TACA comments on termination of Miami flights
On Sunday afternoon a TACA 737 will make what is perhaps that airline’s last flight between Belize and Miami. Although TACA officials have stated that the suspension of service is only temporary and that flights will resume in June, many observers are skeptical about the air carrier, which over the last sixty years has transported more Belizeans to more places than any other. This afternoon News Five’s Stewart Krohn spoke to Johnny Searle whose travel company has been TACA’s agent here for almost forty years.
John Searle, Belize Global Travel Services
“The Government of Belize adamantly do not want these services to discontinue, that they do need those flights coming into Belize and the Belizean people need those flights to come in. Government is working very hard to have TACA change their mind. TACA’s pressing very hard for economic reasons that they are going to lose money in that period of time and they can’t afford to lose money during this period of time.
We finished our discussions yesterday on the note that TACA would discontinue their services just from the 19th of April to 19th of June period. We have both gone back to our respective offices, the Government and TACA and we will meet again next Friday. The idea is that during this week we will both look for ideas and methods in which we can avert this particular decision.”
Q: “For about 40 years yours has been the face of TACA in Belize. In view of the abruptness with which this route has been dropped do you feel a little embarrassed by the way things have gone?”
John Searle
“Yes, I do; of course I do. Unfortunately those releases were sent from TACA’s public relations department which is in Guatemala and sent directly to the news media in Belize and not through my office. If it had come to my office I would have handed it back until we have had the discussions, but the cat was out of the bag before we even sat down to have discussions with government. That did not go across very well, I must admit.”
Q: “A few months ago TACA eliminated its Belize-New Orleans service, now we’ve just been informed that Miami is no longer on the map, would it be unrealistic for us to assume that in the not too distant future Houston and the rest of Central America would be next?”
John Searle
“I would hate to see that happen. I have been connected with TACA for the past 40 years or more and I would hate to see that happen. I think Belize would hate to see that happen. Yes, a trend has apparently been set and you would expect that Houston would be dropped next. But the question has been asked to the president of TACA and he gave assurances that Houston would not be dropped, that they were not considering dropping the Houston route and dropping the Miami route was only temporary.”
Q: “Do you expect your major competitors namely American and Continental to take advantage of this situation and perhaps step in with larger capacity to perhaps wrestle that market away from TACA for good?”
John Searle
“Absolutely; they would be fools if they didn’t. As long as the traffic is there and they have the ability, the flexibility to find larger aircrafts to take care of that market of course they would do that.”
