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Getting to Bonaire: KLM flight changes
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 2002-01-01 to 2002-10-27: KLM flight changes
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Martin de Weger on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 5:53 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I just got informed that KLM will change his schedule from AMS to BON. There will be 19 flights a week, including 14 direct flights, from AMS to BON. This change will be effective from Dec. 1-st, 2002. The flight numbers will be KL753/4 and KL741/2.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 6:19 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

19?? Wow... Are these transit flights to other destinations, like the daily flight to Quito?
Great news though, and again it shows that KLM is serious about it's commitment to Bonaire!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Martin de Weger on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 6:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Marc, that's 7 to Quito and 7 to Lima....

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 6:26 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

That means it's also a boost for tourism out of South America. And the other 5 flights?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kitty @ CrystalVisions on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 6:39 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Does this mean that the flights to Lima via Aruba have been cancelled?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 7:22 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Martin,

where did you get this info. I checked the online timetable, but those 19 flights don't show up.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 7:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I believe we all did that... KLM will be wondering why they get so many hits on that flight bg

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Martin de Weger on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 8:16 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Special product news, issued today. The Lima via Aruba has been cancelled. The other flights go with KLM and BonairExcel from other islands (St. Maarten, Aruba and Curaçao.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 8:44 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Here's the "Pers Bericht" - Press Release - from KLM:

KLM OPTIMIZES ANTILLEAN NETWORK

AMSTELVEEN, October 3, 2002 – Effective December 1, 2002, KLM intends to enhance its network to the Dutch Antilles and Aruba. The emphasis will be on increasing flight frequency, simplifying the structure and increasing the number of nonstop flights to and from the Leeward Islands.

Whereas, previously, multiple destinations on the Dutch Antilles were often bundled into round-trip flights (for example: Amsterdam-Aruba-Curaçao-Amsterdam), it now appears that increasing numbers of KLM passengers prefer nonstop flights. Effective December 1, 2002, five nonstop flights a week will be operated between Amsterdam and Curaçao using B747-300 equipment. Thrice-weekly nonstop flights will be operated to Aruba using MD 11 equipment. The stopover destination of the daily Amsterdam-Lima flight (currently Aruba) will be relocated to Bonaire. The adjustments will also mean that KLM will operate twice-daily nonstop flights to Bonaire using MD11 equipment, given that the stopover destination of the daily Quito flight is already Bonaire.

KLM will be cooperating with its new partner, Dutch Eagle Express NV, which will be operating its flights under the name BonairExel. KLM will be cooperating with a new partner: BonairExel.

BonairExel will operate connecting flights between the various islands that connect seamlessly with KLM’s flights. On balance, this will greatly increase the number of daily connections for existing destinations. Transfer passengers flying with BonairExel will also be able to participate in KLM’s Flying Dutchman loyalty program.

The following connections with Amsterdam will be offered in cooperation with partner airline BonairExel:
· Bonaire: 19x weekly (incl. 14x nonstop)
· Curaçao: 19x weekly (incl. 5x nonstop)
· Aruba: 22x weekly (incl. 3x nonstop)
· Saint Martin: 12x a week via Bonaire and Curaçao
Source: http://nl.corporate.klm.com/news/newsitems/File_44520021003074733.asp

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Very cool!!!!

The Air Exel/BonaireExel thing makes a lot of sense now, doesn't it? It makes Bonaire KLM's hub in the Antilles. Yippee!

I'm guessing the extra 5 flights which are not non-stops are probably ones which go AMS-BON-St. Maarten-AMS. No idea if that's definitely the case though. There is still the one Sunday AMS-BON-CUR-AMS flight - don't know if that changes or not.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Martin de Weger on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 8:52 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanx jake, didn't look for the pers berichten on the KLM site...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 9:13 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Very cool indeed, and great news for Bonaire! And for my mother, should Kit and I decided to move down there bg

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 9:19 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

One party will not be happy campers though... DCA. BonairExel will be a direct competitor to them, taking away all those KLM-clients that up till now were looking at DCA if they couldn't fly straight to the island of their choice.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Thursday, October 3, 2002 - 9:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I've heard speculation that one of the many reasons KLM pulled out Curacao was because they were unhappy that ALM (now DCA) had started a Curacao/Amsterdam flight of their own, in direct competition to KLM. So maybe, in addition to probably being a good business decision, it's a form of payback :-)

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 1:58 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

More like an assassination attempt, if you ask me :)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael gaynor on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 7:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

With DCA's level of service of late, it wont take much to put it out of business. They had the market at its feet and chose to kick it in the rear by not running the airline like a business. It's time to let the big boys on the field and hit a few home runs. I will personally be at the air port to welcome the first Air Excel flight.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Friday, October 4, 2002 - 9:06 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

You both are forgetting that DCA is owned and operated by the island government of Curacao - it is no longer the national airline of the Antilles (although Curacao & DCA really believe that should be the case, of course).

What KLM is doing (IMHO) is minimizing their dependence on both DCA and Curacao. Does DCA lose business as a result of BonairExel? Some.

However, their biggest profit centers are their flights between Curacao and Holland, probably followed by flights to Venezuela and the U.S. The KLM/BonairExel situation does not significantly affect those routes (not at first anyway), since they will be going out of Bonaire instead of Curacao, and it's unlikely that someone in Curacao will opt to fly to Venezuela or the U.S. via Bonaire, for some of the same reasons that people from Bonaire try to avoid flying through Curacao (it's a hassle to have to wait around and make unnecessary connections).

There's room enough in this market for both KLM/BonairExel and DCA. And just think, as a result of this, DCA could simply pull their Bonaire/Curacao flights, freeing up the planes for other routes where there's less direct competition, thus making the routes more profitable for them.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael gaynor on Saturday, October 5, 2002 - 8:02 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

makes snse, but that is not necessiairliy how DCA will see it.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Saturday, October 5, 2002 - 10:41 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Of course DCA won't see it that way. Monopolies, even ones whose monopoly status has been removed, kick and scream anytime anyone tries to open up markets (witness the telecom demonopolization in the Antilles and Bonaire for an example).

The best hope I see for BonairExel is that a Bonairean is now the Minister of Telecommunications & Transport for the Antilles, and he's the one who signs off on new flight licenses.

Certainly, if I had my druthers, I'd be happy to let DCA have the CUR-BON route (since I really don't care to go to Curacao), and have BonairExel handle Bonaire flights to/from Aruba, Venezuela, the U.S., St. Maarten, etc. Let Curacao suffer with the mess that is ALM/DCE/DCA/Whatever :-)

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 6:16 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

KLM has stopped taking reservations on flights to the Antilles after December 1st, due to the "uncertainty" surrounding landingpermits for BonAir Exel. Strangely though, according to some sources some of the permits haven't even been requested yet.
Looks like KLM is putting a bit of pressure on the local governments not to stand in their way...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 8:39 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The "uncertainty" may be also be due to the fact that Bonaire's government collapsed late last week when the minority member of the ruling coalition resigned. However, rumor has it that our island council may be reformed today, with just one party - no more coalition to get the 5 seats required to maintain a majority.

I'm pretty sure that the permit applications for BonairExel have been submitted. Now, whether Curacao has "lost" them intentionally - that's a different matter :-)

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 8:56 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

How big is the chance of the Antilles government blocking the permits? I know the Transport minister is a Bonairian, so he will no doubt issue them, but what if the (Curacao majority in the) government doesn't agree and decides to give him a slap on the hands?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 9:00 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Marc,

What do you mean with "KLM has stopped taking reservations on flights to the Antilles after December 1st". All of them?? also the direct flights from AMS to BON? Or just the ones related to BonairExel?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 9:08 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Marc,

I believe that the Antillean government (the coalition making up the majority in the Antillean parliament) would then collapse because it's very likely that Bonaire and St. Maarten would pull out (not sure if Saba & Statia are represented in the majority coalition) in protest of Curacao's typical heavy handedness, proving yet again why the Antillean structure needs to change so that Curacao can't continue to dominate the agenda all the time, to the detriment of the 4 other islands in the country.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 9:36 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Peter, I'm not sure about that. They claim they are worried about too much bookings because they don't know how many seats they have to offer after 1. December. Maybe the whole schedule change is dependant of BonairExel. Check with KLM if you want to fly to BON.

If you look at the reactions, only politicians on Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten are opposed to the deal. The tourism sectors welcome it because they see the number of seats to the whole Antilles increase.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 9:57 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I just did a search for BonairExel on Google and it produced some very interesting reading. Hmmm, we'll see what happens.
But I hope the deal goes ahead as planned because it will certainly bring more tourists to Bonaire and it will also be easier to combine multiple islands into one visit.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 10:17 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Yes indeed. Kitty and I had a nice discussion about that yesterday. I think there is a market for Bonaire in young (eco/backpack) tourists. You'd need more cheap rooms on the island ($50 a night max), and you'd need to be able to offer island-hopping packages (BonAir!)... But with the worldwide political situation becoming ever more unstable (look at Bali for instance), I think there is plenty of opportunity... and it doesn't have to be only about diving!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 11:12 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

When more "young people" find their way to Bonaire, the Island would become more "lively". Bonaire is not famous for nightlive. And it certainly doesn't need the nightlive found in the big cities (loud disco's, bouncers, street noise, etc...) But it would be nice if some bars/pubs (e.g. Karel's, Bongo's, City) remain more often open after midnight (with people in them).

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 11:25 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I don't agree. Not every young person wants disco's when they go on holiday. Many will settle for meeting people, getting together around a campfire and stuff. The noise-makers will go to Aruba anyway because of the beaches there.
Plus, I think attracting more young people will be a stimulus in making the island more attractive for Bonaire's *own* youngsters and persuade them to stay or return to the island.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 11:48 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I don't want loud disco's either Marc. (-: But as every Belgian, I do enjoy some leisurely barhopping from time to time. And that is not always possible.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 12:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Because Karel's won't stay open for just you and me and Kitty ;-). And I can't blame them either. But if there were more like us, it would be worth their while.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 12:27 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Correctemundo.. You can include my wife as well. (-: she is usually the worst one).

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glen Reem on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 2:37 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

As long as Bonaire doesn't go to the Crete/Agean isle scene.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael gaynor on Monday, October 14, 2002 - 9:39 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The last thing that Bonaire needs or wants are cheap rooms and backpacking visitors. It is in direct contadiction the the tourism plan adopted many years ago and that has been followed until now.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 1:25 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

But which, even in times of economic prosperiety, has resulted in declining number of visitors... And with the outlook for the coming years not very positive worldwide, it might not be a bad idea to rethink that plan. One does not exclude the other.

Trust me, I'm not suggesting to turn Bonaire into a "holiday factory" and build lots of appartment complexes. Of course not. But as it is, $100 a night p.p. is considered "low budget". That might be true for american standards, but it certainly is not in Europe.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peter Cabus on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 2:42 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Michael,

what do you mean with "tourism plan"?

Glen,
IMO there is (currently, and I hope it never will) no risk for Bonaire to become like for instance Crete. The flights are way too expensive. You can get a ticket to Greece from most places in Europe for less than 200$. The cheapest tickets from the US to Bonaire seem to be 500$ plus.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kitty @ CrystalVisions on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 4:29 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Michael,

That was the interesting discussion Marc and I had the other day. I *know* that the islands aren't fond of the classical 'backpackers'. They are not even a real target here, because the airfares are hugely expensive and Bonaire isn't as big as Indonesia, India and Australia (classical backpack countries). First I was opposed to Marc's idea as well. Gradually our opinions grew closer together.
The reason this happened was that Marc's word 'backpacker' is not what he really means at all (and if it was, he changed his mind along the way :) ).

Nowadays there are more and more young people (20 - 35 yrs) who like to travel and are not real backpackers at all. The only thing they are looking for is not-too-expensive accomodation (under $60 per room, not per person). When I said that Bonaire is way too small for these youngsters (because they like to see a lot of things in a relatively short period of time) we came up with a kind of island-hopping thing which would be nice for BonairExel or Flamigo Ferries or something alike....
Besides this, if Bonaire should become a hub for the flights to Quito/Guayaquil *and* Lima; why not persuade the tourists that are in those airplanes (not only young people) to make a nice stop-over on Bonaire?

I understand that Bonaire has made specific choices concerning the 'types of tourists' it wants to welcome. This does not have to change. However, it *could* be possible to add new types of groups... Or put more emphasis on the beautiful snorkelling-possibilities alongside the great diving Bonaire has to offer. Of course, here we have to make sure that Bonaire attracts people that are eco-conscious. And here I got to an interesting conclusion: more and more people are becoming ecologically aware. These used to be people that were seen as post-hippies and alike, but nowadays the ecologically aware are more and more the people who do have some money to spend (and I am not talking about Jake's neighbours :( )....

I guess it wouldn't hurt to evaluate the Tourism Plan. Just by 'branstorming' along. Of course, the Plan might not change eventually or just a tiny bit. Still then, every option has been thought about. IMHO; if the plans of KLM and BonairExel should come to life, I think the Tourism Plan should be looked at anyways... :)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael gaynor on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 7:52 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I am referring to studies done a few years ago by the Univerisity in Surrey, England on the tourism outlook for Bonaire. Of course as with all studies, they tend to be flawed in that they have now may of predicting the economy, terrorism, natural disastors, etc. If it were up to me, would like to see youth hostels, campgrounds, as well as 3 and 4 star resorts.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kitty @ CrystalVisions on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 8:12 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Yeah! Way to go! Let's see if the Tourism Corporation Bonaire (apart from Michael) can start thinking this way as well...
So Marc and Michael, when are we starting this great endeavour... :)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Richter - NetTech on Tuesday, October 15, 2002 - 10:27 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Actually we do have a number of small places that are $50 - $75 per night for the room. Many of the small inns with a handful of units are very reasonable. The new Friars Inn has very low prices - $21 per person with lower rates if you share a room. You just have to look harder to find the cheaper places.

 


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