Less than six months after filing for bankruptcy last December, Silver Airways announced on June 11 that it had shut down effective immediately.
“In an attempt to restructure in bankruptcy, Silver entered into a transaction to sell its assets to another airline holding company, who unfortunately has determined to not continue Silver’s flight operations in Florida, the Bahamas and the Caribbean,” the Florida-based regional airline wrote on its Instagram the day of its closure. “Please do not go to the airport. All credit card purchases should be refunded through your credit card company or your travel agency.”
Though Silver had been servicing the Virgin Islands with 12 flights per week, acting Premier Kye Rymer played down the closure and said the government has been working with other carriers to try to plug the gap.
“We were paying attention to the developments with Silver for some time, and as such we had engaged the other carriers that could possibly augment the service into the BVI,” Mr. Rymer told the Beacon this week.
VI impact
Despite reports of Silver passengers left stranded elsewhere, BVI Airports Authority Managing Director Kurt Menal said yesterday that he received no reports of displaced passengers in the VI.
“I won’t say that it didn’t happen, but I guess it wasn’t so significant for it to concern us where it could reach my office or even up to operations,” Mr. Menal told the Beacon.
He added that the current carriers are helping fill the gap.
“What happened immediately is that InterCaribbean and Cape Air, they pick[ed] up the slack,” he said.
Quick response
Cape Air Vice President for Planning Aaron Blinka told the Beacon this week that Cape Air and other regional airlines began assisting shortly after Silver Airways’ announcement.
“So there is the tactical component of it, which is the immediate need for the passengers that were displaced right away, you know, due to the shutdown,” Mr. Blinka said. “We’re still kind of working through that right now. And what that essentially means and entails is we’ve — to the extent that we can add additional capacity, additional flying, and kind of protect and accommodate and take care of those displaced passengers — we’ve been adding as many frequencies as we can.”
Cape Air is also considering increasing its capacity in the longer term, according to Mr. Blinka.
Mr. Menal, the BVIAA head, said the transition to other carriers has been fairly seamless so far.
“To tell the truth, we [are] kind of moving on from it because we have to run our business and create that connectivity for the passengers,” he said yesterday. “And once our passengers remain happy, we [are] happy. And we look forward to the future, because obviously a slot has opened up and that’s an opportunity for us to bring in a new carrier.”
Though Mr. Blinka acknowledged fears in some countries and territories that the shutdown “may have an impact on pricing or getting passengers out to their destination,” he said he expects other airlines to be able to plug the gap.
“I think the carriers that are out there now are going to be pretty prudent and, you know, kind of back filling that capacity so that there isn’t a loss of passenger traffic or tourists coming into the islands,” he said.
Opportunities
For other regional carriers, Mr. Blinka said the Silver Airways shutdown “creates opportunities.”
On June 11, InterCaribbean said it would help displaced passengers too.
“To support affected passengers, InterCaribbean Airways is offering rebooking assistance for travelers with bookings to and from San Juan, Tortola or Dominica,” the airline stated.
Meanwhile, Mr. Menal said that in discussions with carriers currently servicing the VI, the BVIAA has emphasised maintaining quality service.
“So what we [are] hoping to see, and we [are] constantly talking to them about that, is for them to maintain a high level of service in terms of the passengers — a high level of reliability — because it’s one thing to pick up the slack, but then you have to maintain a high quality,” he said.
BVIAA owed
In apparent reference to the BVIAA, a court document filed in Silver Airways’ Florida bankruptcy proceeding includes the “British Virgin island Authority Ltd” on a list of entities to which Silver Airways “owes passenger facility charges, airport fees, 9/11 fees, and customs fees.”
The document does not state how much is owed.
$100,000 at stake
Mr. Menal, however, told the Beacon that Silver Airways owes the BVIAA about $100,000.
He added that the authority is currently “looking into” whether that money will be paid, but he said he could not “speak conclusively on that.”
The court documents also described the United States VI Port Authority as a Silver Airways creditor with an unsecured claim of $644,971.18 in airport rent and usage fees.
Regional operations
Besides the VI and the USVI, Silver Airways operated in five cities in Florida and seven in the Bahamas, as well as Puerto Rico, Dominica, St. Kitts and St. Maarten, according to its website.
Its fleet included 48-seat ATR 42-600 planes as well as ATR 72-600s, which have between 44 and 78 seats.
Silver Airways and BVI Tourist Board Director Clive McCoy did not respond to requests for comment by Beacon press time yesterday afternoon.
