Airlines

Aruba as pre clearance hub to the United States

On August 25, 2008 Surinam Airways flight nr. from the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport in Surinam arrived at the Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix in Aruba. Though Surinam Airways is a regular and long time guest at the Aruba airport, flight nr. was a very special one for the Aruba Airport Authority as new transit procedures for non US destinations to US destinations were introduced.

The procedures, as developed by AAA in close cooperation with Aruba Customs and Immigration authorities and the US Customs and Border Protection resulted in a smooth process for both the passengers in transit from Surinam and the passengers originating from Aruba. The first flight of this morning arrived in Aruba with a slight delay carrying on board 115 passengers from Surinam, and departed with a total of 127 passengers to Miami. Surinam Airways will be offering this service twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.

During their short stay at our airport Surinam Airways’ crew members were welcomed and congratulated on this first flight of many to come. Surinam Airways also had the pleasure of having Surinam’s Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism, Mrs. Apinsa on board of their first transit flight to Miami, via Aruba. “We’re very pleased with this increased service from Surinam Airways,” said Peter Steinmetz, Managing Director of Aruba Airport Authority N.V. “ With the operation of these flights Surinam Airways will contribute to the growing demand on Aruba for competitive flights to Miami.”

Surinam Airways flight PY463 from the Johan Adolf Pengel International Airport in Surinam arrived at Aruba’s International Queen Beatrix. Though Surinam Airways is a regular and long time guest at the Aruba airport, flight PY463 was a very special one for the Aruba Airport Authority as new transit procedures for non US destinations to US destinations were introduced. The procedures, as developed by AAA in close cooperation with Aruba Customs and Immigration authorities and the US Customs and Border Protection resulted in a smooth process for both the passengers in transit from Surinam and the passengers originating from Aruba on their way to Miami. Surinam Airways will be offering this service to Miami twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays.

Mirto Granadillo, the former Director of the Aruba Tourism Authority in Latin American joined Tiara Air as company representative in Venezuela.

He is pictured here with Manager Commercial, Sales and Marketing Camilo Muyale, at the Tiara Air Service Center at Sun Plaza with company sales representatives Zarina Faarup and Darsy Kelly.

Tiara Air is extremely satisfied to have been able to recruit an experienced, well-respected and very qualified executive to spearhead Tiara Air’s expansion in Venezuela and later South American, Muyale declared.

Granadillo was at the helm of Aruba’s sales and marketing promotions in Latin America from 1976 to 2006, and has excellent contacts in aviation and in the travel community of the southern hemisphere.

Fluent in English, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Brasilero and French, he is perfectly suited to take on the Americas on behalf of Tiara Air.

Educated in Mexico, Santo Domingo and at Cornell University, USA, Granadillo is bringing a wealth of talents to add to Tiara Air’s already spectacular business intelligence and professional expertise.

The Asociación de Líneas Aéreas de Venezuela had recently asked Tiara Air to join its ranks and become a member of the prestigious association.

The regional Antillean carrier based in Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao responded with great enthusiasm and this week a delegation of Tiara Air met with the ALAV officials in Venezuela to ink the agreement.

Managing Director Alejandro Muyale and affiliated executives Raymond Maduro and Mark Hoveling flew over to meet with ALAV Executive President Humberto Figuera and Board Member Jorge Andrade, and conducted fruitful and informative talks.

ALAV, an international organization, has been serving Venezuela and its skyways since 1959. “With thirty-one international member airlines including Lufthansa, Alitalia and American Airlines, Tiara Air is certainly in good company,” remarks Maduro.

“We are excited about the promising partnership with ALAV,” states Muyale, “it opens great possibilities for Tiara Air to get even further into the Venezuelan market and into South America in general.”

An informal Wing Ceremony introduced the new, just-graduated cabin attendants of Tiara Air. Cabin Crew Manager Mike Hagedoorn, who was also the Cabin Safety Training Course Instructor reports that in November Tiara Air advertised for new cabin attendants in the newspapers and out of the fifty women who applied the top five have just been certified as Tiara Air’s new cabin attendants.

They received their course completion certificates, also signed by Accountable Manager Hubert Zievinger from Hagedoorn. The new cabin attendants received their wing pins from Senior Cabin Attendant Nadine Wernet.

Pictured here Cabin Crew Manager Mike Hagedoorn, Senior Cabin Attendant Nadine Wernet, and veteran cabin crew members Allen Kelly and Luis Cicilia, welcoming the fresh Tiara recruits Indhira Stok, Janely Nicolaas, Mabilene Franken, Alis Brunk and Jahaira Lopez, who have just been qualified to fly the company’s Short SD3-60.

Tiara Air has just entered into an operating lease agreement with AeroCentury Corporation, out of Burlingame, California, for the lease of two Swedish-built SAAB 340A turboprop aircraft which will facilitate the company’s plan for expansion.

The new crew members will also make the ambitious and far reaching map of future Tiara Air destinations possible.

The website of Aruba Airport Authority N.V., www.airportaruba.com, has received its 1 millionth visitor! A large part of this high number is related to people that use the airport as passengers or meeters and greeters and wish to check online if their, flights are on time or have a slight delay.

Besides the flight information that is updated constantly, one can obtain general information about the airport, information on the current security regulations, information on the restaurants and shops available at the airport, vacancies and tender information.

Many local students also use the website to accumulate valuable information on Queen Beatrix International Airport for use in various school projects.

Up until now, the daily flight schedule displayed only information on the flights of the day that you visit the website. But in the near future, you will also be able to see information on flights of the days ahead. This unique feature will benefit all of those travellers that plan ahead on their trips.

AAA N.V. invites you too to visit and use the website to stay up to date with what happens at the airport and also to check if our flight is on time or delayed prior to using the airport to travel.

Dimensione Turismo, an Italian based company and the Aruba government signed an agreement for direct weekly charter flights from Milan. Scheduled to begin in October 2008 until May 2009, they will use an Airbus 330 with a capacity of 297 seats.

The Queen Beatrix International Airport has seen continued double digit percentage traffic growth and revenue generating passenger (RGP) figures on a monthly basis during this first quarter of 2008. March 2008 was AAA’s busiest RGP month ever, with the previous record holding month dating as far back as April 2000. USA/Canada, Antilles, Europe and Latin America grew when compared to first quarter 2007. North America continues to see passenger growth and higher occupancies per flight. Seasonal service from Canada, both Toronto and Montreal have been strong and will resume next winter. AAA’s key focus for North America will be to maintain current air service levels for 2008 and 2009.

AAA N.V. is proud to announce that now KLM and Martinair passengers can use the Common Use Self Service (CUSS) check-in kiosks to check in and print their own boarding passes.

AAA N.V.’s CUSS program is open to all airlines whose check in software is compatible with AAA N.V.’s CUSS kiosks. KLM and Martinair are the first that have signed up and AAA has placed four CUSS check-in kiosks in the Non-US check-in area. AAA N.V. expects to install similar kiosks in the US Check-in area as well. Several major US airlines are very interested to offer their passengers this service. When the first US airline will sign up, AAA N.V. will start a pilot with a limited number of hotels, placing these Self Service Check-In kiosks in the lobbies of these hotels, improving the airport product upon departure and reducing queuing time at the airport.

The start screen shows the logos of all participating airlines. The passenger selects his airline on the touch screen to start the check-in software of that airline. He then identifies himself with a passport or credit card and performs the check-in. After printing his boarding pass, he can proceed to a baggage drop-off point where his boarding pass is scanned and the required number of baggage tags is printed and attached to the luggage.

Although many airports and airlines all over the world have implemented self service check-in kiosks, Aruba’s airport is the first airport in the Caribbean to have this service.

AAA N.V. trusts that this new check-in point will further upgrade AAA N.V.’s service to the airport users and reduce the waiting lines for the check-in counters during peak times!

When the new Aruba 2000, Reina Beatrix Airport finally opened - it got delayed when under construction, budgets for beautification and interior design ran dry.

Critics of the project complained it was spacious and modern but cold and industrial.  That was then, circa the year 2000. Fast forward to April 2004, when the Aruba Airport Authority entered into a Strategic Co-operation Agreement with Schiphol International, which is the division responsible for the international activities of the Schiphol Group, owners and managers of amongst others Amsterdam’s mega famed facility.

After a period of planning and construction, at the end of 2007, the updated and improved Reina Beatrix airport inaugurated its heart, a stylish and contemporary customer and retail project with improved restaurants and redesigned retail areas, a nicely decorated arrival hall with free use of baggage carts, and many other terrific features, under the management of the dynamic Peter Steinmetz.

Steinmetz was at the helm of the renovations as well, engaging local designer Claudia Ruiz Vasquez to come up with fine detail and custom furnishings and naturally, a tropical, relaxing color scheme.

Their creative collaboration resulted in commercial retail upgrading with 11 food & beverage outlets and 2245m2 of space inside; landscaping, improved parking facility, signage, and automated parking attendants, outside.

The swanky new terminal for General Aviation also opened a few months earlier, but you only get to see it, if you are privileged to fly a private plane.

The airport now offers passengers a wide variety of shops and food & beverage locations. Among shops Dufry’s duty free liquor, tobacco, perfume and cosmetic emporiums, Delicatessen, bookstores, souvenir shops and an inviting store for sunglasses and luggage. The main concession area delivers first class meeting places, a full service bar with apron-landing-strip-scape, a sushi restaurant, a gourmet coffee stand, Cinnabon, an ice-cream parlor, Sbarro Pizza as well as a huge chocolate boutique.

There are also shops available within the US bound gate area and some shopping within the non-US bound departure gate area.

As the first plane landed here in July 24, 1925, a Hydro-aircraft IDOR, touching ground in the Paardenbaai harbor of Oranjestad, the former Lt. Governor Mr. H.E.G. Wagemaker of Aruba presented the initial plans for the construction of an airport for the island by 1933. In December 1934, the first tri-engine Fokker aircraft SNIP, landed in the vicinity of today’s airport and regular flights between Aruba and Curaçao started in 1935, with a record of 2659 passengers transported that year.

Passengers nowadays go to the airport early to finish their shopping, they used to complain there was nothing to do, nothing to eat, now you can shop, nosh, eat, browse your computer, watch TV, and soon, automated check in kiosks would come on-line making the whole process faster. And the US & Aruban security checks will be integrated, and a VIP lounge made available at a small charge, stand by, for an even more efficient experience at Reina Beatrix Airport.

Story submitted by Rona Coster

Colorful polo shirts embroidered with the Network Latin America 2008 logo, proudly hosted by Aruba Airport Authority N.V. (AAA), Aruba definitely made a good impression in San Diego last week during Network USA. Special mention was made during the conference by Mark Pilling, editor Airline Business, encouraging airline planners and airport representatives to attend the conference in Aruba December 7 – 9, 2008.

Aruba Tourism Authority joined AAA and together they manned a booth and held several one-on-one meetings. Events like these are an important element in airport marketing as opportunities for additional flights and new routes can be discussed during the short meetings and follow up given via mail, telephone or a corporate visit to the respective airline’s head quarters.

It is through Network USA in 2006 and 2007 that Jetblue service to Aruba from New York and Boston respectively was solidified. “There are two (2) industry shows that are attended yearly by AAA, Network and Routes” said Peter Steinmetz, Managing Director AAA, “the importance of these shows reflects in the strong business relationships we have with our airline partners making it easier to react to opportunities and changes as they occur’.

The attached pictures give an indication of the meeting conference room and the banner indicating Network Latin America in Aruba this coming December. In the picture Mark Pilling, Editor Airline Business, proudly downing his polo short together with Peggy Croes, Head Airline Marketing AAA and Geraldine Coutinho-Meyers, Director ATA North America and Zena Neme, Regional Sales Representative ATA