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It has been a bitterly sad week among the travel retail merchants in the Caribbean, with two prominent families experiencing tragic deaths. It is with tremendous sadness that we report the deaths of Ash Ramchandani, and Dinesh Indru Dadlani.
Ramchandani, of Ashburry’s in St. Maarten and Pricesmart and Palm Beach Plaza in Aruba, was killed in an auto accident on March 21. Dadlani, whose family is one of the pioneers of the duty free industry in Jamaica and runs the Casa de Oro stores, passed away on March 24. See page 1 for further details.
BREAKING NEWS. As we go to press, the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) has announced that it is allocating 2,000 additional officers to staff America’s ports of entry at air, land and sea ports in 18 states. The move was widely applauded by airports across the nation, including by officials at Miami International Airport and by industry association ACI-NA.
BY THE NUMBERS: IATA reports that the airline industry remains on track for a second year of improving profits with increased cargo and passenger demand offsetting rising fuel costs. Page 2.
ACI releases preliminary world airport traffic rankings for 2013. Page 3.
JFK IAT today announced a changing of the guard at JFK International Airport Terminal 4, naming respected international airport manager Gert-Jan de Graaff as president and CEO, replacing Alain Maca, who is retiring. Maca, who oversaw the construction and operations of T4 since its inception, culminates a successful career with the massive expansion project for Delta Air Lines. Full story on page 1.
Supply Side News. In the Spirit: Diageo leads Impact Databank’s top 100 spirits and bourbons thrive; Beam stockholders approve Suntory deal; Tito’s Handmade Vodka extends international reach; Prohibition days take focus as WEBB & Edrington launch new Cutty Sark in Orlando.
Inflight. TRT to launch Retail & Catering Tradeshow in London in September. Page 4.
