Haydhelen VelazquezPresident of the Aeropostal Group

In an exclusive conversation with Caribbean News Digital, Aeropostal´s president talked about the immediate development perspectives of her company for Latin America and the Caribbean.

By Jose Carlos de Santiago

CND: How´s the company doing and what are the main purchases it has made in terms of airlines?

HV: We´ve chalked up quite a big increase over the past three years and, as we speak, we´re growing northbound. Our latest acquisition is Aerohonduras, a small carrier that flies from Miami to Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and Roatan, with connections also from Miami to San Pedro Sula and on to Nicaragua´s Managua. That´s one of the purchase moves we made between 2003 and 2004, and the outcomes just can´t be any better. We´ve been flying that route for six months now and it´s been growing at a 40 percent annual rate.

CND: According to what I´ve recently read in the press, you´re about to open a hub in Havana for the entire Caribbean region. How do you expect this project to play out and what agreements will you make with Cuban airlines in that respect?

HV: Well, we´ve already cut a deal with Cubana de Aviacion that includes flights from Caracas to Havana whenever they need them. We have scheduled flights and others ruled under charter guidelines. The idea here is to continue flying to Havana whenever they need to put jetliners up in the air because we know Cubana has stopped covering some routes, so we can help them out in that respect. Those are the combinations we count on right now and we hope that some three months from now, maybe less, we´ll be flying with them.

CND: How many destinations will you cover from Havana?

HV: For the time being, we´re considering two or three destinations. This is going to be a piecemeal process because we´ve got no intention whatsoever to glut the market. We´ll connect to Santo Domingo, Costa Rica and Panama. Those are the very first plans in the works.

CND: You shut down your Aruba-bound flights last year. Will you resume them anytime soon?

HV: Absolutely. That´s a seasonal destination. We know that´s a hundred percent a travel destination, not a business destination where people fly to everyday. Venezuelans love going to the island of Aruba, as well as those passengers we carry up from the south. But flights to Aruba must only be on weekends or during the high-peak travel seasons.

CND: You also have a flight from Havana to Aruba. Are you sticking to it?

HV: That´s right, we also fly from Havana to Aruba and we´re going to, as you put it, stick to it.

CND: And you also fly from the Dominican Republic to Aruba. Are you really interested in keeping that route, too?

HV: Yes, as much as we´re interested in all other Caribbean islands as well. But I insist that flights among those islands are only during the travel seasons.

CND: When will you get the new airliners for long-haul trips?

HV: We´re negotiating just that, but there´s no deadline yet. I can´t mention an exact date, but you can rest assured we´re working on it.

CND: How are your negotiations with Iberia to make code-sharing flights some day?

HV: As we speak, we´re holding talks with Iberia over the Caracas-Madrid flight because we´re looking for alternatives and Iberia is no doubt one of our best shots. We could be perfect partners and give our passengers from Venezuela, the Caribbean and South America a safe route to Europe. I mean, travelers going to Madrid could fly on to other destinations across Europe.

CND: Could this agreement with Iberia be extended to Cuba, the Dominican Republic and even to other destinations in Central America that your company is operating right now?

HV: You bet. And we could even stretch it out to Colombia through our new partnership with AeroRepublica. We´re flying to destinations inside Colombia, so I think this alliance could pay off for both sides.

CND: Are you going to expand outside the realm of airlines, say, hotels?

HV: We´re toying with that idea. As a matter of fact, we made a number of proposals during last year´s FITUR and we´ve already received a good deal of promising offers in return. We talked, for instance, with a person from Isla de Coche where developers there have a lovely 150-room project underway and they need more plane seats. We move plenty of charter passengers that would like to visit that place. By the way, Venezuelans and South American do love going to Isla de Coche, which is some sort of unexplored destination right now.

CND: Is that idea solely based on those routes that you cover?

HV: Momentarily, yes.