ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, December 22nd, 2011 – Less than a year after the launch of its dedicated freighter service, LIAT said it has achieved the significant milestone of transporting one million pounds of cargo.
Director of Cargo and Quikpak, Wilbur Edwards said that as at 20th December, 2011, LIAT’s dedicated freighter carried more than 1,022,000 pounds of cargo. The company launched its dedicated cargo service in February this year.
“We said we would do it and we did, in spite of many challenges and set-backs,” Mr. Edwards said. “We wish to take this opportunity to thank our loyal customers for their support; and the various shippers who have worked with us; and we look forward to serving them in the New Year.”
Meantime, LIAT’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Challenger noted that the start-up of the freighter service was a direct response to calls from regional exporters, particularly in the manufacturing and agricultural industries, for a dedicated freighter service able to move freight efficiently at reasonable costs between the islands of the eastern Caribbean.
He said that in addition to traditional CARICOM markets the freighter has also successfully connected several new markets in the Dominican Republic, St. Maarten and the French speaking Caribbean.
“LIAT’s management is really proud of the achievements of our Cargo management and team, who have demonstrated that even in the midst of a global and regional economic recession they have been able to grow the business from scratch to achieve this significant milestone,” Mr. Challenger said.
“This has been achieved notwithstanding several challenges including regulatory changes which adversely affected our operation for a while into one of our primary markets, as well as other challenges. We want to thank all of the LIAT team involved in this project including our cargo team in Antigua, Barbados and throughout our network, as well as the pilots, Flight Operations, Ground Operations, Engineering and Quality Assurance staff, who have worked diligently to achieve this goal.”
LIAT noted that the amount does not include more than 30,000 pounds of bulk baggage also carried by the freighter aircraft over the period.
Mr. Edwards said the company intends to further expand the cargo service next year, noting that the freighter service has stimulated significant movements on LIAT’s regular line flights which when combined produced more 1.5 million pounds. He said that, overall, cargo has grown by 60 per cent over last year.
“Our latest enhancement occurred when we opened up San Juan and the United States Virgin Islands this month,” Mr. Edwards said.
“Next year we will focus on greater service delivery and using our web site (www.liatcargo.com) to better advantage in terms of tracking, proof of deliveries and other customer service information.”
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