Well it's been six months now. I had to return to the UK for work as there was none for me as an aircraft engineer in POP.
7 Years ago I landed the dream job of my profession. My own base in the Caribbean working for a UK charter airline. I fell in love with my new home and made my move to the DR permanent. Bought a nice house and settled down with a wonderful Dominican who has since blessed me with two beautiful twins Unfortunately that airline doesn't fly to POP any more and I was given the choice of redundancy or a move back to the UK. I chose redundancy and made a go of it on my own here. I spent most of my redundancy in creating my own aviation maintenance business and partnered up with another European company to provide support to all the European airlines. Initially business was okay, but one-by-one the European airlines stopped flying to POP. The only regulars that remain are Thomson from the UK, Air Berlin and Condor from Germany. Thomson and Air Berlin have their own guys looking after their planes, so that left me with Condor. Which is not enough to support my business alone.
The airlines that used to fly to POP, but have recently withdrawn are:
Thomas Cook - UK
Thomas Cook - Scandinavia
Transaero - Russia
Edelweiss - Switzerland
XL France
Finnair
Martinair - Netherlands
Arkefly - Netherlands (they may come back)
Jet Air - Belgium
Air Europa - Spain
Corsair - France
However, most of these still fly to PUJ. Why?
Well the price of jet fuel in POP is possibly the most expensive fuel in the Caribbean. The airport fees imposed by Aerodom, the owners of POP airport are almost downright extortionate. Even though they have invested a small fortune in recent refurbishments. But they are still extremely high and there is a huge amount of speculation about corruption and misappropriation of public funds.
But mainly by lack of promotion by the tour operators. Where would all these passengers stay if the airlines came back? Why would they want to stay in run-down 20 year old hotels and resorts with very little to offer compared to the new shiny resorts of Punta Cana. If you look at the holiday brochures, those that do operate in both POP and PUJ are actually offering much cheaper deals to go to PUJ and stay in a much nicer and newer resort.
I try to look ahead with some optimism, but I can't help feeling that the writing is on the wall for POP and the North Coast. I am looking at the reality that if I want to stay and work in this country then I would have to sell up and move to PUJ. But even then, I can't imagine my house selling overnight, unless I gave it away.
Is Danilo intending on accommodating all his 10 million tourists in PUJ, where his predecessor built his fancy hotels and is now reaping his own benefits? It's no secret that Lionel invested heavily his own personal fortune in these East Coast projects. And If Danilo is the economist, what are his plans for the North Coast?
What about this new cruise ship terminal in Maimon? What would be the reality of it becoming a transit port using the connection with POP airport?
I need some good news, but alas I fear I will not be getting any for the foreseeable future.
7 Years ago I landed the dream job of my profession. My own base in the Caribbean working for a UK charter airline. I fell in love with my new home and made my move to the DR permanent. Bought a nice house and settled down with a wonderful Dominican who has since blessed me with two beautiful twins Unfortunately that airline doesn't fly to POP any more and I was given the choice of redundancy or a move back to the UK. I chose redundancy and made a go of it on my own here. I spent most of my redundancy in creating my own aviation maintenance business and partnered up with another European company to provide support to all the European airlines. Initially business was okay, but one-by-one the European airlines stopped flying to POP. The only regulars that remain are Thomson from the UK, Air Berlin and Condor from Germany. Thomson and Air Berlin have their own guys looking after their planes, so that left me with Condor. Which is not enough to support my business alone.
The airlines that used to fly to POP, but have recently withdrawn are:
Thomas Cook - UK
Thomas Cook - Scandinavia
Transaero - Russia
Edelweiss - Switzerland
XL France
Finnair
Martinair - Netherlands
Arkefly - Netherlands (they may come back)
Jet Air - Belgium
Air Europa - Spain
Corsair - France
However, most of these still fly to PUJ. Why?
Well the price of jet fuel in POP is possibly the most expensive fuel in the Caribbean. The airport fees imposed by Aerodom, the owners of POP airport are almost downright extortionate. Even though they have invested a small fortune in recent refurbishments. But they are still extremely high and there is a huge amount of speculation about corruption and misappropriation of public funds.
But mainly by lack of promotion by the tour operators. Where would all these passengers stay if the airlines came back? Why would they want to stay in run-down 20 year old hotels and resorts with very little to offer compared to the new shiny resorts of Punta Cana. If you look at the holiday brochures, those that do operate in both POP and PUJ are actually offering much cheaper deals to go to PUJ and stay in a much nicer and newer resort.
I try to look ahead with some optimism, but I can't help feeling that the writing is on the wall for POP and the North Coast. I am looking at the reality that if I want to stay and work in this country then I would have to sell up and move to PUJ. But even then, I can't imagine my house selling overnight, unless I gave it away.
Is Danilo intending on accommodating all his 10 million tourists in PUJ, where his predecessor built his fancy hotels and is now reaping his own benefits? It's no secret that Lionel invested heavily his own personal fortune in these East Coast projects. And If Danilo is the economist, what are his plans for the North Coast?
What about this new cruise ship terminal in Maimon? What would be the reality of it becoming a transit port using the connection with POP airport?
I need some good news, but alas I fear I will not be getting any for the foreseeable future.