o be profitable, LIAT 2020 Ltd will have to be properly capitalised to acquire suitable aircraft that can effectively compete with Caribbean Airlines, which is expanding its fleet to fill the void created by the closure of Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) 1974 Ltd.
That’s the view of retired director general of Civil Aviation, at Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority, Ramesh Lutchmedial, who said some of the routes flown by LIAT 1974 provided load factors that were not profitable or sustainable.
Last week, the airline said it was winding up its operations in its current form on January 24 this year.
In a letter to staff outlining the latest position regarding the Antigua-based LIAT (1974) Ltd, Cleveland Seaforth wrote, “After careful consideration and evaluation of the present operations, a decision has been taken by the court-appointed administrator to permanently cease all commercial flying operations as of the close of business on January 24, 2024. As a result of the foregoing, you are hereby notified that your employment with LIAT (1974) Limited (in administration) will be made redundant effective February 4, 2024.” Seaforth is the court-appointed administrator of LIAT 1974 Ltd.
The airline is owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and during the presentation of his country’s national budget last month, Antigua Prime Minister Gaston Browne said his government had embraced the responsibility restructuring and resurrecting LIAT, with a “with a vision of returning the airline to the regional skies”.
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Browne said the airline, which has been under administration since July 24, 2020, “has long been an essential thread in the fabric of Caribbean connectivity.”
The prime minister stated that this year, the Antigua and Barbuda government will spend an estimated EC$30 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) to “ensure LIAT 2020 Ltd has all the aircraft needed and appropriate maintenance and operational arrangements are in place for the safe, reliable, and efficient delivery of service to the people of the region.”
In an interview with Business Guardian, Lutchmedial referenced the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) report last year which stated that the International Air Transport Association’s Connectivity Index shows a decline in intra-regional connectivity for all but nine countries in the Caribbean between 2008 and 2018.
“This is in contrast to the overall increase in global connectivity for the majority of Caribbean countries. The rate of growth in the Caribbean has lagged behind most regions of the world, indicating that there may be constraints on connectivity and growth,” the report indicated.
The report said high costs are one of the primary barriers to connectivity in the region.
The lack of growth in Caribbean connectivity is due to a combination of:
• taxes, fees in air transportation, as they add to the cost of travel;
• regulatory barriers, namely a lack of liberalisation in air services;
• institutional impediments, including inefficient use of infrastructure.
The report said that there are everal policy options that can help improve air connectivity in the region, including:
• A reduction in aviation taxes. Taxes make travel more expensive, especially for intra-regional travel.
• A reduction in airport charges. Lowering charges may allow airlines to operate in markets that are considered thin and where operating costs are important for viability. This may also be a way for airports to attract air services, especially for extra-regional travel.
Strategic planning needed
The retired director of general said the fundamental starting point for a new airline begins with a sound strategic business plan based on a well-researched and comprehensive feasibility study.
He noted that a typical airline business plan includes the governance structure, capitalisation, proposed route network, fleet plan, human resource, a marketing plan that includes an analysis of the market conditions, competition, brand development, and an implementation plan with timelines.
In the Senate last July, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced that Caribbean Airlines Ltd would be acquiring three more wide-bodies aircraft, four more ATRs, and three to four mid-range jets for interregional travel.
Imbert further stated that CAL was expanding its route network to the destinations in the upper Caribbean, the British Virgin Islands, and the Central, South, and North Americas.
Lutchmedial outlined that T&T has liberal bilateral air service agreements with Canada, the US, Costa Rica, the UK, and Brazil which will facilitate route rights for CAL’s expansions.
On the issue of whether LIAT 2020 would be sufficiently staffed with pilots, Lutchmedial categorically said “No” as CAL is hiring a lot of ex-LIAT 1974 pilots and flight attendants to operate their ATR-72 aircraft.
Many regional tourism ministers last year were clamouring for LIAT to be revamped as intra-regional travel was being severely affected by its route reduction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year in a one-on-one interview with the Business Guardian St Lucia’s Minister for Investment, Tourism and Creative Industries Dr Ernest Hilaire said another LIAT is needed to fly regional skies once again.
“LIAT is part of the regional landscape. Now that does not say LIAT does not have problems or anything like that, but the airline is needed.
“In fact, for everyone who criticised the regional carrier, what would they pay to have the airline operating once again?
“We need LIAT and our government is committed to supporting any effort in creating regional connectivity. A regional solution is needed,” Hilaire said.
Asked whether this can be a break for the new LIAT 2020 as many countries were calling for LIAT to fly the regional skies again, Lutchmedial said, “Antigua and Barbuda is yet to demonstrate its capability to operate an airline. Antigua Airways is an example. CAL has proven that capability. Today, where aviation safety is under the microscope, CAL has a great advantage.”
No room for complacency
On Monday, in a statement, President of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Nicola Madden-Greig called for a full-court press from regional stakeholders to boost air connectivity this year.
“As tourism rebounds, there is no room for complacency,” warned Nicola Madden-Greig, who called on industry officials to remain laser-focused on maintaining the airlift that has returned since the pandemic and strengthening it into the future.
This means connecting the region to its source markets, pursuing new links to emerging destinations, and returning intra-regional travel to its glory days when convenient schedules, as well as affordable fares, were the norm,” the Jamaican hotelier asserted.
Madden-Greig commended recent expansion efforts by carriers such as CAL and interCaribbean Airways and was encouraged by LIAT’s transition to a new company to eventually “bolster efforts to promote multi-destination travel throughout the region.”
SOURCE: Trinidad Guardian
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It’s like trying to raise a dead after the soul has left the body
Agreed
Liat has had her days gone are the days of Caribbean star which kept list on toes
. Let’s do better, it’s cheaper to fly to the US than regionally
Many years ago a business plan was being explored that would result in a merger between the then BWIA and Liat 1974. BWIA would concentrate on the international flights and Liat the intraregional. The flight schedules would be arranged to optimize synergies . One feeding the other with seamless travel facilitated by the same booking engine. With that structure the objective was not only to circumnavigate the Caribbean sea but also to gain a stronger foothold globally. Alas! The same disease that afflicted the West Indies Federation led to the embryonic death of that fetus. Perhaps vicissitudes may warrant revisiting that plan. United we stand , divided we fall. Had we persevered with the Federation, our socioeconomic health would undoubtedly be in better standing. History will not be kind to those who orchestrated the demise of the West Indies Federation that would have ensured that a viable airtransportation and marine transportation system, both logistical support to economic development would be the bedrock of progress.
West Indies cricket and LIAT same thing….can’t be raised from the dead!
We are too divided to progress in anything. Antigua will have to carry LIAT alone with the help of overseas investors. CARICOM is just a pipeline dream.
Staff not being paid out correctly.
Passengers looking for refunds of fare AND taxes/fees are being referred to the bottomless pit that is the administrator.
Wutless.
Last time Liat died, I was owed us700 approx. Did everything I was told to do, but seems this administrator doesn’t understand it’s my money, Liat couldn’t offer me the promised service, they broke their contract with me… To this day not a cent.
Now this death, and I’m going to lose us268, ironic the total eh?
What right minded traveler would ever risk their hard earned money with this set of wicked people ever again.
I feel very angry on behalf of the staff, who have been courteous, efficient and worked hard to ensure the limited schedule generally flew smoothly and on time.
Where is the appreciation of them, beyond platitudes, from the administrator or the big boss?
@ vex I’ve heard when your own dog bite you your well bitten but to let it bite you twice.
Liat have me out $432 us and never once I’ve heard anything about repaying the people that keep liat in the air all those years i will never fly on liat again.
Liat did it’s restructuring but it was not done from the top down. Liat need to REMOVE (REOMVE) all its board from the top and the Caribbean governments need to give a new set of young leaders in the Caribbean the responsibility to restructure liat properly. Stop the playing and get the work done get the worker’s in a meeting and review there salary review liat way of operation and do this in the interest of the industry. Stop flying from place to place empty by giving specials.
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