GA 2000 eying Timehri as North, South America hub Ruimveldt bond to be closed
Guyana Airways 2000 is proceeding with its plan to seek new investors to generate more working capital to expand the airline and ensure its viability. The company is also examining the possibility of having the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri transformed into a hub for South and North America air traffic. Chairman of GA 2000, Yesu Persaud told Stabroek News on Friday that the new company inherited certain liabilities from the old Guyana Airways Corporation which it was still working to reduce. He said the airline had to be refinanced and with this in mind, new investors would be sought. GA 2000 is majority-owned by a group of business people who make up Aviation Investments Inc. Government owns 49% of the airline. The company chairman said optimism and enthusiasm were expressed about the idea of making the Cheddi Jagan International Airport a hub for South and North America. According to him, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)/Government of Guyana programme for the rehabilitation of the air transport sector, the venture has a better chance of becoming a reality. He said GA 2000 was looking at this as an additional income-generating venture. Persaud explained that with more aircraft operating out of the international airport there would be a need for ground-handling services and GA 2000 could cash in on this. Persaud noted that the restructuring of the company which started a couple months ago was going better than anticipated. GA 2000 which will be one year old in July had embarked on a restructuring programme to be more cost efficient. This resulted in the slashing of staff by 15%. Acting General Manager of GA 2000 Nowrang Persaud revealed that as part of its cost-efficient policy, the company was in the process of closing its bond at Ruimveldt. He said it was more cost efficient to operate the cargo service from the airport. The restructuring programme followed the resignation of chief executive officer Anthony Mekdeci, operations manager Larry Singh and the finance controller among others. A general manager was subsequently advertised for both locally and overseas. Persaud said interviewing of applicants for the position will commence next week. He referred to code-sharing agreements with other airlines and pointed out the benefits such as the recent endorsement of GA 2000 tickets on BWIA when the company's aircraft encountered mechanical difficulties. GA 2000 is also in the process of introducing its frequent flyer benefits. For every five flights within two years, a passenger would be granted a free ticket. The acting general manager explained that this ticket could be passed on to someone else at the request of the passenger who earned it. The company officials are also patting themselves on the back at not being fined by overseas authorities for `backtracking' (illegal migration) and narcotics. Persaud said the company has invested in a scanner to detect forged documents and has lauded its security for doing a good job. (Desiree Jodah)
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