LIAT Strikes back

Competition is once again rearing its head in the area of airline travel as regional airline LIAT prepares to battle the increase in flights into St. Lucia by American Eagle, which has embarked on this new venture at the beckoning of the Government of St. Lucia, through the person of Tourism Minister Allan Chastenet.
Just days after the American based airline introduced flights into Hewannorra International Airport and Grenadines Airways started flights from Hewannorra to the Grenadines, LIAT executives have set out on a quest of its island territories to win back its prominence in regional airline services.
Chief Executive Officer Mark Darby yesterday held talks with one of the airline’s critics, Tourism Minister Allan Chastenet who felt the airline was not providing the type of service St. Lucia needed and that the airline’s structure was not up to par. The discussions were cordial with exchanges on both sides the end result being that LIAT, according to Darby, is highly committed in its services to St. Lucia.
A real possibility exists that at least with St. Lucia, LIAT and American Eagle, could find themselves in serious competition, something LIAT is not afraid of, as pointed out by its CEO yesterday.
Darby yesterday said that his airline welcomes competition provided it is fair and on an equitable basis.
LIAT’s CEO also commented on an article that quoted the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA) President, Colin Hunte as having said that LIAT has been subsidized by CARICOM Governments for several years and has not proven to be economically viable.

Darby noted that no subsidy has been received from any member state of CARICOM since 2006 and rather what has been given to LIAT has been injected as new equity from the Governments of Barbados, Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He added that LIAT is pleased to report that when accounts are finalized the company would be able to say that it broke even last year, a rather promising year for the airline which has been operating in the red for several years.
While this presents a turnaround for the airline in the many years it has been operating this progression may be difficult to maintain with American Eagle now having more flights than it usually had into St. Lucia.
LIAT has done a number of things to improve its image now that it has stepped up its game, such as apologizing for the inconvenience caused to its customers following the recent industrial action by flight attendants, which severely disrupted its services in St. Lucia and its network during that period. And although the disruption came at a time when LIAT was finalizing the integration of the Caribbean Star operation, which resulted in crew shortages, and its reputation being at a low point, it has put in place a recovery plan aimed at eliminating problems and dramatically improving punctuality and customer service.
In short the message the LIAT CEO is spreading around is that the airline is ready, not only to offer a better service than in the past and to make LIAT the carrier of choice for regional travelers, but also that it is ready to take on competition, American Eagle included.
We hope that all this juxtapositioning will result in an easing up of the price of airfares to the consumers.