CAL to reduce fleet to 13 aircraft

Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) is to reduce its fleet to 13 aircraft, comprising eight jets and five ATR turboprop planes.

Finance Minister Colm Imbert made the statement in response to an urgent question from Opposition Senator Wade Mark in the Senate on Tuesday.

Imbert said CAL was at the beginning of the process of determining exactly how many employees who would be retrenched. He said the severance payments to the approximately 450 workers was estimated to be about $110 million, which would be provided by the Finance Ministry.

He said the company was putting support systems in place for the workers, including counselling, outplacement services, transition training, and compensation packages.

Imbert said the streamlining measures were being put in place after consultation with the International Air Transport Association and Amadeus consulting agency.