The Chargé d’Affaires of the US Embassy within the Dominican Republic, Robert W. Thomas, assured that travel is costlier since the DR doesn’t have a contemporary “open skies” aviation agreement with the US.
He explained that this implies fewer options for travelers and limitations to competition amongst airlines, costing the user more every time they buy a plane ticket.
In a letter on the open skies agreement, Thomas acknowledged that after several years of stalemate, there may now be a chance to sign a contract, because of the incontrovertible fact that President Luis Abinader made known his commitment to finalize negotiations, “and has demonstrated his willingness to open the aviation sector to competition, even despite the existence of certain interests.”
He applauded Arajet’s latest low-cost service plans to several US destinations, conditioned to the signing of an open skies agreement between each nations.
On this sense, he assured that the US is willing to collaborate with Abinader’s administration to have fun a contemporary agreement that may bring more flights, with more options, at more economical prices, which might represent a long-term growth of tourism options for those visiting the DR.
Robert W. Thomas referred to this sense when writing a letter within the framework of the thirtieth anniversary of the US Open Skies policy.
Full letter
If you happen to are considering traveling to the US, you’ve got probably noticed that airline ticket prices have risen sharply in recent months. Probably the most common culprits for this phenomenon are increased demand, rising fuel costs, and the continued economic disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic. But there’s one explanation you could not concentrate on: lack of competition.
Travel is costlier since the Dominican Republic doesn’t yet have a contemporary “Open Skies” aviation agreement with the US. This implies fewer selections for travelers and limitations on competition amongst airlines that cost the user more every time they buy a plane ticket.
The USA seeks to have an open-air relationship with its partners and, to the extent possible, to determine pro-competitive agreements that allow air carriers to supply various services tailored to their passengers’ needs without restrictions on the variety of flights or destinations.
Under an Open Skies agreement, airlines can offer consumers cheaper, convenient, and efficient air services by minimizing constraints on airline decisions about routes, variety of flights, and airline alliances. Consequently, these modern aviation agreements favor consumers, expansion, and competition and permit more international passenger and cargo flights between our two countries.
With an Open Skies agreement with the US, Dominican airlines would now not have restrictions on where they will fly in the US, and Dominican travelers could enjoy latest flight options, lower fares, and higher service amongst more airlines out there.
This flexibility would allow airlines to raised reply to the market and serve the destinations travelers demand. For instance, Dominican travelers could fly nonstop to more US destinations beyond the everyday Latest York and Florida routes, including less frequented US cities which can be also home to large Dominican communities. Likewise, US travelers may gain advantage from more nonstop options to the Dominican Republic as an alternative of worrying about long connections at other airports, spend more time with their families, enjoy the great thing about this country and boost tourism revenues here within the Dominican Republic.
Since 1992, the US has established Open Skies agreements with greater than 130 allies, including small and enormous countries corresponding to the Bahamas, Curacao, India, Japan, and Spain, to call a number of. The Dominican Republic has also signed similar aviation agreements with Panama, Brazil, and the Netherlands. These agreements bring innumerable advantages: they stimulate the creation of high-quality jobs and economic growth and promote increased travel and trade.
Based on a 2016 study by the Brookings Institution, Open Skies agreements have generated $4 billion in annual gains for travelers and a median 15% decrease in fares. It’s time for the Dominican people to benefit from the same advantages, which might be provided through a contemporary aviation agreement with the US. The time has come for our countries to formalize such an agreement.
After several years of stalemate, we may now have the chance to sign an Open Skies agreement. President Abinader has publicly announced his commitment to finalizing negotiations and demonstrated his willingness to open the aviation sector to competition, despite specific interests. As well as, a latest and progressive national airline has announced plans to launch latest low-cost services to several destinations in the US, conditioned, they claim, on the signing of an Open Skies agreement between our two countries, a service that the US would consider as a positive consequence of Open Skies.
On this thirtieth anniversary of the US Open Skies policy, the US is willing to collaborate with President Abinader’s administration to enter into a contemporary agreement with the Dominican Republic. This agreement will bring more flights with more options, to more cities, at cheaper prices. Cheaper visits to family and friends and long-term growth of tourism options for those visiting this country: a win-win for all travelers.
