Meeting between pilots, CAL due this week

Caribbean Airlines Ltd’s corporate communications officer Dionne Ligoure said a meeting between the executive of the airline and the union representing pilots has been scheduled for this week.

She said she did not see the issues between the two entities as irreparable.

She made the statements on I95.5 FM on Wednesday, days after CAL cancelled 60 flights on Sunday following 93 sick calls from 75 pilots on Saturday and Sunday. This led to a massive disruption in the company’s operations, with over 1,400 passengers being inconvenienced.

Ligoure said the airline had always been open to negotiating with the pilots.

“There has always been an open-door policy. There have been numerous meetings. In fact the last meeting was held on August 18 at 2 pm, if not just before. So we have been in constant and regular dialogue, and at all times remained open to meeting with the unions.

“I believe the next meeting – I don’t want to give incorrect information – I think it’s probably scheduled for tomorrow. I understand it’s a lot of moving parts but there’s another meeting scheduled.”

Ligoure said she knew management had the best interest of the organisation at heart.

“Management have sat and negotiated and will continue to negotiate with the union in good faith.

"At the end of the day, our objective is the sustainability of the organisation and of course, delivering service to our customers, connecting the people of TT and the region. I see nothing as irreparable, nothing of the sort. Let us move forward professionally, reasonably, sit down and talk and move forward.

“At the end of the day, this is a family, this is an organisation. Plenty families have cussouts regularly, but that is not to say that at the end of the day there cannot be reasonable adults sitting at a table and discussing things for the greater good of all.”

Attempts by Newsday to contact the TT Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) were not returned.

Meanwhile, in a statement on social media on Wednesday, CAL said its regular operations were expected to fully recover by Thursday, with flight schedules being restored to normal.

It said as of Wednesday, it had paid an external company to provide four charters to operate special flights to accommodate over 1,400 displaced passengers on international services. It said the regular operation is working in parallel with the recovery flights.

The statement said the airline did not have contact details on file for customers who booked online and through travel agents, and asked customers to provide contact information at https://www.caribbean-airlines.com/#/caribbean-flight-notifications.

Ligoure apologised to the people who were inconvenienced and said while the short notice given by the pilots meant that quick action had to be taken, the action had to be done within industry regulations.

“Caribbean Airlines is resolute in our commitment to ensuring that our customers receive good service, that the operations are normalised, and I want to give people the assurance that we will continue to operate safely and reliably.”

She said she understood why many people were upset at the airline for the unwelcome experience.

“I certainly empathise with the frustration that would have been felt by the public, and this is why we have taken swift action to rectify the situation. Many people are working feverishly to do all possible to ensure that things are back to normal. There are still some displaced people that we are working to move, but I assure you that these things are taking place and are being done.”

Ligoure said people seeking financial compensation for their dislocation could e-mail the website and would be sent a link to a claim form.

“We are working expeditiously to work through these claims. We are also setting up a portal for people to address these so that we can expeditiously process them.”

She said the incident was painful on many levels as its net promoter score (NPS) had been at a high 45 up to this point.

“The NPS score looks at the levels of satisfaction the public has with a particular organisation through independent surveys. Our NPS score moved from 32 in 2018 to 45 in 2023, and that came through no small effort, that came through very hard work and building a relationship. We will continue to work with our stakeholders and customers to re-establish the trust that has been eroded.”