As we informed you in our April update and as Daniel has been saying for a long while, there is a problem in respect of the airlines and subsidies. He has been campaigning about this issue for a long time and expressing his concerns at the many meetings he has been attending. It seems that someone has finally taken notice of what he has been saying. This week the Canary Islands Government has announced that it is working on the creation of a development fund to aid and boost cheaper air- links to the archipelago.
In an announcement made by Domingo Berriel, Consejero de Obras, Publicas, Transportes y Poliltica Territorial, the budget is 10 million euros and it is expected that operations will begin in the 2013-2014 winter season.
The funds aim is to boost the supply of flights by promoting new links and added frequency to increase the number of visitors to the island. This is to support the tourist industry as it is widely recognised that it is this economic sector that drives the islands economy.
Interested airlines must provide certain strategic routes to the island, as well as meeting a number of additional requirements, and agree to keep the current capacity in its programming with the islands. It is thought that the fund will seek to offset some of the costs of the implementation of routes. The airline bidder must commit to continue operating the routes when the aid ceases.
Quantification of aid per route will be determined by the number of weekly frequencies, the period of operation, the distance between the two airports, and the minimum capacity of the aircraft.
Airlines interested in operating some of the routes must provide amongst other things a report of future viability of the route, the details of the programme offered, a marketing plan for the implementation, together with a financial proposal and an estimate of passenger numbers.
So we have the proposal, let us hope that the work that Danny has been doing in respect of this issue will finally come to fruition!
