(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Barely a month after the inaugural flight, the SLM Guyana-Miami line seems to be very lucrative. ‘It was the right step,’ chairman of the board Gerard Brunings tells de Ware Tijd.
The SLM management states that its choice to connect neighbouring Guyana with the United States was based on the Mid-Atlantic Route (MAR) Model: accommodating the large community in Diaspora. Florida is home to some 40,000 Guyanese. By including Belem to SLM now connects Brazil and Guyana with the US.
Bruinings says that plans for expanding the fleet have now become pressing. The company is seriously considering adding another 737-300 to its fleet, which currently already includes two 737s for regional flights and an Airbus A340 for the MAR. There might be possibilities of expanding the Guyana flights to Toronto. Expansion to other destinations in the region is being prepared, says Brunings.
The company is considering flying the MAR with two smaller planes in the near future. ‘It’s in the long term planning, but we’re considering it,’ says the board representative. SLM director, Ewald Henshuys, had tabled the plan for two airliners on the MAR because stricter European rules on flight delays make it more difficult to be dependent on only one airliner.
Bruning explains though that the plans cannot be carried out rapidly. ‘It takes about a year in preparations to lease a new plane and fly to a new destination. Expansions mean more pilots and training more staff. The company also needs to be profitable to save the means to buy the planes.’ Plans to make the SLM profitable in 2011 failed. However, the company did succeed in cutting losses from US$ 3 to 1 million. The target for 2012 is to make a profit.
