The inaugural flight to Miami was enjoyable But GA 2000 needs to correct some irritants By Doreen de Caires Stabroek News December 1, 1999 The smoke free cabin, quiet engines, on-time departure and arrival, daylight travel at convenient times, direct flights, arrival of baggage with the passenger and the competitive air fares offered are all positive considerations for choosing GA 2000. And the inaugural flight to Miami last week was enjoyable. However, travelling to and from Miami in the business class last week I was surprised at the lack of finesse from the inflight crews. They assumed passengers knew how to recline the seats and pop-up footrests. Although I have travelled on this type of aircraft before and was familiar with the spacious and comfortable seats in economy, I did not know that there were footrests in the business section. It was not until my return trip that the Public Relations Consultant demonstrated this feature as he saw me struggling to get comfortable. If GA 2000 wishes to be treated as a serious competitor they must correct the minor irritants passengers now endure. An express check-in counter for passengers with hand luggage only might encourage people to travel with less luggage given the generous bin space in the overhead lockers and room in front of the luxurious seats both in economy and business class. Paper lined trays and napkins may be normal for economy but are definitely out of place in the business section where passengers who pay nearly twice the normal fare expect more. Even in the economy section of many of the competitors one would hardly find an almost empty bottle of liquid soap in the washroom propped up in a broken Styrofoam cup. With the inflight entertainment mechanism broken, one might have expected an abundance of reading material for the few hours flight. Not so! The only available reading was last year's Christmas Annual and copies of the Guyana Sports Digest dated March 1999. Even drinks took a long time to be served and the stewardess was not familiar with what stock was on board and on offer on the outbound leg. Things were much better on the return journey (because it was a different crew?). In Miami much more work has to be done to distinguish the new service from its predecessor. Using old ticket jackets may be economical but the telephone numbers on these should be updated. The different logo can also be confusing to taxi drivers, business associates and relations meeting and dropping off passengers for the flights. Although one Chairman of a big company says he is committed to supporting the service, many more are not aware of the advantages on offer. Advertising the facilities for transporting cargo and passengers reliably, comfortably, and safely must be undertaken as a priority and done aggressively and immediately. Several Guyanese in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale were not aware of the service. Miami could easily become the gateway to hassle free travel to Guyana, perhaps even other destinations in the Caribbean. Airline officials assure me that they are working on improving the service in anticipation of the holiday season when they expect to be very busy. A © page from: Guyana: Land of Six Peoples