The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Private pilots were yesterday urged to stop “bashing the Bahamas” over their increased tax burden, one of its Flying Ambassador’s describing this nation as “still the number one destination” for the industry.

Thierry Pouille, an executive with Florida-based Air Journey, one of the world’s leading escorted flying trip providers, told Tribune Business that the extra fuel costs involved in flying to other Caribbean nations more than offset the negative impact from the 2013-2014 Budget’s new and increased taxes.

Calling on his private aviation colleagues to keep the situation in perspective, Mr Pouille said the Bahamas remained a “fantastic and unique” destination for visiting flyers and their passengers, while still retaining its proximity advantage.

And, while agreeing with the Christie administration’s stance that the extra revenues were needed to finance the aviation facilities and associated services the Government is providing, Mr Pouille said there was “no doubt” that it needed public relations training.

He suggested that much of the fallout and ‘knee jerk’ industry reaction to the Budget’s tax impositions could have been avoided had private flyers been forewarned, and consulted, on the Government’s plans.

The Bahamas has come under constant attack from the private aviation sector since the tax increases were implemented in July last year.

Jim Parker, president of Caribbean Flying Adventures.com, a top pilot’s guide for planes flying in the region, warned that the rises meant the Bahamas was “pricing itself out of the market”, and thereby accelerating the decline of its already-shrinking private aviation market share.

Mr Parker told this newspaper back in February that after his blog on the new Customs and Immigration fees was posted, he was contacted by 150 pilots in two hours to advise him they were no longer flying to the Bahamas.

“I’ve got a totally different point of view,” Mr Pouille told Tribune Business yesterday, suggesting that the Budget’s impact was being exaggerated, and that private aviators needed to pay something for services they had been accustomed to receiving as free.

“The Bahamas is right around the corner, one of the most beautiful places to fly to compared to what we see around the world,” he added.

“When I need a break, that’s where I go. It’s fantastic, and I go there all the time.”

Acknowledging the Government’s fiscal woes, and need for more revenue, the 16-year Air Journey veteran said: “The truth of the matter is that when you went to the Bahamas, every facility you use is free of charge.”

Prior to the 2013-2014 Budget, Mr Pouille said that in the absence of landing and parking fees, the only levy imposed on private pilots and their passengers was the departure tax.

He suggested that the fee increases were also a reasonable response to the $30 million-plus investment the Government has made in the Marsh Harbour Airport and terminal building, plus runway repairs and other upgrades at various Family Island airports.

Such facilities benefit the private planes that use them, with Mr Pouille indicating that the sector needed to accept it should pay something in return.

For a private plane with a pilot and three crew, the taxes now paid are a $50 landing fee; $100 in departure taxes; and $100 in Customs/Immigration overtime fees if they arrive before 9am/depart after 5pm.

Mr Pouille, though, argued that the Government could have avoided what has become a public relations disaster if it forewarned the private aviation industry of what it was about to do, and justified it.

“When they [the Government] made the announcement, the flying investor was pretty upset, as there was no information sharing, no consultation, and we learned pretty much after the fact,” he told Tribune Business.

“We were not happy about it. They need to get some PR lessons, no doubt about it. As soon as I found out about it, I said: ‘Look guys, the Bahamas is having a shortfall. It’s not the way to go about it; they could have shared the information with the pilots and prepare the flying community for what will happen’. That was wrong; definitely wrong.”

Mr Pouille added that the poor PR handling of the tax increases left the Bahamas Tourism Organisation’s (BTO) team exposed to industry anger at an aviation conference soon after the Budget.

“They spend a lot of money at the Aviation Show,” he added. “They came unprepared, and it didn’t look good. It was a sad story.’

Mr Pouille, though, said the effect of the Bahamas’ tax increases was offset by the $150 and $300 fuel credits that pilots received for staying two and four nights in a Bahamian hotel, respectively.

“The bottom line is, at the end of the day, despite the lack of communication, pilots end up with more money than they pay in taxes,” he argued.

“Instead of bashing the islands, they need to be fair. There’s ways around it.”

Mr Pouille, who organises escorted pilot journeys to Europe and South America, as well as the Bahamas, said this nation’s fees paled in comparison to this nation’s taxes.

Expressing hope that the Bahamas’s mistake would soon be forgotten, he told Tribune Business that it was still less expensive to fly to this nation from the US than other Caribbean destinations.

Pointing out that planes were typically burning 10-15 gallons of fuel per hour, with each gallon costing $7, Mr Pouille said the $50 landing fee paled in comparison to such costs.

He added that in flying to Jamaica, pilots sometimes had to pay fees for permits and overflight rights to cross Cuba.

Landing and parking fees were also incurred at Kingston and Montego Bay, while paperwork requirements were also more onerous than in the Bahamas.

“It’s still the number one destination,” Mr Pouille said of the Bahamas, having started flying here in the 1980s. “I love it, and I’m still pushing it.

“The Bahamas is still fantastic for pilot freedom, a unique destination with beautiful hotel, beautiful people and you can find anything you want.

“You have to look at everything in perspective. You could choose between Mexico, Cayman and Turks & Caicos as alternatives. The beauty of the Bahamas is that it is right around the corner, and you don’t have to fly for hours to get there.

“Someone may say we’ll go to the Dominican Republic, but instead of getting there in one hour like the Bahamas, it takes two-five hours, and while they do not pay a $50 landing fee, it will cost them more in fuel to get there.”

Mr Pouille said he organises six escorted private aviation journeys to the Bahamas annually, including two Treasure Hunt Runs, and none of these trips had seen a fall-off in demand or participation.

Some, though, have suggested that the Budget tax increases could cost the Bahamas up to $20 million in annual earnings from the private aviation industry.

The sector’s ire has also been aroused by the fact the Government has sought to reach a compromise agreement over the new taxes with commercial airlines, while ignoring the private aviation plight and its benefits for the Bahamian economy.