BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SHORTLY after receiving his walking papers from Liat, former CEO Mark Darby has made a public statement criticizing regional governments for impeding the airline’s progress in face of escalating challenges.
In a Flight Global article posted last week, Darby outlined some of the major challenges of the airline and sharply criticized the role of the three shareholder governments: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Darby disclosed that government shareholders found it difficult to invest in what appeared to be a “bankrupt, lame duck business”. He said that while the company had astronomical losses, was strapped for cash and had a “reputation for poor service”, it was fortunate enough to retain the “undying loyalty” of the Caribbean public.
The shareholder islands could no longer afford to plough any more cash into the “ailing airline”, according to Darby, adding that there was an inherent element of confusion because of being owned largely by three governments.
“I hadn’t appreciated the complexity of three countries owning the airline. At times, having three owners meant conflicting agendas. It also meant key decisions required a consensus. Beyond the ‘no more cash’ edict, there was a lack of clear shareholder direction,” Darby stressed, indicating that many islands who contributed little acted as though they held a major stake in the company.
Darby claimed that few local governments could afford to assist the company, but were “happy to look on while our shareholders effectively subsidised air travel by funding the business”.
He went on to stress that the demands of the Caribbean governments, primarily non-stakeholders, constantly proved to be unrealistic as the company faced numerous challenges.
“It was disappointing to see island governments regularly make unrealistic demands. Sometimes it was for increased services, but more often they wanted a return to unsustainable fares,” Darby stated.
“Perversely, while they were happy to expect Liat to reduce its fares, they didn't hesitate to raise air travel tax to the point where it often makes up 30-40% of the total ticket price.”
In the section entitled ‘Strategy in a vacuum’, Darby opined that there were no clear shareholder objectives and that the company was therefore forced to develop an informal strategy to “fit Liat’s mission and network”.
He stated that that this problem was compounded by weak corporate governance and, according to him, the company board acted “more like a government department”. There was more focus on reporting to the shareholder governments than on setting the strategic agenda and guiding future direction.
Addressing the apparent disconnect between management and staff and the frequent contention between the airline and the unions, Darby attributed the constant issue to a “poorly constructed and ambiguous union contract”.
“This led to many acrimonious disputes, especially after a more militant pilots' union executive was brought on board,” he asserted.
SKNVibes contacted Liat Corporate Communications Manager Desmond Brown, who informed that the company is aware of the statements made by Darby but were not prepared to give a comment on the matter.
Darby was fired in April of this year for allegedly making merit payments to certain employees without the board’s approval. His dismissal came months before his three-year contract expired in June.
The company described the payments as a “grave misconduct and wilful neglect”, and he has since left the Caribbean for his UK home.
