Although it was known for some time, today’s report that TUI will no longer be flying from Amsterdam to Princess Juliana International Airport SXM effective November 1 is regrettable. What makes it extra painful is that the airline will simultaneously expand its service to Bonaire.
The two weekly flights are being dropped as the result of an agreement with KLM. The latter will in turn operate the route four instead of three times per week.
In that sense it’s not the worst news in the world, as only one weekly flight from Schiphol will effectively be lost. The TUI planes are bigger and have more seats, but they go to Curaçao afterwards and many passengers were headed there, while KLM’s flights are non-stop on both legs.
Perhaps the biggest drawback is that KLM/Air France will again have a virtual monopoly when it comes to European airlift, making the prospect for any real price competition rather dim. TUI is still planning a new weekly flight from Brussels, Belgium, but only for the winter season.
The carrier wants to focus on the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao) market, where the company has seen considerable growth. Management insisted they were happy with the performance of St. Maarten too and said this was a strategic move.
Be that as it may, one can’t help wonder whether better and especially more consistent marketing and promotion might not have made a difference. Over the past years there were quite a few problems regarding the destination’s representation in the Netherlands.
These also had to do with the number of different Ministers in charge of tourism, partly as a result of political instability often involving “ship-jumpers” in Parliament since 10-10-10. Hopefully that is now over with and the situation can remain stable, because continuity is everything.
