Air Belgium is one of my favorite airlines to follow, and last week they announced a new business plan — the airline went from being focused on flights to Asia, to not operating any scheduled flights at all, to now operating flights to the Caribbean and beyond.
Continue reading: Air Belgium’s New Caribbean Flights On Sale
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Interesting. I don't think there are that many routes between European countries and Caribbean islands that weren't former colonies.
The market in Belgium can definitely sustain this....... provided they have the right partnerships, such as Club Med, for example. If they plan to do it on their own without relying on package travelers, they might face their 2nd HKG, I guess.
With all due respect Lucky, your post starts with an insulting question to your readers: “What is Air Belgium?” How dare you ask that question? Are you implying that your readers have not read the 153 articles about Air Belgium? Tsk tsk tsk...
Most of the routes between those 2 islands and Europe tend to go to Paris (both CDG and Orly), so who knows...
In other news, Lucky is quoted on Baltia's...sorry, USGlobal Airways' wikipedia page!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USGlobal_Airways
Perhaps a dumb question, but I don’t believe the 787 is grounded, is it? I’ve seen this claimed multiple times lately. My guess is it is just a mistake as 737-8 is easily written as 787 when thinking quickly.
@Alex - though the entire 787 fleet isn't grounded like the 737M, due to ongoing engine issues, many 787s can't fly until required maintenance is done and there is a severe backlog on that
The problem is the FDF and PTP are low yield routes on not very popular islands. There is a reason you don't hear about many Americans going there. They have culture and good food but aren't what most people are looking for in a Caribbean Vacation.
At least charleoi makes sense from a language perspective. It's in wallonia (part of francophone Belgium) and flying to french speaking islands.
@Dan - I think Martinique and Guadeloupe are very popular islands, just not from an American perspective. 3-4 wide bodies a day fly to FDF and PTP from ORY and CDG. And the fact that many Americans don't go there is a wonderful thing. I love that not a single Hilton or Hyatt or Marriott can be found on Guadeloupe. If you speak a little French and have any interest in island culture, these are fantastic spots. I'm glad that JetBlue is picking up the flight to PTP that Norwegian axed.
Guadeloupe and Martinique are gorgeous islands with very different personalities. This can be traced back to the French Revolution. The guillotine arrived on Guadeloupe - in the middle of night - and by dawn the wealthy plantation owners, the doctors, the lawyers, and the island's intelligentsia had been dragged from their beds and beheaded. Martinique got wind of what was happening and asked Britain to raise their flag and claim the island for themselves. Unable to land the guillotine at 'British' Fort-de-France, the French troops returned 'the national razor' to the mainland and Britain then hauled down the Union Jack. Economic and cultural viability was retained on Martinique while devastated Guadeloupe stagnated.
I love Martinique, which I've been traveling to since the 1970's, but find Guadeloupe (which has a very high crime rate) to be rather depressing.
It's a shame they are not going to SXM. While AF and KLM service SXM, it there is lots of travel to SBH. And it would be very cool to see those planes from the Sunset Beach bar!
@Dan - thank you for letting me know that not many Americans go to Guadeloupe or Martinique. These islands already appealed to me to visit for the reasons that you mentioned, and now with that revelation, they are a must-visit!
The prices (especially in Economy) are pretty good, so they may be able to get a good amount of leisure travelers. A European feed network or a partner in the Caribbean would help though.
Unrelated, but I’ve been commenting under just ‘alex’ for months now, and in the last week or so I’ve seen quite a few comments under the exact same name, and they’re usually either a political (and occasionally racist) rant or some silly question...odd. Not sure what I can do differentiate myself from other commenting under the same name?
Did Air Belgium get round to installing their new premium economy seats or do you still get a seat in the rear of the business cabin if you book PE?
The Y fares are exceptional... as for J they are pretty much the same as AF’s, but given the fact that on most of their Caribbean routes they don’t even feature flat beds that makes Air Belgium much more attractive
@ Real Alpha Male
A typical, lazy, stereotypical comment from somebody who has obviously not spent much time in the country (if any), with its amazing food, beer and architecture.
But if it keeps Real Boring Males like you away, then all the better for the rest of us.