Q & A with Haydhelen Velazquez Ramiz, President of Aeropostal
Banking on codeshare agreements and flights of its own, Aeropostal Airlines keeps great connections going among the Caribbean, Central America and South America, with far-reaching plans in store to ratchet them up through luring multi-destination offers.
Q.- What new projects, flights and routes does Aeropostal have in the pipeline?
A.- Right now, Aeropostal is considering to enter talks with two other airlines in Europe in a bid to finally start flying to Caracas early next year and fly on to Cuba. That’s one of the projects. The other one focuses on the possibility of starting nonstop flights from Europe to Margarita Island.
Q.- Will these be several European airlines or just Spanish carriers?
A.- Spanish airlines.
Q.- Now the codeshare agreement with Air Europa is up. How are you flying right now?
A.- Right now we’re not flying because we’re holding talks in an effort to bring off flights through joint partnerships, sort of codeshares, and so be in a position to lighten up everything related to permits for flights to Venezuela,
Q.- How are you now making flights from Miami to Central America and from Central America to Caracas or the Caribbean?
A.- We’ve got four flights from Venezuela to Miami, from the cities of Caracas, Valencia and Maracaibo. These are four daily flights flown on Boeing 727-200 jetliners.
Q.- Aren’t you planning to fly to Central America with the new airline?
A.- Yes, we are. As a matter of fact, we’re considering to start the San Jose-Guatemala and San Jose-Nicaragua routes anytime soon.
Q.- When is the new air carrier supposed to start flying?
A.- The official takeoff is scheduled to be five months from now, in the summer.
Q.- You put a tour operator in operations last year. How is it going?
A.- This tour operator is Destinations Worldwide and we market everything around the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Our target destinations are Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. We also sell tickets for other airlines and Caribbean-bound cruises, too.
Q.- Is there any plan in the offing to open some kind of multi-destination offer in Venezuela?
A.- Our multi-destination offer within Venezuela combines the islands and the jungle. We also deliver the Canaima offer by sea that allows visitors with long vacations to spend a few days on Margarita Island and then three to four days in the Canaima jungle camps.
Q.- What does Conviasa mean to you all?
A.- Conviasa is a state-run airline, just another one inside Venezuela with a completely different market in sight, a different mission and other schedules. Indeed, there’s no market clash between the two of us, so it’s just another airline different to ours.
Q.- Are you sticking to flights between the Dominican Republic and Aruba?
A.- Yes. By the way, it’s been a smash hit and we’re going to keep it in the air as long as passengers demand it. This is a multi-destination that’s selling like hotcakes right now.
Q.- Are you going to fly to Mexico’s Cancun or the Mayan Riviera?
A.- For the time being there are no plans to do so this ear. Maybe next year in combination with other airlines. However, that idea is in the works because this is quite a busy destination for Venezuela.
Q.- Are you considering to step up flights to some Caribbean islands, say, in the English-speaking or Portuguese-speaking Caribbean?
A.- That’s not in the plans for the time being. We’ll continue flying to our traditional destinations, such as Trinidad, Aruba, Santo Domingo and Cuba. We’re holding on to those routes and stepping up the number of flights to those islands in the high-peak travel season.
