June 05--PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- The management of Surinam Airways (SLM) has welcomed the arrival of the airline's third Boeing 737 on Sunday, which they believe will eliminate delays and cancellations, and increase regional services.
SLM expects short-term gains after the addition of this third Boeing 737 to its fleet of four. The carrier has been in existence for 50 years and is one of a few regional airlines still surviving.
The new aircraft will take on regional routes, charters and, according to inside sources, increased services out of Guyana. Haiti and New York are still on SLM's radar. However, with no aircraft available with the range to fly the New York route, it's highly unlikely that SLM will soon connect Paramaribo and Georgetown with New York. Currently, only Caribbean Airlines flies from Guyana to New York, with the average fare currently US$1,000 return.
The executive board of the airline expects that problems with delays will be something of the past. However, without a second aircraft to ply the transatlantic route to Amsterdam, SLM will continue to hemorrhage money, especially now that the European Union has imposed stiff penalties for delays and cancellation of flights, which SLM has been facing.
Copyright 2013 - Caribbean News Now, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
