uk_grenada

Britain is poised to offer the us access to its overseas territories inc the bvi and caymens which it was unable to do as part of the EU.

Might mean more competition/more routes?

ABCR

What do you mean by "offer the US access"?

uk_grenada

Allow them to openly compete for passengers from/to those airports, sans tariff, as part of the agreement, what did you think it meant?

As part of the eu we arent supposed to do deals with other blocks by ourselves apparently - anyway its in the news.

uk_grenada

https://politicspoliticalforum.com/t...UK-opens-skies

ABCR

Cheers! Thanks for posting!

Gordon Barlow

Yes, I wondered about this, too. We in Cayman have always had pretty open access, though maybe that's because we are a British colony, which Grenada isn't. Britain is not likely to negotiate on Grenada's behalf, I would think - Commonwealth member or not. As far as I know there is minimal restriction on US carriers flying here; just recently SouthWest opened a route to and from Fort Lauderdale - in the middle of the Brexit negotiations, no less!

I recall a bit of argy-bargy some years ago about our local government's heavily subsidised airline's access to US airports, but little or nothing changed.

uk_grenada

I had a chat with a tourism ministry person here, apparently the airlines screw all the caribbean countries - they annually wont come ‘next year’ unless they are guaranteed a profit so either countries pay them a fee to visit, which can be a million a year, or they guarantee a certain passenger loading - or pay compensation. Its a farce, i almost always fly on a full plane and pay a lot more than comparible flights to other regions.

Maybe one of the modern low cost european carriers will have a go, for the americans jetblue is doing well.

Tobago is interesting, they still have cheap - really cheap - charter flights because the trinidad govt subsidises each seat to the tune of 200 us and underwrites losses, but always in reality makes money. They say its an efficient way to support tobago financially.

Gordon Barlow

Yet I read that Tobago will be going independent in the near future. How will it pay all those Civil Servants?!

uk_grenada

A lot of the nicer houses in tobago seem to be owned by trini’s as weekend homes. I cant see Trinidad just deciding to lose sovreignty over its weekend home :-). Tobago’s also got natural gas and oil... If the 200 mile economic zones lost - no i cant see it ever.

Venezuela: The Great OIL Grab: Target Hugo Chavez

Gordon Barlow

My wife and I may well be the only people in Cayman who don't care what happens with the US airlines' access here. I flat refuse to travel to the USA. I have written some pretty critical stuff about the US's overseas empire, and I fear that might have put me on some black-list or other. God knows there are plenty of them! The very thought of flying into Miami airport sends shivers up my spine. Fortunately, we can travel directly to England, Canada, Cuba, Bahamas, Jamaica and Honduras for connecting flights to the rest of the world.

uk_grenada

I only go to murica every 2 years or so to buy ralph lauren clothes [they fit - they work well here and are cheaper there] and then leave for other interesting places. Doing cuba for the first time this year...

scot47

You will come to the attention of those in high places. Join the rest of us in the sights of Langley !

uk_grenada

Depends on which langley i guess... ‘Come friendly bombs and fall on slough’ so said a poet laureate of the original one. Langley is merely a suburb. I once iived in west windsor, strangely no-one called it south slough...

Gordon Barlow

Langley is a nice and well-groomed suburb, as I recall. (I was there once for a job interview...!) More likely to be Guantanamo, though, for the other kind of interview... I wonder if UK-Grenada will be checking that place out for us.