National flag to be displayed on GA 2000 fuselage
By Miranda La Rose
The new national carrier, Guyana Airways 2000, will have the Golden Arrowhead as well as the company's logo emblazoned on the fuselage of the A300 aircraft. At present, the airbus - A300, leased from the Australian company, Nordstress, flies with the Australian flag on its tail. In response to a letter to the editor in Monday's edition of this newspaper where the issue of the Australian flag being flown on the national carrier was raised, the airline's public relations consultant, Kit Nascimento, told Stabroek News that because the aircraft was leased from an Australian company it was a requirement under Australian aviation law that that country's national flag be displayed. Nascimento said that the national flag will be larger and more prominently placed on the leased aircraft. At the ceremony to mark the inaugural flight of GA 2000 to New York, held at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, last month, when asked about the absence of the national colours, Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Mekdeci, had told this newspaper that because of the size and the height of the aircraft, getting the colours on has to be done overseas, most likely in New York. Getting the national flag emblazoned on the carrier, Nascimento said, is to be done by the Australian company. However, he did not say how soon it will be done. Nascimento reiterated that the colours of the new airline, red, blue and gold are not those of any company but represent a number of features of the country. Red represents the water and waterfalls; blue, the limitless sky over Guyana; and gold, the country's mineral wealth. Apologising for the in-flight entertainment, the public relations consultant said that the music, Guyanese/Caribbean music has to be recorded and edited and the selection of music has to be appropriate to Guyana, he stressed. He noted though that unlike its competitors, local beverages from the wet bar are complimentary. Reiterating that GA 2000 is not a reincarnation of the disbanded Guyana Airways Corporation (GAC), he said that it is a new airline with new management and staff. He said staff who previously worked with GAC and have gained employment with the new company were those professionally qualified and security clean to do the job. Nascimento noted, too, that in another month's time all the cabin crew will be Guyanese. The Australians who were assisting in training will have completed their stints. The new airline now in its third week of operation achieved a record passenger arrival on a scheduled flight into Guyana when some 268 passengers travelled from New York last Saturday on GA 2000 flight 622.
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