The Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) said it has refuted the public comments of chairman of the shareholder governments, St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves, who said, “We have too many cancellations caused by illness of flight crew… we have too many bouts of illness which results in cancellations.”
LIALPA said in a press release that it has also noted that the statements by Gonsalves came just two weeks after a retraction of published statements purportedly made by LIAT’s acting CEO Julie Reifer-Jones, who allegedly said, “On record we have enough cabin crew to fly LIAT’s schedule. We have a high level of reported sickness from crew.”
“LIALPA strongly refutes the statements made by PM Gonsalves and by acting CEO Reifer-Jones as erroneous and totally false,” the Association said, asserting that the action of the acting CEO in retracting the statements is because she knows without a doubt that her statements were dishonest.
It can not be that the pilots of Liat are always right and their management and the owners of the airline wrong. Yes, governments can not run an airline,, like they can not run any business efficiently and profitably but you guys, pilots at Liat are a bunch of spoilt brats. You get your training for the new ATR plane paid for by the company and then you leave for a better job, that’s all because your experience with the old Dash-8 does not get you very far. Many more airlines fly the ATR then the Dah-8. You think everybody is stupid? Best they liquidate Liat and form a new airline an let you all re-apply for your jobs.
Liat is a waste of tax payers dollars
I am sorry but as a passenger I do not want t o know about their internal bickerings and washing of dirty linen in public. Pilots talking about excessive hours and cockroach infestation of their new air[planes? Sorry guys but that does not fill me with confidence. I am avoiding LIAT at all costs, even if it costs me more to get to my destination. I just cannot handle your non-servie anymore and get stressed out simply thinking of LIAT. And you want me to pay good money for that experience? No!
Can LIAT pilots provide figures and other proof to refute the Dr Gonzalves.I trust Dr Gonzalves before I take the word of the pilots without hard evidence.