- Thread starter beeza
- Start date
The decline of European flights to Puerto Plata airport
I suspect that the vast majority of tourism visits to the DR are are bought and sold through travel companies. Those travel companies will follow the deals from region to region that provide the lowest costs to them to accommodate their customers. The majority of the airlines will schedule their flights based on that need to move people.
The two big Canadian Airlines, also run their own vacation websites and those package bookings are the main provider of bums in the seats for WestJet and Air Canada coming to the DR. I'm not sure there are enough Residents and snowbirds to keep flights coming to Puerto Plata without the package tourists.
I don't think the average one or two week vacationer really cares which beach or which hotel they make use of, as long as they can afford the cost to come here in the first place.
The two big Canadian Airlines, also run their own vacation websites and those package bookings are the main provider of bums in the seats for WestJet and Air Canada coming to the DR. I'm not sure there are enough Residents and snowbirds to keep flights coming to Puerto Plata without the package tourists.
I don't think the average one or two week vacationer really cares which beach or which hotel they make use of, as long as they can afford the cost to come here in the first place.
One of the problems is if first time visitors don't come they also don't book return trips. Those that go to Punta Cana and enjoy it will possibly book a return trip there not to the North Coast.
Same with other locations - Maybe thy can get a cheaper flight to Mexico than POP so they go to Cancun and again future DR return trips are missed.
Same with other locations - Maybe thy can get a cheaper flight to Mexico than POP so they go to Cancun and again future DR return trips are missed.
Perception is everything.
For example Eurowings: the negative person will say: Eurowings are going from 3 flights a week to 2 flights a week.
A positive person will say: Eurowings didn't come to Pop 3 years ago and have 3 flights a week on this moment.
And the reality is: Eurowings didn't fly to pop 3 years (or maybe 4 years) ago to Pop, then they had 1 flight a week for a long time, afterwards 2 flights a week and now since a couple of months 3 flights a week and they will reduce it again to 2 flights a week in the "low" season (it is still double the amount of flights compared to 2 or 3 years ago).
All is how you want to look at it.
For example Eurowings: the negative person will say: Eurowings are going from 3 flights a week to 2 flights a week.
A positive person will say: Eurowings didn't come to Pop 3 years ago and have 3 flights a week on this moment.
And the reality is: Eurowings didn't fly to pop 3 years (or maybe 4 years) ago to Pop, then they had 1 flight a week for a long time, afterwards 2 flights a week and now since a couple of months 3 flights a week and they will reduce it again to 2 flights a week in the "low" season (it is still double the amount of flights compared to 2 or 3 years ago).
All is how you want to look at it.
According to figures from the Central bank the Swedish market grew 21%, from 10,516 visitors in 2016 to 12,719 last year....
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/statistics/tourism_sector/
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/statistics/tourism_sector/
Amen to that Windy.
Back in the day I recall 7 or more flights daily from JFK/EWR alone. MIA had two on AA and SJU as well. Now, not so many.
Back in the day I recall 7 or more flights daily from JFK/EWR alone. MIA had two on AA and SJU as well. Now, not so many.
Part of that is the load factor.
Same passenger load now, fewer planes, more $$$ for the airlines.
They used to fly w/ less passengers - no more of that !!
Remember when they all lost money ??
At Christmas , I commented it was the old days.... 60% load about=== POP to EWR
Same passenger load now, fewer planes, more $$$ for the airlines.
They used to fly w/ less passengers - no more of that !!
Remember when they all lost money ??
At Christmas , I commented it was the old days.... 60% load about=== POP to EWR
Canadian, US, Russian and Swedish markets grew in air flights to PP from 2016 to 2017...according to the Central Bank figures....
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/statistics/tourism_sector/
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/statistics/tourism_sector/
Canadian, US, Russian and Swedish markets grew in air flights to PP from 2016 to 2017...according to the Central Bank figures....
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/statistics/tourism_sector/
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/statistics/tourism_sector/
it's a bit of pain in the heinie to go to europe using POP. and now you are even kicking a puppy of my hopes to connect via US...
Tui Belgium just announced that they are going to fly from Brussels to Puerto Plata again. (And tui holland from Amsterdam also)
Nice
Nice
This week coming I will treat myself to a direct from Halifax to POP and return on 30 April. That direct flight stops until next Feb 15 2019.
Other than that I have to travel to POP via Toronto... two days without a good sleep.
Anything out of Toronto or Montreal is a direct flight.
Fuel , Tech. Support, taxes and fees, ground crew services , and landing/take off fees all impact upon viability of operating a vacation package. Those all inclusive deals have got to be crippling the airlines.
Russell
Of course the demand for POP declined. The reasons were the increase in tourism to Punta Cana, the turning of hotels into condos on the north coast to make a quick buck, and the lack of improvements done to the older hotels that remained which caused the tourism industry to send 90% of tourist to Punta Cana. Still the case that only 10% of the tourists come to the north coast despite a slight uptick recently in numbers to POP.
It is absolutely correct that the lack of demand for flights is what is causing the drop off from Europe and long ago caused the drop off from the USA. Prices are ridiculous for flights from to/from the US since there is so little demand for them, the connections are horrible, and the airlines are charging what they can to continue to make a profit. I have no idea if any connections between any resorts being rebuilt/built on the north coast will have on increased flights from Europe since it is too early to tell how successful those efforts will be.
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It is horrible now. Getting to the west coast of the US is a nightmare. I have used Santo Domingo over POP and doing that is a Royal Pain in the heinie taking buses from the north coast and getting hotels in Santo Domingo because of the flight times. My step daughter uses Santiago because she flies in and out of Fort Lauderdale using Spirit when she visits us in Cabarete. POP sucks for most US travel because of the pricing and connections.