Seychelles and USA sign historic air transport agreement

Seychelles and USA sign historic air transport agreement

Seychelles and the Unites States of America (US) have signed an air transport agreement, the first of its kind between the countries.
The accord, which will take effect in January 2016, was signed on Monday by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Transport Joël Morgan and the US ambassador to Seychelles Shari Villarosa.
Initialled by both governments in December 2012, the document consists of the first air transport agreement to be signed between Seychelles and the US, and is the first Open Skies agreement which Seychelles signs with an international partner.
Minister Morgan remarked that this historic agreement would herald a new wave of cooperation between the two countries based on facilitation of tourism and trade between the two countries.
“Today is a very important day for us as it gives total liberty to partners who want to fly Seychelles-US. We believe in a liberal framework and see the viability of the different markets. We are increasing bilateral agreements to increase the number of flights that comes to Seychelles. Although the distance between Seychelles and the US is great, it is still a potential market that we need to develop. Many US citizens come to Seychelles for fly fishing and this is an opportunity to attract more visitors. Furthermore, already Seychellois do online shopping from the US. With the introduction of more flights to Seychelles, this will reinforce business,” Minister Morgan said.
The minister further noted that it also marks the development of the aviation industry in Seychelles. “With already some solid partners like Etihad, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways, we will be having more connectivity to travel the world. It will bring benefits not only for businessmen but also to passengers.”
Mr Morgan also explained why this agreement took so long to take effect. “We had to be very careful not to have budget airlines coming and creating chaos in our market. Usually these types of airlines come when the market is good and then leave when business is low. They dump prices of tickets and if we are not careful we will not have any airline flying to our island. We do have many bilateral agreements and we are still in negotiation with the European Union to have Open skies also.”
When is the first flight to the US or vice-versa? The minister stated that they are still negotiating and there is quite an interest in our market. Air Seychelles will have a codeshare where a flight will be made available.
“Once we touch the 10,000 tourist a year coming to our islands, we will have regular flights,” explained the minister.
Ambassador Villarosa said the agreement is “pro-consumer, pro-competition, and pro-growth…”
“By signing this Open Skies agreement, our governments further strengthen our bilateral ties which facilitate future trade and tourism between Seychelles and the United States,” Ambassador Villarosa said.
“The US international aviation policy is based on enabling marketplace competition to expand worldwide air services through Open Skies agreements. The Open Skies agreements establish liberal ground rules designed to facilitate growth of an efficient, market-based international aviation system with enhanced potential for increasing commercial and business exchanges, investment, exports, and tourism. Growth in aviation also benefits the broader economy and promotes integration with the world economy,” the ambassador explained.
Ambassador Villarosa further noted that “the United States also believes that an Open Skies regime offers the best environment for developing markets to attract additional air services for the benefit of travellers, shippers, tourism…This agreement encompasses not only passenger air service, but also cargo”.
Concerning visa application to the US both the minister and the ambassador reassured the press that they are working on something which will facilitate travel for Seychellois. Already Seychellois can travel to 130 countries with visa facilities.
Since 1995, the United States has concluded Open Skies agreements with nearly 120 partners in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean. With Seychelles, the US has 27 Open Skies partners in sub-Saharan Africa. Open Skies bring substantial benefits. The agreements expand cooperative marketing arrangements, liberalise charter regulations, improve flexibility for airline operations, and include provisions committing both governments to observe high standards of safety and security. These agreements also produce countless new cultural links worldwide.

http://www.nation.sc/article.html?id=247780