Seeking a solution

A day hardly went by last week without Caribbean Airlines (CAL), the Trinidad and Tobago-owned air carrier, being featured prominently in the press in that country.

Losses at the airline, issues relating to management decisions, debate about some routes including those to London, and the acquisition of Air Jamaica, were among the dominant themes.

Then came reports of the eventual sacking of the majority of the airline’s Board of Directors, which in the process capped an eventful week of events for CAL as the owners sought to find answers to improve the company’s performance.

Trinidad’s Finance Minister, Larry Howai, was quoted in the press there as saying that the immediate mandate of the new board was to provide a detailed diagnostic review of CAL and offer recommendations to turn around the airline. He acknowledged that the new board may not be able to make overnight changes, but must be able to take the airline forward. “This is why I said the first step will have to be a diagnostic review,” he said.

Not that the news about the losses and the other aspects of the airline’s operations broke a week ago, since they had been ongoing for a long time.

However, it seemed as though everything came to head bringing the full realisation that the financial plight of the carrier demanded urgent attention.

From the perspective of this country, what goes on within CAL has implications for us even if the airline does not at present, provide this country with many international connections. CAL offers connections between regional destinations including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Jamaica and a few international destinations. Any disruptions therefore in flights linking Grenada to those markets will affect this island’s tourism numbers – something the industry here can do without in these troubling economic times.

The CAL media hype came on the heels of the announcement that shareholder governments of LIAT were seeking a meeting with the Trinidad and Tobago government to iron out issues regarding subsidies which CAL receives as opposed to none going to LIAT. When combined, the situation regarding to the two carriers has to be an area of grave concern.

What is happening with CAL and LIAT demonstrates a failure by regional governments to come up with a workable solution for our airlines. These are issues which date back several years ago although Caribbean governments have talked about air services and how to position the few carriers appropriately so that the region secures maximum benefits.

For as long the loss making continues at the existing carriers, they will not be able to carry out their mandates of serving a region that sees integration as a must for the survival of the small island states.
High airfares which the Caribbean travelling public has been asked to bear, have been a deterrent.
Visitor arrivals to Barbados from Caribbean destinations have declined as the most recent tourism figures have shown. One of the major explanations for that was people were not keen on travelling based on the fares being asked. Our wish is that the new Board at CAL will be able to sort out a plan and put the airline on firm footing. As for LIAT, there must also be a resolution with regard the subsidy. Now is the time for action.