i never understood why it is so expensive either.

It's all the icons

Hawaii, Mexico, Europe.....freaking Buenos Aires airfare is less than Belize these days. All the hotel discounts in the world are not going to help if you have to pay exhorbitant fees to get there. GOB doesn't get it.

What do you all expect the BTB to do that they haven't or aren't? Are these airfares high because of tax or is it the airline prices that are high in the first place. When you see a flight is $x but with tax it's $y what is the split on the tax - it surely isn't all for the destination country?

Think again.

Someone with actuary type skills needs to do a study for the GOB
or the BTB and show them what is going on. The other side of this is, the GOB may position themselves with the idea of twice as many landings to equal what is now (monetarily) their income will have a direct affect on the fragile environment. More people more consumption, more waste etc.. Comments??

It depends a little on why the flights are expensive. A country like Belize with it's tiny population struggles to pay it's way and keep it's head above water and can never subsidise airline prices like a lot of the competition seems to.

But Phil, fares have never, EVER been this high as what we are seeing now. And, it has to boil down to taxes/fees. Something has changed, quietly, inside the operations at Goldson to create this. Here's why:

I've priced tix through the gateway cities from city X. Then priced the same itinerary as 2 separate tickets - one from city X to gateway and a 2nd ticket from gateway to BZE. Guess what? The BZE leg is the one causing the high fare. I can fly to Costa Rica from the same origin, going thru the same gateway city, for several hunred dollars less than BZE. In at least one case, I could go twice for the same $ and still have cash left over.

Do I have an answer? No. Do I know why? No (but I suspect privatization factors in). I only know the reality.

There is no doubt in my mind as to where the cost is from. The Belize government. Period! No ifs ands or buts! Ergo the suggestion of someone to show the effects of their actions.

Just thought of one reason. How much and who paid for, the runway extension? Who owns the airport, private or government? Would there be enough manpower if the landings doubled, can the current infrastructure handle a doubling of landings and twice the passengers?