Caribbean Airlines experiences relatively smooth transition
- BWIA staff cut by 20 percent, flights to be reduced
Kaieteur News
January 3, 2007
Caribbean Airlines, which replaces the Trinidad-based BWIA, commenced operations in Guyana on New Year's Day, with an almost smooth transition despite losing 20 per cent of the staff.
General Manager, Caribbean Airlines South America, Carlton Defour, told Kaieteur News that operationally the transition went “very well.” He added that the new airline will be rationalising on flights servicing Guyana .
On December 31, BWIA ground to a halt after 66 years of service to the Caribbean and in its place, Caribbean Airlines, with its new-look “humming bird” logo took to the skies.
Caribbean Airlines set off its first flight at about 4:20hrs on Sunday from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, to Guyana .
Defour said the major challenges have come from within the airline, given the changes to the accounting system and other strategic areas.
“We have had no negative feedback from passengers and I can safely say that for the first days of operation. Everything is going well. We had very few hiccups with flights leaving Guyana , but flights went out on time,” Defour said yesterday.
He noted that workers' benefits agreed to by the Clerical and Commercial Workers' Union (CCWU) in negotiations with BWIA will be available over the next few days.
Defour added that during the transition phase, the company lost some 20 per cent of its staff, with some of those retained having to relocate to other positions within Caribbean Airlines.
Defour alluded that there will be no new routes from Guyana within the next few months, but there will be a reduction of flights out – from three flights per day to two.
From January 8, Caribbean Airlines will only have two flights daily and both will leave in the morning. The first will depart at about 6:20hrs for Miami via Trinidad and Tobago , while the other will depart at about 9:00hrs for New York with connection to Toronto .
The first flight is expected to connect to other Caribbean destinations.
Previously, BWIA operated three daily flights, with the first departing Guyana at 5:35hrs and the latest at 21:00hrs.
Defour said that having to operate three flights daily placed a strain on the airline, especially the staff.
In September the airline announced that it had cut flights from Guyana to Manchester , England and in October, the airline further announced that it was stopping flights from Guyana to Washington , USA . Both routes were said to be non-profitable.
Defour stated that the airline has tried to make the transition as seamless as possible to customers.
BWEE Frequent Flyer air miles and Club BWEE memberships have also been transferred and have qualified on the new airline, Defour stated.
With the transition partly behind, Defour said the new airline was looking ahead to Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007.
He agreed that the Christmas season was a good test for the airline and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
“We had a good test of the system, but the Christmas rush is really a two-week rush of people coming in and people going back out in the first and second week of January. CWC will test our mettle in a shorter more intense space of time, where persons will be coming in during the morning and leaving in the afternoon,” Defour stated.
During the Christmas season BWIA continued to face baggage and flight delays, which angered several customers.
Defour explained that the baggage delays were nominal in comparison with previous years, but were caused by the aircraft having to carry less weight to facilitate the extra fuel onboard, which is necessitated by the winter weather in North America.
“I am confident that we will overcome most of the barriers that we faced during the last few years,” Defour stated.
BWIA woes were underscored in early December when officials at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) expressed shock when an aircraft bearing the new logo of Caribbean Airlines landed at Timehri for the first time to wing out dozens of passages that were left stranded as a result of a malfunctioning door to a BWIA aircraft.
It was an unexpected start to Caribbean Airlines service to Guyana .
The closure of BWIA follows years of financial turbulence and fuels mounting uncertainty about the Caribbean airline industry.
Peter Davies, CEO of both BWIA and Caribbean Airlines, said a number of factors, including failure to reach an agreement with the unions, led to his recommendation to the Trinidadian government that it close BWIA.
Caribbean Airlines entire operation has been restructured and scaled back. There will be no unions, and the workforce has been cut from 1,800 to 650.