CASTRIES, St Lucia, CMC – Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet has denied a statement by St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves that the recently launched CARICOM Airways is operating illegally.
He said that the airline was operating under the Airline Operation Convention (AOC) from Suriname which under the CARICOM Convention allows member countries to accept each other’s AOC.
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St. Vincent rejecting, Dominica accepting, I hope de Government did there research before they accept.
hey people ,DR is not protecting liat. he is protecting the caribbean people. first of all the airline is not a st lucian own , its from Suriname ,a place where airline safety is not first priority and secondly one pilot in the cockpit . I will never support that in any regional travel.so the DR is right on this that st lucian minister is an idiot when come the regional affairs,he thinks that managing a hotel means that he can manage people lives in the air.although the good DR have lecture about safety and concerns ,he still not learn yet..
some big dogs always have to try and stop the flow of things in the Caribbean. all they care about is getting money in their pockets. the Caribbean is not united.
LIAT will always be my carrier of choice in the region because of their safety records and Good cutomer service.
CAL is my choice for international travel, they to have an impeccable safety record as well.
REDJet Airways can follow the same safety procedures that LIAT has and still be able to offer cheap, reliable and safe travelling in the Caribbean.
I am fedup with LIAT’s inconsistencies!!!
That’s the very mentality that causes these traditional carriers not to increase efficiency and better their service.
And please do not use LIAT and “good customer service” in the same sentence.
True regional integration will NEVER be realized until intra regional travel becomes more affordable.
At first glance I thought the Liat interest maybe be a factor. However, as much as I have major issues with the OECS administration, reading the story makes total sense. There are bilateral agreements that govern the same. To circumvent that and use an agreement that is not in keeping with the rules governed by the OECS is wrong. It is standard worldwide to have two pilots. I am very concerned for this operation. Let me put this into perspective. Should the pilot fall ill, or better yet get a hear attack in-flight, that will ring home how real this is. I will concur that this is an illegal operation and that they need to rectify that along with the insurance issue. That is a very serious matter and the Dominican Government should not encourage its citizens or anyone to use such a serve. As much as I have issues with LIAT, primarily with their ground operations in Antigua for the theft etc, they have an impeccable safety record which we as Caribbean persons fail to recognize. Granted they are plagues with a host of other issues which I have and will always complain about. But in the end, I may lose my bag, it may get their late, hell it may never get there but at least I get there alive and that is paramount.
St. Vincent is just trying to protect their stake in LIAT.
But good to see new regional airlines. Hope to eventually see the intended drop in the cost of intra regional travel.
Another regional startup, REDjet Airways out of Bridgetown, is promising to be the “Jet Blue” of the Caribbean. Hopefully CAL and LIAT will get the message and get their act together.
Do you think it’s easy to operate in the Caribbean Region? Red Jet and Caricom Airways will fail if they fail to additonal taxes to their fares.
So Tdd, you’re in favour of the high cost for a ticket LIAT does charge people. How pathetic of you!!!
how long do you think those airlines will keep their fare cheap for? have you checked winair fares of late? is it still as cheap as it was when they started up? liat is here to stay and the sooner you ppl accept that the better for you. one pilot inadequate insurance coverage. rings a bell anyone? yeah same thing as that airline that was contracted on behalf of cardinal airline that crashed at melvillehall a few years back. remember dominican families are yet to be compensated. guess we are hard of learning. maybe we want a repeat to get the picture.
The good Dr. is not only protecting his home patch but trying to to stop St. Lucia developing its international hub at the expense of LIAT.He does not want competition if it threathens his own interests. So much for regional integration and cooperation!
you are talking a whole hip of crap cuz bwia now caribbean airline use to fly all the liat routes down south including st vincent with dash 8 aircrafts. svg air rings a bell?its a st vincent registered airline company. so what you talking about protecting liat. the fact is there is a need for increased flights into svg but the good dr is not gonna do things without thinking of his peoples safey first.
yes, I do know SVG but that is chicken feed compared with the St. Vincent Govt. shareholding in LIAT!