The shareholder governments of LIAT, including Dominica, have been put on notice by Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell that his administration is prepared to lease an aircraft if they are unable to sort out the regional transportation sector by year-end.
Regional air travel has been in limbo following the collapse of LIAT 2020.
But Mitchel says if Grenada has to lease the planes so that they can fly between Grenada and Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago they will have no choice but to do so.
“The truth is we can’t get to Trinidad. Let’s put it this way, I am optimistic it will not get to that,” he added stating that regional governments must be prepared to spend more money on regional transport. I have made it quite clear we have to put money, if not into LIAT 2020, if not Inter Caribbean then some other vehicle that is prepared to fly. It is as simple as that,” the Grenada PM said.
In August, regional leaders met to discuss the situation regarding air transportation in the Caribbean and it was agreed that a consultant would be retained to provide advice to the heads of the region as to how they can address the critical need to have air transportation resumed at a pre- COVID level.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who had served as LIAT chairman, said that countries, particularly those in the Eastern Caribbean, were being severely affected by the loss of thousands of seats because of the significantly downsized operations of LIAT.
LIAT shareholder governments are Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
Even as regional leaders try to revive the airline, with the new branding and name of LIAT 2020, former workers are still owed more than hundreds of millions of dollars in severance and other entitlements.
The Antigua and Barbuda government for example, has offered ex-workers in St John’s a 50 percent “compassionate” payment, comprising cash, bonds and land, an offer that has been rejected by the union representing these workers.
All this comes as efforts to ignite a new, more efficient incarnation of regional carrier LIAT, are gathering pace following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the government and a private company.
The deal was signed with Chinese firm CFA Global, which will be a minority shareholder.
According to the agreement, the new airline LIAT 2020 will deploy a fleet of the small, medium, and large aircraft, including Airbus A330, Airbus A320, and ATRs, in passenger service to the Caribbean and South America, along with international travel routes from Europe.
Antigua and Barbuda Minister of Works, Lennox Weston, signed on behalf of the government while Ma Chao represented CFA Global.
Being within aviation for past +30 Yrs, 18 of which, as an asset Technical Manager covering global industry A/C and engine leasing for Lessors, financiers and operators alike. I’d be privileged to help assist – the birth nation of my mother Grenada as to the wider Caribbean community – as to sourcing a short list of suitable narrow body / turbo prop aircraft for leasing gauged on lease period and projected utilisation. Additionally, sourcing financing, looking at cost of ownership. In performing full technical due-diligence where between 2020-2023 placed ~x9 B737-800s and x3 A330s with new operators taken from lessors additionally, performed x30 plus engine pre-purchase inspections.
I’d previously approached Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to the UK back in 2013 and had short discussion with him as to assisting with aircraft engines and or parts, but nothing come of it.
As mentioned, I’d be more than happy to assist in the sourcing and placement of aircraft.
Brads, Paul
Now I know why the United workers party government of stayed away from list. They were the only ones who saw this mess coming. I was mad when they said that they will pump any money into liat unless they made profitable changes. They were so right and they took that stand. I am asking this young man from grenade please do not put money into anything which is not profitable. Now that Antigua have brought the Chinese into liat, I am asking the rest of the Caribbean islands who are involved with liat to follow the previous government of Saint Lucia and keep away from liat.
If you are not getting involved unless LIAT makes changes that are profitable what is your alternative? Is it just more useless talk.
Isn’t it ironic that these regional governments made themselves believe they could use the taxes levied on tickets for regional travel as a cash cow, yet with the demise of LIAT, they seem to be doing just as well on much less travel related tax revenue.
Here is an idea: There should be no taxes on flight between the islands. They should treat movement between the islands the same way as going from Roseau to Portsmouth. The revenue would come from people spending money in the various islands. That way we might just get a chance to maintain a regional airline while people spend more in the region. Looks like a win win to me.
Right now, there is little tax revenue coming from intra-regional travel. It goes to show that can do without that income stream.
That is a fantastic idea whose time has come. They will counter with take offs and landing, wear and tear on the runway, equipment maintenance, staffing etc. In other words, they will find and invent reasons to continue fleecing the local regional traveler, at the expense of a viable, profitable intra-regional airline.
Dominica needs to employ a strategic approach to this issue. We have Martinique and Guadeloupe covered with Air Antilles and the Catamarans from the Express. We need Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica and Guyana. There isn’t enough traffic from Dominica to these islands to justify these flights, and therein lies the problem. Taxes are extremely high relative to the cost of a ticket and our current economic malaise, does not portent well for inter-regional leisure travel. Hence, we will remain stuck in the mud on this particular issue for some time to come.
So, if I understand this issue correctly, the Dominican tax payers gave LIAT some EC$8,000,000.00 a few years ago when their hanger was burned to the ground in Antigua and the return on that investment for our people was zero. Gaston continued the same “Greedy Antigua First Policy” with horrendous service and a top-heavy administration based in Antigua. I am usually a champion for regional cooperation and integration, but on this issue, not one more penny into Antigua’s nonsense. Dominica needs to look out for its own self- interest and lease a couple of planes to provide regional service for our people. Hire an airline consultant who will make recommendations about the type of aircraft to least, hedge with fuel purchase and get this going. Those ATR Turboprop aircraft were ill-suited for our small regional market. Anyone can look up service hours on those engines and related cost and you will understand why LIAT could not turn a profit.
It’s a tough business even for developed countries, like Italy. Capital and operating costs are high and are at international standards. Travelling populations are small and the region is of modest income. However, an inter-island airline is definitely needed. We must find the formulae to do so. The unions must accept a lesser settlement or the governments must legislate against them. There is a much greater public interest here.
I loved LIAT and travelled many islands with it. Can’t wait for its resuscitation. Would also be happy to run the airline, for free.
“regional governments must be prepared to spend more money on regional transport” is a euphemism (a disguised language) directed at Skerro’s personal money from Dominica. They know the language to use in order to make Skerro produce some of his / Dominica money to bail them (and LIAT) out again. What is in it for us to bail out this airline?
Just be patient and see who is going to break his personal national purse and chip-in. How else can he get RSS to return to Dominica again?
You get the impression if you don’t have an international airport maybe it’s a good idea to own a few planes. So you have some control. Even with an international airport you can put cheap flights and attractive for other neighbouring islands to visit. Simular to Europe.
Seriously, what do we expect from the present crop of prime ministers of the OECS? Just a cursory glance at the present state of their countries will reveal uncompromising insularity, economic bankruptcy, unmanageable indebtedness, and entrenched corruption.
Truth be told, these rulers don’t manage anything well. Their countries are crumbling to rubble. It’s therefore unrealistic to expect these cartoonish narcissists to put LIAT back together again.
Intra regional travel is of utmost importance for the connectivity and future economic development of the region.
These same men that we expect to revive LIAT are the same ones who precipitated its demise with burdensome taxes and fees. More than half of the price of the ticket for LIAT was to cover government taxes and fees.
Instead of cooperation the OECS rulers engage in fierce competition with each other. So, the region remains hopelessly divided to the detriment of the people.
Many were in a hurry to get rid of LIAT. When Skeritt invested in LIAT from the opposition and people like Ibo there was total opposition. The cry was that LIAT was not sustainable and should be liquidated. So why all this crying when it is no more. We expected governments to invest tax payers money in LIAT and yet have no say in its operations. It is much easier to run an airline from behind your computer in your living room and blabbing on social media. Barbados, Jamaica, and Guyana once upon a time all had national airlines which had to close as they could not afford. The landscape of the Caribbean is littered with the bodies of failed airlines. The big and successful airlines of the world are government backed.
Point, you are pointless as usual. LIAT was unsustainable because the way it was being managed. Year after year LIAT had to be bailed out by tax payers’ money. Continuing to pour money into LIAT was like throwing buckets of money into rough sea.
Governments should not be involved in the airline business. They don’t manage anything well. Leave the aviation business to knowledgeable investors in this particular line of business.
Remember, one of the things that forced LIAT to go under despite poor management were the exorbitant taxes and fees of these same government.
Well these owners of LIAT did not consult the aviation experts at Ibo France Inc, that’s why LIAT went south……..
And where are the knowledgeable investors. The so called knowledgeable investors seems to be missing. You talk as if the airline industry is like Uber. The capital outlay to establish and operate a serious airline runs into hundreds of millions. Our history shows that only T&T has been able to maintain an airline.
Point, you are not on point brother. Just to mention one airline, based in Guadeloupe, Air Caraibe that has been around for a long time, has up-to-date planes, both ATR and Airbus, flying regionally and internationally on a daily basis, is successful and is not government financed. Think before you spout and ridicule yourself, you may learn something.
Toto, it’s a dangerous thing when people like Point know so little and think they are omniscient (know it all). Making statements that are factually slim.
It’s the same reason we couldn’t the West Indies Federation going. This region should be such a strong economic force but we’ve definitely missed the boat on a lot of things.
Toto and iboFrance, talk of air carib? This airline is not new and it handles more volume than the caricom airline of which I refer. If you want to talk about air caribes let us talk about the other airlines like Delta & AA that service the region.The volume of interregional travel is not sufficient to sustain an airline without government assistance. Caribbean people spend their money traveling to England, US, and other locations on the globe they ignore regional travel. So let’s just focus on government and that will solve the problem. Twenty years from now our children will be having the same discussion.
L I A T needs to be completely abolished too much money wasted trying to keep them in operation. There needs to be a completely different airline and fire all those associated with L I A T and not allow them anywhere near the new airline. Jets should be used by the new airline for direct flights to Florida from all the different islands. Back in the day L I A T was a good airline till miss-management, greed and incompetence took over.
Good on you Grenada. If you wait on the others you will wait for ever while being fed a menu of promises. An MOU means nothing, we have one in Dominica with the Chinese apparently but nobody has seen that, at least not the public. Is not our business is it Mr. Skerrit. We just like mushrooms growing in the dark and now and then they open the door to throw in a bucket of manure to make us grow a little bit, but only after we promise to vote for Mr. and stay quiet.
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