it is a private organisation, the pricing of airline tickets are done by the company," said Patterson during his Ministry’s press conference on January 8. "So, I can grant you as many concessions or many agreements as possible and there is no guarantee that the prices will go down and stay down. Initially, it may go down and can possibly go back up.”
“There is still, I think, an appetite for a national airline, not through government, I want to make this quite clear. Probably through a public-private partnership. So it is something that is actively under consideration.”
Patterson also made a comment that CAL and its predecessor BWIA West Indies Airways (Port of Spain) has served Guyana for over 60 years and as such the APNU/AFC government will continue to encourage such relations, but will not allow it to have flagship status. The airline currently flies to Georgetown 24x weekly from Port of Spain, with flights continuing on to Toronto Pearson and Miami International. It also offers 10x weekly non-stop flights from Georgetown to New York JFK.
