CAL reports increased revenues

DESPITE economic uncertainty and a 14 per cent increase in fuel cost, Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has reported good news for the first quarter of the fiscal year, with an estimated 21 per cent increase in revenue ahead of budget, according to a release issued by the airline on Thursday.

CAL said strong passenger demand, increased cargo business and improved cost management is being credited for the improvement in what has typically been a difficult period for the airline.

The company said improved customer service through more interactive technology has also contributed to the increase in productivity.

CEO Garvin Medera, who was appointed by the board of directors less than a year ago, said he was pleased with the company’s performance during his tenure and attributed it’s success to enhanced features on it’s social media platform for customers and was optimistic that continued success would follow using this model.

“We’ve seen increases in revenue on some of our top routes and made great strides on the development and implementation of our strategic plan.

This includes the technology improvement plan, which is focused on providing an award-winning and more enriching customer experience. For instance, in this quarter we initiated Webchat and WhatsApp for Business to enable a personalised digital option for our customers to chat with a call center agent.”

Medera also commended CAL’s staff for their efforts and expressed confidence that the improvements would take the company closer to achieving it’s goal of profitability by 2019.

In March, CAL executives appeared before a Parliamentary Joint Select Committee to account for hiring practices and the salaries of newly-appointed managers, in light of suggestions by the committee to hold off on cash incentives.

However, Medera said the incentives were necessary to encourage productivity.