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Author Topic: Caribbean/BWIA Airlines Thread.  (Read 138973 times)

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Offline Sando prince

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #540 on: August 11, 2015, 09:56:11 AM »

CARIBBEAN AIRLINES TO DROP LONDON ROUTE

There is confirmation that Caribbean Airlines will axe its London route again.

https://www.facebook.com/CNC3Television/videos/10153546820892996/

Offline pull stones

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #541 on: August 12, 2015, 05:28:39 AM »
this is exactly what rowley said in one of his monday nights sit down conversations. he said that they restored CAL as a profitable venture and part of this success was the selling of the london gates only to have the present administration put them back in london and on the losing end of income. i guess someone is secretly listens to rowley on their laptops when no one is around. i wonder if she will claim responsibility if this move works out in the airline's favor?

Offline Socapro

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #542 on: August 15, 2015, 09:34:19 AM »
this is exactly what rowley said in one of his monday nights sit down conversations. he said that they restored CAL as a profitable venture and part of this success was the selling of the london gates only to have the present administration put them back in london and on the losing end of income. i guess someone is secretly listens to rowley on their laptops when no one is around. i wonder if she will claim responsibility if this move works out in the airline's favor?

This move might be too late. CAL might now be on the brink of bankruptcy and the money to bail them out may not be available with oil prices down by more than half they were back in 2010 when the PP gang of treasury looting criminals came into power.
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Offline R45

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #543 on: August 17, 2015, 01:53:24 PM »
this is exactly what rowley said in one of his monday nights sit down conversations. he said that they restored CAL as a profitable venture and part of this success was the selling of the london gates only to have the present administration put them back in london and on the losing end of income.

CAL was never a profitable venture. Since it started in 2007 it has actually never made a profit. In 2007 it last over $100 million. In 2008, they claimed to have made a profit of $34 million, but then it was disclosed that the fuel subsidy (which created rifts with Jamaica and the smaller islands) was being paid to CAL in the vicinity of over $200 million. After that, the then administration took it even more in the red when Manning decided to buy Air Jamaica.

Frankly CAL was a mess and continues to be a mess. It was mismanaged by the PNM, and now is being mismanaged by the PP. Both parties have struggled to get the board to be accountable.

Even on the topic of selling BWIA's london routes back in 2006/2007, that was meddled in controversy. The CAL board at the time could not tell the government who exactly made the decision to sell the routes and how it was valued. They couldn't answer how the London routes were supposedly sold by BWIA, but CAL actually flew the London routes for a few months after it was formed.

If you want to be more cynical about the situation, have a read of http://www.ttparliament.org/reports/p10-s3-J-20130426-PAEC-r2.pdf

Offline pull stones

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #544 on: August 18, 2015, 01:09:36 AM »
this is exactly what rowley said in one of his monday nights sit down conversations. he said that they restored CAL as a profitable venture and part of this success was the selling of the london gates only to have the present administration put them back in london and on the losing end of income.

CAL was never a profitable venture. Since it started in 2007 it has actually never made a profit. In 2007 it last over $100 million. In 2008, they claimed to have made a profit of $34 million, but then it was disclosed that the fuel subsidy (which created rifts with Jamaica and the smaller islands) was being paid to CAL in the vicinity of over $200 million. After that, the then administration took it even more in the red when Manning decided to buy Air Jamaica.

Frankly CAL was a mess and continues to be a mess. It was mismanaged by the PNM, and now is being mismanaged by the PP. Both parties have struggled to get the board to be accountable.

Even on the topic of selling BWIA's london routes back in 2006/2007, that was meddled in controversy. The CAL board at the time could not tell the government who exactly made the decision to sell the routes and how it was valued. They couldn't answer how the London routes were supposedly sold by BWIA, but CAL actually flew the London routes for a few months after it was formed.

If you want to be more cynical about the situation, have a read of http://www.ttparliament.org/reports/p10-s3-J-20130426-PAEC-r2.pdf
tell that to someone who dont read. according to dr rowley he chaired a commission in 2008 that worked tirelessly to make CAL more independent and free of government subsidy. so they sold the gates in london and made the necessary cuts, and according to him in 2010 they left CAL with a billion dollars surplus. now who should i believe, you or someone on the inside? and you can't get a bigger insider than the head of a commission responsible for reforming the airline.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2015, 01:11:19 AM by pull stones »

Offline lefty

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #545 on: August 18, 2015, 06:57:00 AM »
CAL present predicament is a result of puttin ah self important palour man to run ah airline, Moonan take real liberties and ran up quite a bill along with makin some very questionable operational decisions where CAL was concerned, so while CAL wasn't no shining star of profitability it WAS headed towards some semblance of financial independence at least.
I pity the fool....

Offline R45

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #546 on: August 18, 2015, 09:05:40 AM »
tell that to someone who dont read. according to dr rowley he chaired a commission in 2008 that worked tirelessly to make CAL more independent and free of government subsidy. so they sold the gates in london and made the necessary cuts, and according to him in 2010 they left CAL with a billion dollars surplus. now who should i believe, you or someone on the inside? and you can't get a bigger insider than the head of a commission responsible for reforming the airline.

If you read my link, you would see that those are the minutes from the aforementioned commission on Public Accounts which was a Joint Select committee in Parliament. Rowley was on that commission. My comments about the London sale came straight from that report, which again Rowley was on.

And honestly if Rowley said they left CAL with a billion dollar surplus, he is lying. The fact that CAL has always been losing money is public knowledge. You can easily look at news archives between 2007-2010 to find that out. During 2007-2010, Oil prices were extremely high and CAL got hundreds of millions of dollars in fuel subsidies. That was an election issue in the 2010 general election. The fuel subsidy was especially controversial because at the time, Barbados/St. Vincent/Antigua/Jamaica were pissed off we were subsidizing fuel for CAL yet Air Jamaica and LIAT had to operate and compete against CAL for market prices.

Thereafter, Manning announced that CAL was going to buy Air Jamaica (which was an airline losing money) for over $50 million USD. The merger was finalized soon after the PP got into power. That deal further drained the treasury and pumped more tax dollars into CAL. Rowley himself said the CAL/Air Jamaica merger was a bad deal.

Quote
Air Jamaica merger a mistake Make CAL a regional carrier
By Vernon Khelawan Thursday, August 7 2014

OPPOSITION Leader Dr Keith Rowley has admitted that the Trinidad and Tobago government’s purchase of the Jamaican national airline was “a bad deal”. He is also calling on Caribbean leaders to make the Trinidad and Tobago-owned airline Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) the regional carrier.

The Manning administration, of which Dr Rowley was a part, undertook to buy Air Jamaica five years ago, spending some (US)$52 million as part of the acquisition. He said, “We made a bad purchase when we acquired Air Jamaica. I never supported it and I believe it was a bad deal.”

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Rowley-Air-Jamaica-bleeding-TT-like-a-chop-neck-207306571.html

Again, CAL never had a billion dollar surplus when the PNM left power. That is a bullshit statement.

Quote
Its financial performance is an altogether different story. The airline started operations on January 1, 2007. Its audited financial statements show a loss for 2007 and a profit for 2008. Its management has stated that the airline was also profitable in 2009 and should be profitable in 2010. The audited financial statements for 2007 show a loss of US$18.67 million despite a fuel subsidy of US$13.65 million. In 2008 there was a profit of US$5.46 million buttressed by a fuel subsidy of US$38.80 million.

It is anticipated that in 2009 CAL will declare a Profit of c.a. US$6.0 million supported by a fuel subsidy of c.a. US$6.2 million. The 2009 result shows in effect a break-even position without the fuel subsidy, lending credence to the conclusion in the original business plan that CAL needs a fuel price equivalent to less than US$50/bbl to be in a position to achieve profitability.

In the best case scenario, CAL's financial performance removing the fuel subsidy:

2007: $200M TT loss
2008: $250M TT loss
2009: Break even (Oil prices dip)
2010: Who knows because the financial statements weren't published, but Oil prices went up and they had the Air Jamaica acquisition

This is no insider information, everything I'm posting is publicly available. And I'm not suggesting that the PP is better at managing CAL than the PNM. My overall point is that they both have been misleading us about CAL's performance, and I urge you to think critically and look at evidence before lapping up what people say on political platforms.

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Imbert was Minister of Transport during the BWIA dissolution/CAL commencement/Air Jamaica acquisition, so both the PNM and UNC have a hand in CAL's financial woes and mismanagement.

Offline pull stones

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #547 on: August 18, 2015, 05:48:27 PM »
R45 maybe i misunderstood dr rowley so i will carry this no further, but check out the conversation with keith rowley in westmooring where he mentioned that they left the airline with money and a surplus, he also went on to say that the PP brought the airline back into a deficit. i was also very much aware of rowley's chop neck comment and i made no mention that rowley was in favor of the air jamaica merger.

i will not pretend to know what is going on in trinidad and tobago but on the contrary i go strictly on second hand information. but ask yourself this question, with the desperation showed by the people's partnership to exacerbate petty issues and nitpick at every end and hang on to every word like the cat and dog foolery, don't you think that if these statements were inaccurate, the PP government would not be all over it make the most of it to score political points?

Offline Jumbie

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #548 on: August 18, 2015, 06:40:47 PM »
R45 your manner in responding and addressing dialog reminds me of a former poster here.

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #549 on: August 18, 2015, 06:49:40 PM »
I've heard/read that $1 billion figure before.  I think it was in relation to funds in the bank as opposed to profit.  Was trying to find something in relation to the $1 billion figure but can't do so readily.

I remember that right around the time the government changed in 2010, CAL was in a good financial position then the Nicholas fellow was appointed and all fell down.....it was around that time I remember the $1 billion figure being bandied about.....
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Offline Sando prince

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #550 on: August 18, 2015, 06:56:10 PM »

This Government has mismanaged CAL in the last five years and now we are seeing the benefits of mismanagement. Dr Rowley had advised them not to open the London route a few years ago but they insisted. The route did not reap the profits expected but instead reaped losses.


Offline R45

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #551 on: August 18, 2015, 10:26:55 PM »
i will not pretend to know what is going on in trinidad and tobago but on the contrary i go strictly on second hand information. but ask yourself this question, with the desperation showed by the people's partnership to exacerbate petty issues and nitpick at every end and hang on to every word like the cat and dog foolery, don't you think that if these statements were inaccurate, the PP government would not be all over it make the most of it to score political points?
Because the PP are full of shit too. Both the PP and the PNM are playing hot potato with CAL, but neither are acknowledging that it has been mismanaged and continues to drain our treasury. Running an airline is a difficult enough business without all the political interference.

R45 your manner in responding and addressing dialog reminds me of a former poster here.

I have no idea what you're insinuating or suggesting - I've been on this forum on one username inconsistently for 10 years.

I've heard/read that $1 billion figure before.  I think it was in relation to funds in the bank as opposed to profit.  Was trying to find something in relation to the $1 billion figure but can't do so readily.

I remember that right around the time the government changed in 2010, CAL was in a good financial position then the Nicholas fellow was appointed and all fell down.....it was around that time I remember the $1 billion figure being bandied about.....

The $1 Billion figure makes no sense. Considering that CAL had lost over $500M TT in its first two years of operation, and at best was breaking even in 2009. Let's not forget the whole debacle of Manning wanting to buy his own jet then talking about a contract signed for CAL to buy the jet instead for US $62 million. In 2010 then the Air Jamaica merger was announced and that has been a huge drain on CAL's finances from day one. If CAL has $1 Billion in the bank, then that $1Billion is just taxpayer dollars and not attributable to the operation of the airline.


This Government has mismanaged CAL in the last five years and now we are seeing the benefits of mismanagement. Dr Rowley had advised them not to open the London route a few years ago but they insisted. The route did not reap the profits expected but instead reaped losses.
I agree, and it's not just the London route. The decision by CAL to buy the ATR planes then cancelling the contract (all done under the PP) was another bad decision that ruined CAL's finances.

That said, it is important for everyone to recognize the CAL has been mismanaged from inception (2007) and what has happened in the last 5 years is no different than what happened in the years before the PP came into power.

If anyone thinks voting out the PP for the PNM is going to be some magical fix to CAL, I'll seriously question your sanity. The PNM has been just as guilty, and some of the key members of the then administration (especially Imbert, who was the minister in charge during BWIA's demise and was an advocate for the Air Jamaica merger) will form part of the next government if the PNM wins.

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #552 on: October 07, 2015, 01:57:25 AM »
CAL not looking for bail out yet
By Nadaleen Singh (Guardian).


Caribbean Airlines (CAL) does not need a bail out just yet.

That’s the declaration of its chief executive, Michael DiLollo. He said the airline had benefitted from extremely patient shareholders for years and believed the airline was strategically positioned to break even in three years.

In early February, then finance minister Larry Howai told Parliament that unaudited accounts for 2014 showed the airline made a loss of US$60 million, inclusive of its Air Jamaica operations, and the airline planned to break even by 2017.

Howai had also told the Parliament that a five-year strategic plan had been completed and currently was being approved for implementation.

It outlined the transformation of the business model through reassessment of the product, including fleet and network planning, revenue management, pricing and customer service.

Speaking yesterday to members of the media at CAL’s Piarco headquarters, DiLollo said:

“When I look at the investment that has been afforded to the airline and compare that with my experience in the private sector, it is absolutely astounding.

‘“All of the shareholders, whatever the political affiliation, have been extremely patient and extremely committed to this airline over the years.

“I am humbled and grateful that they (the shareholders) did it. However, in the current context we need to do better. We need to do better for the shareholders. We need to do better for the people of T&T.”

Asked whether the airline planned to seek a bail out, he said: “We are trying desperately to minimise that to zero as quickly as we possibly can but obviously returning value for shareholders in socio-economically balanced manner.”

DiLollo, a pilot, said he was ready to land the airline in a break-even financial position and that the airline was “well on our way, very well on our way to achieving that target.”

Asked what he meant by “well on our way” he said: “We are about 35 to 40 per cent of the way there. There is much work to do. In the next month as all of the initiatives come into play (it would) add considerably to that progress.

He added: “It’s a dynamic environment. We have deployed 32 transformational projects in the company that are starting to yield very positive results. We are very happy with those results today.”

While not specifically stating the need for the ticket price to increase for inter- island travel, he said the price of the ticket was not at a suitable rate to attract profitability.

He said: “The airbridge at current ticket prices which date back to 1992 is not something we can look at in today’s inflationary realities and say that the T&T (inter-island) route is a positive contribution to CAL.

“It is an essential service that we must take very seriously and obviously would require some funding under the current pricing. We just can’t make that work under the current pricing scheme that exists. The T&T airbridge obviously requires some level of assistance.”

Routes

• The London route would be dropped effectively on January 10, 2016.

• The decision to drop the route comes after the findings of two consultants.

• The diaspora will be well taken care of.

• Not ruling out a code-sharing agreement with any carrier.

• Assessing the risk/rewards options concerning picking up the Georgetown/Jamaica route. No decision made.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline R45

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #553 on: October 07, 2015, 01:32:08 PM »
My thoughts may not be popular, but I'd prefer to see the following happen:

  • Disband CAL - very few government run airlines are successful, and CAL/BWIA haven't been one. Forgetting the national pride of a state carrier, the airline industry is incredibly volatile and high risk. We've tried fully state run and partial privatization in the past, both of which have failed.
  • Tobago Express should be maintained and solely operating the Trinidad/Tobago routes. It is likely of national strategic importance we maintain our domestic air bridge.
  • Money currently spent on CAL should be diverted into the two airports. We should reduce landing fees and taxes to make both Crown Point/Piarco more attractive for airlines to add to their destination lists. We can also use these funds to offer incentives to carriers for specific routes that support our national/strategic interests. This is pretty common in major cities where they reduce specific landing fees, offer tax rebates, rebate fuel purchases, etc. Often this incentives are associated with specific conditions, including flight frequency, capacity, and ticket costs on specific routes.

There's a lot of flexibility using government incentives to promote and attract airlines to come here, and I'm not convinced from a cost/benefit basis, actually operating our own airline is the best solution. I know this is difficult as many see national pride in our own airline (and that was the reason Eric Williams bought BWIA in the first place), but there are more cost effective methods of achieving the same result (i.e. having strong international transport options for trade, tourism, pleasure, and diaspora) without having to maintain our own airline.

Offline Sando prince

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #554 on: October 11, 2015, 07:18:53 PM »
Caribbean Airlines is advising customers that several of its flights have been disrupted due to the disruption to Jamaica's air space.

Since Tuesday, air traffic controllers have restricted their operations, due to an ongoing dispute over equipment.

VIDEO Report;
https://www.facebook.com/cnewslive/videos/10153631634625610/
.

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #555 on: October 29, 2015, 01:57:24 AM »
CAL CEO quits.
T&T Guardian Reports.


Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Airlines (CAL) Michael DiLollo has quit after just 17 months on the job. The 48-year-old Canadian national, citing personal reasons, resigned with immediate effect. His resignation has been accepted by the state-owned airline's board of directors.

CAL staff were informed of the resignation via a memo from the airline's chairman Phillip Marshall who also announced that chief financial officer Tyrone Tang will act as CEO until a permanent replacement is found. DiLollo was appointed CAL CEO in May 2014 following the sudden resignation of Robert Corbie in September 2013.

In an interview with T&T Guardian earlier this month, DiLollo said CAL did not need a bailout just yet. He said the airline had benefited from extremely patient shareholders for years and he believed the airline was strategically positioned to break even in three years. In early February, then finance minister Larry Howai told Parliament that unaudited accounts for 2014 showed the airline made a loss of US$60 million, inclusive of its Air Jamaica operations, and the airline planned to break even by 2017.

Howai had also told the Parliament that a five-year strategic plan had been completed and was in the process of being approved for implementation. It outlined the transformation of the business model through reassessment of the product, including fleet and network planning, revenue management, pricing and customer service.

Speaking to members of the media, in early October, DiLollo was confident, giving no hint of any issues affecting his term of employment, saying:

“When I look at the investment that has been afforded to the airline and compare that with my experience in the private sector, it is absolutely astounding.

‘“All of the shareholders, whatever the political affiliation, have been extremely patient and extremely committed to this airline over the years.”

DiLollo, a pilot, said then he was ready to land the airline in a break-even financial position and that the airline was “well on our way, very well on our way to achieving that target.”

In November 2014, Parliament was informed that DiLollo was being paid a US$33,000 (TT$211,000) monthly compensation package. Then prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar defended the sum saying this was in keeping with salaries paid to former CEOs and was necessary to acquire that level of expertise.

Persad-Bissessar said then that DiLollo received a salary of US$28,000 and a housing allowance of US$5,000. He also received a travelling allowance of US$1,600. Former government ministers Vasant Bharath and Howai had also defended DiLollo’s salary, saying it was comparable to salaries paid to former CAL CEOs.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #556 on: May 25, 2016, 02:22:15 AM »
CAL $315M debt still flying high
By Andre Bagoo
Wednesday, May 25 2016


ONE YEAR – and now two visits by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro later – the question of the $315 million matter involving Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) and Venezuela still remains unresolved.

When Maduro visited in February 2015, he said Venezuela would settle its debt to CAL, estimated by Government officials to be US$50 million (TT$315 million). Then Minister of Finance Larry Howai then told reporters, “The amount represents proceeds of ticket sales for which CAL is trying to obtain US dollars to repatriate the funds to Trinidad and Tobago.” This week, a Venezuelan national said, “What does Maduro have to offer TT? Last year when he came, he promised to pay a TT$315 million debt Venezuela owes CAL (Caribbean Airlines Limited). Has he made any such payment since then? Maduro is coming to TT with nothing.” Newsday asked Finance Minister Colm Imbert the following question earlier this week: “Did Venezuela ever pay the CAL $315 million debt?” He replied, “No, not yet”.

“This ‘debt’ was incurred under the last administration,” Imbert said. “My understanding is that talks have been ongoing between CAL and the Venezuelans since 2013, in an effort to settle this matter. I am still hopeful at this time of an amicable resolution.” Former Minister of Finance Larry Howai also said the debt was not paid.

“Not up to September 7 last year,” Howai said.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline kounty

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #557 on: May 25, 2016, 02:43:49 PM »
I wonder how we would like it if the shoe were on the other foot...our economy reeling and we visit our nearest neighbor and the media pushin this head. I hope the leaders lead upright because that vibez not soundin trini to me.

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #558 on: March 14, 2017, 07:05:40 AM »
Credit card fraud: Caribbean Airlines losing $3.2m a year
By Ria Taitt (Express).


Trinidadians are among credit card tricksters involved in the unauthorised use of people's credit card information to purchase airline tickets which is causing state-owned Caribbean Airlines to lose about TT$3.25 million annually.

This was revealed by CAL officials as they appeared before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament yesterday. CAL Vice-Chairman Michael Quamina also told the JSC that the airline was in line to return to profitability “within 12 to 24 months”.

Responding to a question from Committee member Fazal Karim, CAL's Senior Manager, Financial and Revenue Accounting, Adrian Agarrat, revealed that “criminal activity against the airline in which persons were using other people's credit card information” to book and pay for flights through the airline's website was costing CAL US$40,000 (TT$270,000) a month.

He said the highest incidence of this fraud was at four points of entry — Trinidad (to New York); Kingston (to New York); Guyana (to North America) and “out of Caracas”, the latter of which was being addressed through the immigration department.

Agarrat said the airline was looking at a system to “prevent the frequency” of this problem and that there was a team at the airline “working every day to mitigate the impact” of this practice.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Michael-j

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #559 on: July 13, 2017, 05:26:08 AM »
TOURIST KILLED ON MAHO BEACH AT ST. MAARTEN BY JET BLAST
by  Mike Killian

avgeekery.com

http://www.avgeekery.com/tourist-killed-on-maho-beach-at-st-maarten-by-jet-blast/

A 57-year old woman from New Zealand was killed on Maho Beach late Wednesday afternoon (July 12), after being blown off her feet by a jet blast from an aircraft taking off.
 
The beach is world famous to aviation enthusiasts and plane spotters, because of its extremely close proximity to St Maarten Princess Juliana Airport and the many large aircraft that service the field.

As an aircraft positions for takeoff, people will hold a fence while watching from behind the plane as it roars down the runway. It is an experience known as ‘fence surfing’.
 
According to the report, the woman was doing just that when she was blown over and hit her head on a concrete block; likely the sidewalk curb or small retaining wall.
The aircraft involved in today’s incident was a Boeing 737 owned by Caribbean Airlines, headed for Trinidad.

There have been previous incidents at Saint Maarten airport where people injured themselves at the beach while ‘fence surfing’.  In 2012, a viral video showed a young woman losing her grip on a fence and smashing her head into the concrete retainer wall.

It’s not uncommon for people on the beach to be tossed around by the jet blasts. It is part of the typical ‘avgeek’ experience that has made the tourist destination so popular. This is the first known incident though in which someone has been killed at the field by jet blast.

Jet Blast from a departing aircraft can be particularly dangerous. Depending on the distance from the aircraft, the blast can be strong enough to flip cars, vehicles and people. The danger area for a 737-sized aircraft can extend up to 1200 feet behind the aircraft.

Offline Deeks

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #560 on: July 13, 2017, 06:43:46 AM »
Oh boy! Condolences. Wow!

Offline Jumbie

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #561 on: July 14, 2017, 09:52:40 AM »
Condolences and all eh...

but when you ignore the big-ass sign Warning you of the dangers...



« Last Edit: July 14, 2017, 09:54:16 AM by Jumbie »

Offline soccerman

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #562 on: July 14, 2017, 01:59:51 PM »
A lot of tourists in St. Maarten usually hangout near the edge of the runway behind the fence at their own risk as the beach is across the street. They enjoy the thrill of the jet blast from the planes landing and taking off. Sometimes the winds are so strong they're blown and tossed around and most times they have to hold on to the fence tightly, just craziness if you ask me.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2017, 02:03:10 PM by soccerman »

Offline Deeks

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #563 on: July 14, 2017, 05:12:07 PM »
What a way for CAL to get famous. And for the deceased, again condolences. But boy, talk about "the ultimate rush".

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #564 on: July 15, 2017, 04:20:11 AM »
PILOTS BLANK CAL
Concerns raised over ATR aircraft on airbridge, Caribbean routes...
By Anna Ramdass (Express).


CARIBBEAN Airlines pilots said yesterday passengers should expect “chaos” on the air-bridge between Trinidad and Tobago as many of them have decided to not operate the company's ATR aircraft which they say have been experiencing constant technical problems.

Pilots said passengers travelling on CAL flights to Caribbean routes and Tobago should expect delays and disruptions as the pilots said they were concerned about the ATR aircraft.
CAL uses five ATRs.

Some of the destinations they service are Tobago, St Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada and Barbados.

The Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA) yesterday held a meeting where between 30 to 40 pilots voiced concerns about technical problems with the ATR aircraft.

Aviation sources told the Express TTALPA was consulting its legal team on the way forward.

“There is mass chaos on the airbridge right now because we have taken a decision to not fly,” a pilot who requested anonymity told the Express yesterday.

The pilot said when a warning light comes on in an aircraft the crew goes into emergency mode and it is traumatic to keep putting passengers through this ordeal.



PROUD DISPLAY: Caribbean Airlines CEO Ag Captain Jagmohan Singh, from left; Marslyn Melville, Secretary of the Communications Development Enterprise and Labour of the Tobago House of Assembly; Paula Gopee-Scoon, Minister of Trade and Industry; Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts; Shamfa Cudjoe, Minister of Tourism; and Shameer Ronnie, Caribbean Airlines chairman, pose in front the Boeing 737 at the formal commissioning of the aircraft in honour of Calypso Rose (McCartha Sandy Lewis), Calypso Queen of the World. The ceremony took place at Hangar 10, Caribbean Airlines, Iere House, Golden Grove Road, Piarco, yesterday. —Photo: CURTIS CHASE

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #565 on: July 17, 2017, 05:31:27 PM »
This airbridge/sea bridge situation real pissing me off!!  Ah gone to call The Keith and give him an earful!!! :cursing: :cursing: :cursing: :pissedoff: :pissedoff: :banginghead: :banginghead: :frustrated: :frustrated:
"...If yuh clothes tear up
Or yuh shoes burst off,
You could still jump up when music play.
Old lady, young baby, everybody could dingolay...
Dingolay, ay, ay, ay ay,
Dingolay ay, ay, ay..."

RIP Shadow....The legend will live on in music...

Offline Deeks

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #566 on: July 18, 2017, 05:09:28 AM »
If Sugar complaining, you know things that bad.

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #567 on: November 11, 2017, 05:24:08 AM »
Top CAL workers unqualified for jobs.
T&T Guardian Reports.


The Joint Select Committee (JSC) on State Enterprises says although there are several factors contributing to the financial losses of state-owned Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL), it can become a valuable contributor to T&T and its citizens.

Among the challenges for the airline are the frequent changes to its governance leadership since it began operations in 2007. There have been three boards, four chairmen, four CEOs, three acting CEOs, four CFOs and two acting CFOs. In addition, CAL is faced with cash flow inefficiencies due to the financing of a fleet of five ATR aircraft using the company’s cash reserves and from short term cash investment and is operating in an increasingly competitive environment with the entrance of low price competition from Jet Blue and West Jet in key markets.

But according to the JSC, CAL’s human resource focus is skewed towards pilots and management and several positions in its organisational structure are filled by individuals who do not have the required qualifications. There is also the inability to repatriate revenue earned by the airline in Caracas, Venezuela

Adding to CAL's financial burden is the Tobago air bridge fare, which is below commercial market value. The approximately $41 million budgeted for CAL as the subsidy on the air bridge this year does not cover the entire shortfall between the fare charged for flights on the air bridge and the cost of running it, making the route unprofitable.

Among the recommendations from the JSC is that the airline pursue measures to recover money owed by Venezuela and be persistent in following up with the Ministry of Finance for approval of its strategy for resolving issues with fare structuring for the air bridge service.

"CAL should immediately put in place a freeze on any increases in wages and salaries until such time that the operations of the airline is sustainably profitable," the JSC said.

The airline has also been told to fill its CFO and CEO positions and "follow through with plans to conduct a manpower audit to review and readjust the management structures."

Another key recommendation is for the airline to immediately cease international recruitment of foreign pilots.

"Given the many local pilots seeking jobs, a report on how this came to be should be provided to this committee as well as its line ministry," the JSC said.

CAL has also been advised to "urgently conduct a route analysis with a view to a reduction and or elimination of services to some North American destinations where over the past five years there has been an unabated trend of declining passenger numbers and massive financial losses." The JSC said this should be completed within the next three months.

The JSC also wants CAL to commit to refurbishment and modernization of its fleet; find the root cause of the issues with the ATR aircraft; and adopt key recommendations in the Lufthansa reports, which it said will assist the airlines towards achieving profitability by 2018.

« Last Edit: November 11, 2017, 05:26:40 AM by Flex »
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Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #568 on: November 16, 2018, 05:33:34 AM »
CAL lost $260m on UK route—PM
By Khamal Georges (Guardian).


Caribbean Air­lines lost more than a quar­ter of a bil­lion dol­lars fly­ing the Lon­don route be­tween June 2012 and Jan­u­ary 2016, ac­cord­ing to Prime Min­is­ter Dr Kei­th Row­ley.

Row­ley was speak­ing in the Par­lia­ment on Wednes­day on a mo­tion to vest the as­sets of Petrotrin in­to three com­pa­nies which will com­prise the re­struc­tured en­ti­ty.

In re­spond­ing to the Op­po­si­tion’s po­si­tion that it would not have shut down the State-owned re­fin­ery, Row­ley made ref­er­ence to Caribbean Air­lines’ Lon­don route.

“Be­cause we closed the Lon­don route and they knew all about how bad it was, and an in­quiry had to go on, they went back to fly to Lon­don to prove that they were dif­fer­ent,” Row­ley stat­ed.

Ac­cord­ing to the PM, “it didn’t cost them one cent be­cause they all left as mil­lion­aires, but it cost the tax­pay­ers of Trinidad and To­ba­go TT$260 mil­lion.”

Row­ley said in June 2012, two air­craft were ac­quired at a cost of US$4.6m but could not be used be­cause the planes could not be cer­ti­fied.

He says the Boe­ing 767 air­craft that were even­tu­al­ly used on the transat­lantic route cost US$12.1m.

Row­ley chal­lenged Op­po­si­tion Leader Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar to make avail­able the find­ings of the in­ves­ti­ga­tion in­to the sale of this coun­try’s Heathrow slots in 2006.

In March 2011, Per­sad-Bisses­sar an­nounced that her ad­min­is­tra­tion will con­duct a probe in­to the sale of the BWIA ter­mi­nal slots for TT$60m.

“To this day, I have nev­er heard about the out­come of that in­ves­ti­ga­tion,” Row­ley said.

Last month, Caribbean Air­lines re­port­ed its unau­dit­ed fi­nan­cial re­sults for the nine months end­ed Sep­tem­ber 30, 2018, which shows the air­line has moved in­to an op­er­at­ing prof­it and is net in­come pos­i­tive for the year-to-date.

Year-to-date to­tal rev­enues showed a 15 per cent year-on-year im­prove­ment of TT$291m.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #569 on: March 15, 2019, 04:10:00 AM »
CAL ready to scrap Max-8 deal if planes faulty
Imbert orders contingency plan
By Peter Christopher (Guardian).


Caribbean Air­lines will seek le­gal ad­vice con­cern­ing the lease agree­ment it has in place for a batch of Boe­ing 737 Max-8 planes to boost its fleet in De­cem­ber.

Act­ing Prime Min­is­ter Colm Im­bert yes­ter­day said the air­line had been in­struct­ed to re­view its op­tions con­cern­ing the agree­ment giv­en the safe­ty con­cerns raised in the wake of the lat­est air tragedy in­volv­ing one of the planes in Ethiopia re­cent­ly.

"Caribbean Air­lines has been au­tho­rised and in­struct­ed by me to get the best ad­vice in the world with re­spect to these leas­es and al­so to put con­tin­gency arrange­ments in place with the air­craft leas­ing com­pa­nies with re­spect to al­ter­na­tive air­craft in the event that as we get clos­er to De­cem­ber, the FAA de­cides that there is a per­ma­nent prob­lem with the Max-8," Im­bert said dur­ing the post-Cab­i­net me­dia brief­ing.

In a re­lease yes­ter­day, CAL once again clar­i­fied it did not cur­rent­ly have any Boe­ing 737 Max-8s and would not in­tro­duce the plane to its fleet if it did not meet in­ter­na­tion­al stan­dards. CAL had planned to add the Max-8s to its fleet through a lease in De­cem­ber.

The Trinidad and To­ba­go Civ­il Avi­a­tion Au­thor­i­ty is­sued a pro­hi­bi­tion or­der to all op­er­a­tors of Boe­ing 737 Max 8 & 9 air­craft on Wednes­day, hours af­ter the Unit­ed States of­fi­cial­ly ground­ed those air­craft af­ter sev­er­al oth­er coun­tries took sim­i­lar ac­tion.

The ground­ing of the planes glob­al­ly led to scores of pas­sen­gers be­ing strand­ed at the Pi­ar­co In­ter­na­tion­al Air­port on Wednes­day, as Amer­i­can Air­line flights to Mi­a­mi were can­celled. AA used the Max-8 plane to ser­vice that route. Two of the air­line's three dai­ly flights were again can­celled yes­ter­day as a re­sult of the Max-8 ground­ing.

Among the per­sons af­fect­ed by the can­cel­la­tion of the flights was Trinidad and To­ba­go sprint­er Khal­i­fa St Fort, who was due to re­turn to Flori­da yes­ter­day morn­ing.

"I planned to be back in time for school and train­ing to­day (yes­ter­day) but my flight was can­celled and re­booked for Fri­day (to­day) morn­ing. I missed school and I will miss train­ing to­day (yes­ter­day) but it’s okay, they are just fo­cus­ing on safe­ty," St Fort told Guardian Me­dia.

While many pas­sen­gers who were turned back at the de­par­ture gate on Wednes­day ex­pressed frus­tra­tion at the lack of in­for­ma­tion ini­tial­ly avail­able from AA, St Fort said the air­line up­dat­ed her about the sit­u­a­tion prompt­ly.

"They were very in­for­ma­tive. They let me know that my flight (was) can­celled via email at 5.30 pm (Wednes­day), which gave me ad­e­quate time to make arrange­ments. They al­so sent the next avail­able flight as soon as it was avail­able," she said.

The air­line's 3.25 pm flight to Mi­a­mi was able to go ahead as sched­uled, as the Air­line used a 737-800 to con­duct the trip.

"Clear­ly, they val­ue the Trinidad busi­ness and the Trinidad leg of their flight op­er­a­tions, they very quick­ly sub­sti­tut­ed an air­craft. They're now us­ing the same air­craft that Caribbean Air­lines us­es," Im­bert at yes­ter­day's post-Cab­i­net brief­ing.

Min­is­ter of Works and Trans­port al­so said the air­line gave the as­sur­ance that they would be back to reg­u­lar ser­vice by the week­end.

"Amer­i­can Air­lines have con­firmed to us this morn­ing that they are go­ing to op­er­ate two flights to­day (yes­ter­day) and to­mor­row (to­day) and their ser­vice should come back to nor­mal by Sun­day," said Sinanan, who said per­sons af­fect­ed by the ground­ed flights on Wednes­day were al­so ac­com­mo­dat­ed by Caribbean Air­lines and Jet­blue.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

 

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