Who would think that I would start a post by saying, the struggle is real. Well, for LIAT, the struggle is very real. Here is the update on what's what. 1. PM Gonsalves says the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will not be injecting any more funds into the airline. 2. Antigua & Barbuda has said that it stands ready to fill any monetary void left by St Vincent & the Grenadines 3. Barbados largest public sector trade union "Fed Up" of LIAT 4. Caribbean folks are tired of the lateness, the treatment and the list goes on and on. Just yesterday, the head of Barbados largest public sector trade union in reference to the operations of regional airline LIAT, said that It’s the worst service one can find anywhere in the world, adding that it was airline is operating in “pure bedlam” The Barbados Today reported that General Secretary of the National Union of Public Workers Dennis Clarke made the scathing comments after he was stuck in Antigua for an entire day last week, following a Caribbean Public Service Association meeting in St Maarten. While acknowledging some delays could be expected when travelling, Clarke said he felt many of those experienced by LIAT passengers were unacceptable. the NUPW boss lamented that “Somehow, somewhere along the line, you always go to Antigua and sit down for a long time,” He has therefore urged LIAT shareholder governments to urgently review the management operations at the Antigua-based carrier. Saying that travel on LIAT was a horror story, he referred to the service of the company as a free-for-all, with no care for passengers generally, their health, or their business commitments. “LIAT is a blight on travel within the region and as it stands, will continue to be an economic failure,” he declared. Clarke likened the airline, in which Barbados is the major shareholder, to “a dead man getting to his funeral late”. Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines will not be injecting any more funds into regional airline, LIAT, until the service to this island is significantly improved. LIAT had recently requested that Kingstown release a further EC$810,000 to help with its operations. On Wednesday September 14th, Prime Minister Gonsalves led a delegation for discussions with the management of LIAT headed by the Acting CEO, Ms. Julie Reifer-Jones, in an effort to resolve LIAT’s deteriorating service experienced by the Vincentians. In a letter on September 4, 2016, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Mr. Godfred Pompey, had written to LIAT’s Legal Counsel, Ms. Diane Shurland requesting an urgent meeting with the airline’s management in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This includes a 6:15 a.m. flight out of E.T. Joshua to Barbados and the 8:55 p.m. flight from Trinidad and Tobago, notifying the Airport authorities by 9:00 p.m. about the need for any extension beyond the operating hours of the airport, review the turnaround time of Aircrafts with a view to reducing the delays in operation of flights, and improve Customer Service by providing more information to the travelling public in relation to flight delays and cancellations. The management of regional airline, LIAT, has agreed to review the schedule of flights in and out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines within one week to better serve the travelling public. This is one of the outcomes of a meeting held here on Wednesday September 14, between a delegation led by Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and the management of LIAT headed by the Acting CEO, Ms. Julie Reifer-Jones to resolve LIAT’s deteriorating service experienced by Vincentians. A statement issued on Thursday noted that the review will include a 6:15am flight out of E.T. Joshua to Barbados and the 8:55pm flight from Trinidad and Tobago. LIAT’s management also agreed to notify Airport authorities here by 9pm about the need for any extension beyond the operating hours of the airport, review the turnaround time of Aircrafts with a view to reducing delays in operation of flights, and to improve Customer Service by providing more information to the travelling public in relation to flight delays and cancellations. In addition, they will consider favorably a return of the direct Puerto Rico-SVG flight. The meeting was also informed that a tenth ATR aircraft (72-seater) will be added to LIAT’s Fleet by the end of October, early November, this year in an effort to ease the demand for additional seats throughout LIAT’s network. The government of Antigua & Barbuda has said that it stands ready to fill any monetary void left by St Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG), after its Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves blasted the regional carrier for poor service to SVG and promised that his government will cease injecting funds into the airline. While Dr Gonsalves has dismissed Liat's reason given for the poor service — bad weather — as "an excuse", Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Lennox Weston has shot back at the SVG Prime Minister, for, as he sees it, making much ado about nothing. According to iWitness News online, the SVG position on its funding to Liat followed a meeting in Kingstown SVG on Wednesday, where Dr Gonsalves, who has been a major supporter of Liat, came down hard on its management for persistent delays and cancellations in SVG. The news outlet said Liat was expecting EC$810,000 from the government of St Vincent to aid its operations – funds which are now being withheld. In addition to the support from Antigua, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell said Wednesday that Grenada is prepared to provide the cash-strapped regional airline, LIAT, with a financial subsidy for it to service the island, but was not prepared to provide funds for the airline’s operations. Earlier in the week, LIAT announced that it would be reducing the number of flights to Grenada as of Friday but Mitchell told reporters that following talks between St George’s and the airline management, the cut has been reduced to just one flight. Mitchell said that Grenada has an open sky policy and that like St Lucia, his government is holding talks with the Trinidad-based State-owned airline, Caribbean Airlines (CAL) and other airlines to service the island. Grenada offers marketing subsidy to a number of international airlines to guarantee they service the island. Earlier this week, St Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet told a news conference having CAL as the national carrier may be the best option for the island given the many issues facing air transport in the region. The former tourism minister, a harsh critic of LIAT, reiterated earlier statements that the airline whose major shareholders are the governments of Antigua, Barbuda, Barbados, and St Vincent and the Grenadines cannot solve all of the transportation needs of the region. On September 15th, Grenada’s Tourism Minister Clarice Modeste who said she was forced to endure a three hours delay while travelling on official government business recently said that “About a week ago I went to St Lucia, I had a meeting in the afternoon. LIAT had a two-hour delay. On the way back it was a one-hour delay." When contacted about the latest in Barbados, LIAT’s head of corporate communications Desmond Brown said the company expected to issue a statement. JSR Communications will bring you the latest on that statement. LIAT certainly believe itself. I'm not too sure that anyone else does... Well maybe Grenada's Prime Minister and Antigua & Barbuda's. I can't say. What I can say, is that I enjoy the Vincentian Chocolate, and if you haven't tasted it as yet. You need to!! |
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