Turbulent times for LIAT could hurt SK Music Fest
By Ryan Haas
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- WITH Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) latest reduction in flights in and out of the federation, Tourism officials in St. Kitts are questioning the airline’s efficiency in light of the approaching St. Kitts Music Festival and World Cup Cricket, when air traffic is expected to increase.
In an exclusive interview with SKNVibes.com, Hon. Richard Skerritt, Minister of State responsible for Tourism, stated his concerns about LIAT’s services while offering advice on how to improve the airline’s efficiency.
“LIAT is a critical asset to interregional travel and I do not want to call them good or bad, but their ability to run efficiently is vital to our tourism product in St. Kitts & Nevis. I would be willing to offer LIAT a financial guarantee on their flights if it meant we would have better service when we need it.
“I think LIAT basically needs to improve on how they are scheduling their flights. They have a set number of flights to St. Kitts, which at times is more or less than what they really need, and what they should to be doing is a lot of market research to determine how many seats need to be available at certain times of the year. It is something they need to do across their service network and I have tried several times to explain to them how this would improve their efficiency as a carrier,” said the Minister.
“I spoke to LIAT this week and bilateral talks have been scheduled for the near future,” added Skerritt. He remained hopeful that St. Kitts’ and the rest of the Caribbean’s grievances with the airline could be resolved soon, and that those in the tourism industry would benefit from improved service. ~~Adz:Right~~
One of the most recent problems for the already struggling airline occurred on February 25th, 2008 when the airline experienced what appeared to be an utter collapse of operations in Antigua following the Stanford 20/20 cricket tournament.
According to sources in the know, LIAT allegedly cancelled 8 flights and had numerous others delayed on that day.
One passenger who was left stranded told SKNVibes.com that after checking in and sitting in Antigua’s departure lounge, LIAT made an announcement that her flight was cancelled. The woman claimed several other flights were also simultaneously cancelled, leaving hundreds of passengers in a state of confusion.
“We were sitting in the airport and our departure time came and went without any notice being given. Sometime after that LIAT cancelled our flight and some other flights. The staff seemed unable to handle the situation with the mass cancellations and irate passengers. The worst part was that we were told they could not say when that evening or the next day we would be able to leave,” the woman recounted. She said that she was not able to travel home to St. Kitts until the following morning and was placed on a Carib Aviation 8-seater plane instead of the Dash-8 she had paid for.
When asked how she would be compensated for the many inconveniences the cancellation had caused, she claims LIAT employees simply told her that she would have to “write to Customer Service”.
Since the flight schedule cut backs, cancellations and delays, many travelers are opting to use alternative airlines when travelling throughout the region or not travelling unless absolutely necessary. When left without an alternative to using LIAT’s service, they contend that they “fly LIAT at their own risk”.
Even countries who are large shareholders in the airline are pushing for LIAT to improve its services. “If we are serious about [regional] integration we have to provide a cheaper and more reliable means for our people to travel the region," said Grenada’s Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Keith Mitchell, in a January meeting with LIAT CEO, Mark Darby.
According to a press release on LIAT’s website, Darby blames high fuel costs, leases on aircraft and high maintenance costs due to frequent landings as the main reasons why LIAT has suffered financially and subsequently in the service sector.
While Barbados stands to lose money if LIAT airlines continue on their current path, Prime Minister David Thompson emphasized to the Barbados Advocate that problems like the one in St. Kitts should not be allowed to persist. “We need to be frank about the future of [LIAT] because if the existence of a monopoly operation in the Caribbean compromises the tourism industry of all of our other Eastern Caribbean brothers and sisters then we cannot adopt ignorant, inflexible positions.”
