LIAT (1974) LTD , operating as Leeward Islands Air Transport or LIAT , is an airline headquartered at the VC Bird International Airport base in Antigua. It operates a high-frequency, inter-island scheduled service serving 17 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's flagship base is VC Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with bases at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago.
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History
Leeward Islands Air Transport Services was founded by Kittician, Delhaven (now Sir) Frank Delisle in Montserrat on 20 October 1956 and began flying with Piper Apache operations between Antigua and Montserrat. With the acquisition in 1957 from 75 percent of airlines by the larger and better known BWIA, LIAT can expand to other Caribbean destinations and to acquire new aircraft types, such as Beechcraft Bonanza and de Havilland Heron. Hawker Siddeley HS 748 came in 1965, due to the airline's decision to stop the Stork. In 1968, LIAT operated several flights through an agreement with Eastern Air Lines to provide passenger bait at a US airline hub located in San Juan, Puerto Rico and flew with the "Eastern Partner" service between San Juan and Antigua, St. Kitts. and St. Maarten.
LIAT is not always a plane propeller airline. After Court Line acquired 75 percent of the airlines in 1971, LIAT entered jet age, using British BAC One-Eleven British Airways jet aircraft for longer Caribbean routes. Smaller Britten-Norman Islander STOL (short takeoff and landing) twin propeller aircraft are used during this time as well. LIAT operates a stretched version of the UK-made One-Eleven BAC, becoming a 500 series model, comparable to the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 that was flown during the late 1960s and early 1970s by the competing airline, Puerto Rico-based Caribair ( Puerto Rico). The One-Eleven BAC jet is supplied to LIAT by U.K. based on Court Line.
Court Line went bust in August 1974, and BAC One-Elevens was expelled from the LIAT fleet. To keep airlines flying, governments from 11 Caribbean countries enter and acquire airlines. The jets were replaced with a series of smaller types, such as the turbo de turbo De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter STOL (short take off and landing).
The 1980s was a decade of growth for the airline. In 1986, many daily flights were operated to Luis MuÃÆ' Â ± oz MarÃÆ'n International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as other areas that the airline had never flown. Faster de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 turboprop was obtained to reduce flight time throughout the system.
In November 1995, LIAT was partially privatized, to save him from bankruptcy once more. LIAT also began operating the larger Canadian DHC-8-300 Dash 8 turboprop de Havilland Canada.
In June 2013, LIAT received its first ATR 72 series 600 (V2-LIA registration).
Maps LIAT
Merger with Caribbean star
In January 2007 the airline announced a merger that was intended with Caribbean Star Airlines, and they entered a commercial alliance, involving flights from a combined schedule. All flights are marketed as LIAT, although airlines continue to operate separately using their own air carrier certificate, until after the completion of the merger. The combined airline plans to use the LIAT brand with a standardized joint fleet at Bombardier Dash 8 Q300. However, in June 2007, the governments of Barbados, Antigua and St. Petersburg shareholders Vincent gave way to the Board of Directors to buy the Caribbean Star instead. LIAT bought Caribbean Star Airlines on October 24, 2007 and five DHC-8 Caribbean Star planes were then transferred to LIAT. As a result of other mergers, LIAT changed its slogan to "LIAT, Star of the Caribbean", which was used as a slogan for a short time, and then changed back to "THE Caribbean Airline".
Prospects for future mergers
The airline is owned by seven Caribbean governments, with three major shareholders (73.4%); private shareholders (10%); and employees (5.3%). It has 673 employees (as of March 2007). The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which is also the sole shareholder of other regional airlines, Caribbean Airlines, the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago, also offered the option to become another shareholder in LIAT, but Prime Minister Patrick Manning's government rejected the offer.
Company affairs
The airline is headquartered at V. C. Bird International Airport base in Saint George Parish, Antigua. Call centers and customer relations departments are also located in V. C. Bird. The commercial department is located in Suite 101 Lauriston in St. Louis. Michael, Barbados.
Packages
New base
Over the past two years, the LIAT and Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) and the Leeward Islands Flight Attendants Association (LIFAA), groups representing airline pilots and flight crews, have been engaged in talks on establishing a base in Trinidad.
The need for new bases emerging from LIAT must spend at least 18 crew members a night at hotels in Port of Spain with an annual cost of more than US $ 1 million. The opening of the base in Trinidad is part of the company's efforts to respond to regional inter-island traffic dynamics, including Trinidad's significance as a business and commercial center for the southern Caribbean.
The LIAT management, while not required by law or contract, has retained the accounting firm and consulting professional services PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) study to assess any cost differences that may arise for pilots and flight attendants as a result should be based in Trinidad. The PwC study specifically included costs associated with an increased security risk associated with Trinidad. Similar research, without any security risk factors, was done when LIAT successfully reestablished its Barbados base in May 2001.
The management of LIAT wants to emphasize that it remains committed to the safety, security and general welfare of its staff. The Company expects to continue discussions with unions representing Aviation Officers and Pilots to establish bases in Trinidad.
CEO Substitution
On Wednesday, March 26, 2014, Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) reported that British aviation executive David Evans was chosen by the board of directors to become the next LIAT chief executive. Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Wednesday night. On April 22, 2014, Evans was appointed CEO of LIAT.
The appointment of Evans came a few weeks after the shareholders mandated Chairman Jean Holder to study the future of the airline for 100 days, and Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves's shareholders had boasted that more than 200 people had applied for the position.
Evans unfortunately resigned on April 13, 2016 in the midst of a hot meeting with the board of directors, leaving LIAT again without a CEO.
LIAT is currently under enormous financial pressure because of unsustainable losses and expenditures. Although their accounts are not in the public domain (LIAT is a public company) it is well known that the airline has lost more than US $ 100 million for at least the last four years, owes Barbados US $ 50 million, and only does a poor fleet renewal exercise costing US $ 100 million but an estimate of external experts will cost close to US $ 250 million when the update is complete. Losses in good faith from "destruction" can not be fully calculated.
In addition, LIAT is expected to find approximately US $ 1.2 million per month in lease payments and must choose between it and pay employee salaries.
In August 2017, Mrs. Julie Reifer-jones was appointed CEO of the company. He is the first female CEO of the airline and is currently the sole female CEO of an airline in the CAribbean.
Until 2008, LIAT services to Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Lucia St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat and St. Vincent is coded with Karib Aviation, which also uses Antigua and Barbuda as its center. The agreement was canceled due to the termination of Flight Career from all flights effective September 30, 2008.
Cargo service
LIAT also provides cargo services, with its service called Quikpak . This service provides Airport-to-Airport & amp; Door-to-Door, customs clearance service throughout the Caribbean. Delivery time is usually within one or two days, guaranteed by LIAT staff.
LIAT will also start all cargo services with Dash 8-100, which is currently being converted from passenger aircraft into a full cargo plane. Once the new cargo service begins to operate, customers will for the first time be able to order cargo online on the company's website. Already, there is considerable interest by regional producers, agricultural exporters and other traders early in the service.
The introduction of new cargo services is planned for later this year.
Re-Fleeting
In early 2013, the airline announced plans to buy two completely new turboprop aircraft, the ATR-42 series 600 and 68 ATR-72 series 600 seats to replace the old Dash 8 fleet, both purchased directly by airlines. , and obtained during their merger with Caribbean Star. The introduction of this new propjet will mark the first time that LIAT has operated the ATR aircraft. LIAT began receiving shipments in mid-2013. Later in 2013, then CEO, Captain Ian Brunton, apologized for what he described as 'destruction' around the speedy rehearsals, with the aircraft transforming LIAT from Dash-8 type to ATR -42 and Type ATR-72. The problems that trapped thousands of passengers along the 1,300-mile LIAT network began in early August and continued for about two months while LIAT struggled with deploying both types and deliveries of new aircraft. To add to the problem, the engine of one of the new aircraft took a week to be replaced, and one of the new planes was hired by the Prime Minister of Taiwan in the midst of a disaster. The CEO blames many flight delays and cancellations on "unscheduled maintenance, crew deficiencies, bad weather, airport limitations, license to operate our new ATR plane, Tropical Chantal Storm, strong surface winds, unfavorable weather conditions, airport limitations, and runway lights. ". Captain Brunton resigned in late September, with his departure on 1 October 2013.
Destination
LIAT provides services in the Eastern Caribbean region of St. Maarten in the north to Georgetown, Guyana in the south, connecting the island chains in between.
Airline partners
In addition to the above airlines, LIAT currently has a partnership alliance with:
- Virgin Atlantic
- JetBlue Airways
- PAWA Dominicana
- Former appointments
- BWIA West Indies Airways
- Career Flight
Fleet
In August 2016 the LIAT fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Previously operated
The LIAT retirement fleet includes the following aircraft:
- Beechcraft Bonanza
- de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100
- Bombardier Dash 8-300
- BAC One-Eleven - 500 stretched spacecraft (The One-Eleven 500 BAC series is the only type of jet aircraft ever operated by LIAT.)
- Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander
- Britten-Norman BN-2A-III Trislander
- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- de Havilland DH-114 Heron
- Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirante
- Hawker Siddeley HS 748
Accidents and incidents
- On August 23, 1959, LIAT de Havilland DH-114 Heron 2B crashed on landing at St. Kitts. The plane was traveling between St. Johns, Antigua and St.. Kitts. After landing, he ran over the runway and was badly damaged. No one was seriously injured and no casualties.
- LIAT Flight 319: On August 4, 1986, a DHC-6 Dwelling Ship Resident Parent crashed into the Caribbean Sea. The plane was traveling between St. Lucia and St. Vincent when falling due to bad weather conditions, while on the approach. After a full day search failed to find traces of Twin Otter, all of the 11 passengers and two crew members were allegedly killed.
- On December 2, 2010, LIAT LI362 flights, Bombardier Dash 8-Q300 (DHC-8-300) carry 24 passengers, en route to San Juan, Puerto Rico, make an emergency landing at V.C. Bird International Airport in Antigua after losing the wheel from one of the main landing gear. As a precaution, emergency services are placed on standby. The aircraft landed safely without major damage or injury to passengers or crew.
- On 25 August 2013 LIAT Flight LI774 Bombardier Dash 8-Q300 (DHC-8-300) took 43 passengers, en route from Guyana to Barbados making an emergency landing at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados after losing the wheel from wrong one major landing gear when taking off from Guyana. The aircraft landed safely without major damage or injury to passengers or crew.
Reputation
LIAT has a very bad reputation among locals and visitors to and from the Caribbean Islands. Their flights often operate irregularly, with inconsistent arrivals and departures. Baggage is often misdirected or not fully loaded. They are known for having very bad customer service, late departures, flight cancellations and their staff being criticized as sour and unhelpful. These problems are exacerbated by the 2010 and longer strikes during labor disputes in 2013 and 2017 - with many flights being canceled and passengers stranded and unable to receive refunds. The airline's management and chief operators explained that they are not responsible for the cancellation of flights or stranded passengers.
In July 2013, the airline received complaints from passengers, who became viral on the internet and caused a reaction by Virgin Group President Richard Branson.
Some residents in the Caribbean joked that LIAT is an abbreviation for "Lost In Antigua's Terminal", "Leave Island Any Time", "Luggage In Another Town", or "Late, If Ah Tal" (translation: late if at all).
In popular culture
- The airline scene is featured in season seven of the Banged Up Abroad television program.
Awards
- 2007 - "Caribbean Airlines Without Cost/No Loss" - by World Travel Awards
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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