Liat delivering better on-time performance

KEINO SWAMBER

ST THOMAS

LEAVE Island Any Time, Look Immediately for Alternative Transport, Luggage In Another Terminal, Last In Airport Terminal and Look Immediately for Alternative Transport are some of the popular phrases used jokingly by many Trinis whenever reference is made to Caribbean airline Liat.

Acknowledging that the company has had some issues in the past, its corporate communications manager Shavar Maloney told journalists on a Liat-sponsored press trip to St Thomas, US Virgin Islands last week, that a lot of work has gone into turning its image around and delivering a better service.

“We’ve had to step back and work on ourselves and fix those issues. What has happened because of that, is that our on-time performance for the year, so far, is trending above 80 per cent – the industry standard is 85 per cent. For some months we have actually ranked number one in Latin America and the Caribbean and we have been in the top five for last month and September.

Persons are seeing that we are working hard in ensuring that our flights are on time and persons receive their bags. We are working on our customer service and a lot of people are now experiencing the new Liat.”

He said many people within the region are also quite happy with the return of Liat to the Antigua-St Thomas route after the service was suspended in June 2017.

“We restarted service on July 1 with a direct flight which operates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and so far the response from the public has been good.”

Asked by Newsday why the service was discontinued, Maloney said the airline was doing a route analysis which revealed several issues.

“First of all, the flight was not direct –we actually passed through St Maarten. There were some issues there. We also had port charge increases which were very exorbitant, and we also had to look at stabilising our schedule.

”We were having far too many delays, so we suspended service to St Croix in March 2017 and we suspended service to St Thomas in June 2017.”

Addressing the complaints by many Caribbean residents about the cost of travel within the region, Maloney said one of the things to be identified is how much goes to the airline and how much goes to regional governments who have a vested interest in the airline. He said intra-regional travel has declined by 30 per cent within the last ten years – a figure which he describes as “significant.”

“If you look at the taxes and fees from different governments, they really do add up. One example was seen when we had our sale for our anniversary. We gave a 50 per cent discount on our base fare, and when people saw the prices they were asking why the prices were still so high. A lot of governments have added taxes, especially in the last ten years, and so we’ve had constant dialogues with governments about reassessing their taxes and fees so that intra-regional travel is viable.”

Also weighing in on the return of Liat to the Antigua-Thomas route was USVI Commissioner of Tourism Beverly Nicholson-Doty who said the importance of intra-regional travel is underestimated.

“We have to do a better job to make travel within the region easier both from an immigration and entry standpoint, making access easier and more affordable.”