SKYSERVICE launched its new Georgetown to Toronto non-stop Service with a round trip flight from Toronto to Georgetown. The occasion was marked by a reception at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, on Tuesday evening prior to the Boeing 757’s return leg to Toronto.

Sunrise International Airways CEO and President, Guyanese-Canadian businessman Ram Tiwari, the operator of the service, said that establishing the Guyana direct service has been a passion for him. Sunrise has been working on bringing about the new service for several months, making arrangements for leasing the aircraft, obtaining government permits, and making arrangements with travel agents.

The service was launched to satisfy the strong demand for a direct flight without the inconvenience of in-transit stopovers, associated waiting time, baggage handling, and misplaced luggage.

Sunrise’s District Manager, Lawrence Kanhai, said the new service reduces travelling time by about four hours. It avoids the hassle of having to offload and clear customs and security in Trinidad. He said this is especially appealing to the mature traveller. And that the big bonus is that all this comes at a price that is very competitive with stopovers.

This was enthusiastically endorsed by Hafeez Ally, a traveller on the inaugural flight who flew north to Toronto from New York to take the Skyservice flight to Guyana. He said that all the flights out of New York for Guyana are fully booked for the Christmas season.

It costs him less to make the 600 mile trip to Toronto and to get the Skyservice flight than it would have cost him for the flight from New York – if he could get a ticket.

Sunrise CEO, Mr. Ram Tiwari, went on to say that the new weekly flights will be a year-round service. The airline has numerous planes in its fleet that can take care of any contingencies with similar direct flights in place for Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad and plans to roll out to Belize shortly. They are also investigating a New York to Georgetown run.

The inaugural Flight #830 left Toronto around 11:00 p.m. Toronto time on Monday for the five and a half hour trip. Passengers on board included Sunrise executives, Guyana’s Honorary Consul General to Toronto Mr. Danny Doobay and special invitees from the travel industry.

“It is my aim to encourage more overseas Guyanese to come back home and utilise the facilities and tours that have been established in recent years. Many of them will be pleasantly surprised”, said Tiwari.

“The gateway to this service is the travel agents who we see as partners, and we intend to level the playing field so that everyone can compete for the business on an equitable basis.”

Ticketing and ground services in Guyana are being handled by Roraima Airways. Roraima’s President Captain Gerry Gouveia promised end-to-end service for those looking for this kind of experience. Speaking at the reception, Mr. Gouveia said the he was proud that Roraima Airways will be the face of the operation in Guyana.

In closing, Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad, gave a short recap of events leading up to the launch of the service. Back in June, President Jagdeo asked him to visit with travel industry representatives in Toronto. He contacted Mr. Danny Doobay who organised a meeting between the Minister and industry representatives.

The Minister challenged the assembly to find a way to implement year round direct flights to Guyana. Mr. Tiwari who was in the audience stepped up to the challenge. And so began months of negotiation and problem solving culminating in the service launch.

Minister Prashad said he knows the travel business is not an easy one and that it is subject to seasonal swings. But that he believes there is the demand to make the direct flight to Guyana a success. He thanked Mr. Tiwari for stepping up to the plate to make it happen.