Why CAL tickets so high?

THE EDITOR: Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) is costing the Government a bundle of money daily, weekly, monthly, annually. But at the same time a ticket to Grenada is US$500; to St Vincent it’s US$1,231...and the list goes on.

Why can't the CAL management see it fit to have flights to these two Caricom countries at affordable rates so that inter-island travel will be available to citizens? It is ridiculous that these rates are this high.

A flight from Miami to Houston is US$113 return, and these cities are three hours and 1,800 miles apart. A flight from Trinidad to St Vincent is US$1,231 return, and these countries are 45 minutes and 120 miles apart. Even travelling from Port of Spain to Miami is cheaper than flying to St Vincent.

How can we encourage any type of inter-island trade and tourism if we do not even care about the citizens in the area? Are ticket costs this high just to offset the losses being incurred on the domestic route?

Caribbean Airlines needs people with vision, not party cards.

LARRY SOOKLALSINGH

via e-mail