On Monday December 7th 2009, the 3rd annual Network Latin America Conference was held at the Westin Hotel, which was hosted by the PJIAE.
Board members, Delegates, Commissioners and other distinguished guests were present.
The following is the address from drs. Eugene B. Holiday President of PJIAE N.V. during that Conference.:
Commissioner of Aviation Affairs, Mr. Frans Richardson
Chairman of the Superviory Board of PJIAE, Mr. Miguel Alexander and Other Board Members
Distinguished Delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good Morning,
I am, on behalf of Princess Juliana International Airport Operating Company, very pleased and honored to extend a warm welcome to all present this morning and in particular to our guests who came from overseas to attend this Network Latin America Conference.
At this time I wish to especially recognize and thank the organizers of this conference, Airline Business Magazine, in the persons of, Ms. Jane Cartwright, Ms. Vicky Weyman, Ms. Kelly Farley, Mr. Robert Hancock and Mr. Mark Pilling, for having selected PJIAE and St. Maarten/St. Martin to host this year’s conference.
In the coming two days we hope to meet your expectations and in trying to do so, I will therefore start by introducing you to our airport, PJIA and St. Maarten/St. Martin. PJIA is located on the Dutch side of this tourist paradise but serves both sides of our dual-nation island, St. Maarten/St.Martin.
In the broadest sense our airport’s strategic approach is aimed at maintaining St. Maarten position as a premier tourist destination; a position that can only be ensured by offering airlines, passengers, and other users: airport, air traffic control and commercial services, that meet and exceed the highest possible industry standards.
To do that our actions are guided by clear objectives as worded in our company’s mission statement, which states that it is our mission:
To be the regional leader –
in providing safe, secure, quality and profitable airport services
that contribute to the general economic and tourism development
of St. Maarten/St. Martin and the region we serve.
In 2008, PJIAE, in striving to fulfill our mission and promise to our communities:
served over 1.7 million passengers, 50% of which came from North America; and
handled some 71,000 aircraft which transported these passengers
through an extensive network of air services connecting St. Maarten/St. Martin and surrounding islands to North America, South and Central America, and Europe.
The activities of PJIAE on the island translates in major economic spin-offs as shown in this chart by the strong correlation between the economic growth on the island and passenger growth at PJIA. This makes PJIA the islands single most important strategic asset. It is therefore essential that the airport continue to be in a position to offer the services required to fuel our local economy.
Expanding existing services and developing new routes is essential in that regard. For PJIAE and St. Maarten this calls for continued action aimed at increasing and diversifying our airlift by seeking to among others establish air services from Latin America. The annual network conference is an excellent forum for this purpose. I therefore welcome this opportunity for us as airlines and airports to join together and Network in search of new and mutually beneficial opportunities for our companies. This is especially important in the current challenging economic conditions, with demand for travel to the region down significantly and to St. Maarten down by almost 10%.
To open the discussion I shall share a short video with you to give you a brief view of what PJIA and St. Maarten has to offer: (A Video was played for the audience)
Through this presentation and video I hope to have provided you with a general overview of and insight in PJIA, the airport of St. Maarten/St. Martin. For the next two days my staff and I will be available to assist the Network Organizers to ensure that your conference would be an effective one and that your stay – in the tradition of the Friendly Island – will be an enjoyable experience.
Thanks and may you have a productive and successful conference.