An open skies agreement with the United States will enable Dominican airlines to fly to dozens of new destinations. The present agreement restricts where Dominican airlines can fly in the United States.
But representatives of Dominican airlines say before the open skies agreement is signed the Dominican Congress needs to pass a bill that would reduce the high local taxation levels that affects the competitiveness of Dominican airlines. Omar Chahin, president of the Dominican Association of Airlines (ADLA) told Diario Libre that an airline incentives bill is needed to level the field with US airlines that have received ample support from the United States government.
Chahin, who is also the president of Air Century, advocates for a bill that would eliminate taxes and reduce others that are paid by local airlines. He mentions the 1% tax on fixed assets, the 27% on payments made abroad, the charges for using a foreign processor for credit card transactions, 18% ITBIS and taxes on fuel.
Diario Libre recalls that on 12 September 2022, President Luis Abinader remarked that negotiations were advanced to sign an open skies agreement with the United States. The agreement could be ready for signing in 60 days. At the same time, Abinader said the Presidency would send to Congress a bill to favor the local airline industry. Chahin is concerned the bill has not yet been presented.
On 13 October 2022, US Embassy charge d’affaires Robert Thomas published an article favoring the signing of the open skies agreement on the grounds that it is in the best interest of travelers. He said that at present travel is more expensive from the United States to the Dominican Republic because of the lack of “a modern Open Skies” aviation agreement. “This means fewer choices for travelers and limits on competition among the airlines cost you more every time you buy an airline ticket,” he writes.
Thomas outlines the US position:
“The United States seeks to have open aviation relationships with its partners, and whenever possible, establishes pro-competitive agreements that allow air carriers to offer a variety of services tailored to meet the needs of their passengers without restrictions on numbers of flights or destinations. Under an Open Skies agreement, airlines can provide more affordable, convenient, and efficient air services to consumers by minimizing limitations on airline decisions about routes, number of flights, and inter-airline partnerships. These modern aviation agreements are pro-consumer, pro-competition, and pro-growth arrangements which allow more international passenger and cargo flights between our two countries. “
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Diario Libre
US Embassy
18 October 2022