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Author Topic: Caribbean/BWIA Airlines Thread.  (Read 138982 times)

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Offline Jah Gol

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #480 on: May 12, 2013, 07:49:46 AM »
diaz what does happen when yuh put what essentially ah parlour man ah airline to run......
this

Offline Jah Gol

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #481 on: May 12, 2013, 07:58:09 AM »
What i don't understand is that since the Lok Jack board was terminated with a reported positive ledger balance, how could things degenerate to this level now?

This is a national tragedy, such a potential rich initiative now pretty much back to the 90s style BWEE mantra
You have to make a series of bad decisions for literally years to end up in that position. I can't believe I'm going to say this but Warner was probably right about this one.

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #482 on: May 12, 2013, 08:34:47 AM »
Mohan Jaikaran is a con-man living in NY. We have plenty of them in NY, queens. Ahmad Realty is another one.

These indian businessmen think they smarter than everybody. They roam the streets of Liberty Avenue trying to con they own people.

Read some of my reviews on yelp.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ahmad-realty-ozone-park



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

Offline weary1969

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #483 on: May 12, 2013, 04:17:25 PM »
diaz what does happen when yuh give what essentially is ah parlour man ah airline to run......




We give d country over to be run like a parlour. So C.A. must b run like a parlour.
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #484 on: May 13, 2013, 04:22:56 AM »
CAL on auto pilot
Staff query who’s in charge at national airline as losses multiply
By Asha Javeed (Express)


Yesterday, the Sunday Express reported on the millon-dollar write-off at national carrier Caribbean Airlines (CAL) in the midst of the company’s financial turbulence.

Part 2 today considers whether CAL is being run in the best interest of its shareholders, the governments of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, by the people appointed to manage it.

It’s the question being asked by the company’s staff in the face of mounting million-dollar losses and a potential $200 million write-off on cargo revenues and possible credit card fraud.

Several executives have raised concern about the degree to which the company is being mirco-managed by its board, aided by management officials and the negative impact certain decisions have had on the company’s bottom line, contributing to lack of profitability.

While the CAL board has fiduciary responsibility, the airline’s top management has a responsibility to operate in the best interest of the airline, the Express was told.

Some executives have questioned whether the airline is carrying out its responsibility to its shareholder, the Government, or whether it is carrying out the ruling People’s Partnership’s agenda.

For instance, when CAL was first launched, it was a leaner, cost-efficient operation that had replaced the debt-riddled BWIA.

But the six-year-old company now resembles its predecessor, from taking on old, abandoned routes such as London, to adding new ones without a view to profitability.

This, the Express understands, has put CAL in the red with its financial statements for 2010, 2011 and 2012, in stark contract to its break-even position achieved in 2008.

Apart from millions in losses that CAL will have to write off, the State carrier has lost millions more in questionable decisions which were the collective responsibility of the board and the company’s senior management.

Among those decisions are the cash payment for CAL’s ATR aircraft; the integration of Air Jamaica’s operations; the wet leasing of aircraft due to delays experienced in the start-up of CAL’s London route; and the company’s response to competition.

These decisions were taken at the board level with top management who sat in on board meetings.

The Express understands that the board and management approved the last-minute “wet-leasing” of aircraft at high prices to fly routes and to fly more frequently.

It has cost the company close to US$31 million in 2012.
“No other options such as lease by the hour or re-routing flights or cancelling flights were even considered,” one executive told the Express.

The Express learnt that CAL’s board has now mandated its management “they will not support any wet-leasing going forward unless it is critical”.

“Management is now forced to come up with ways to operate without these expensive wet leases. Staff in CAL are now confused why this was not done before by management instead of using the most expensive option,” the source explained.

With regard to Air Jamaica operations, the acquisition of the airline’s routes was costly to the company.

“There were no plans to build upon and improve these routes, to grow this brand which has very strong nationalistic appeal.

Instead, management let it die a slow painful death which is now causing growing rifts,” said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But the investment which set the company back financially was the cash purchase of five ATR aircraft.

The Express understands that ATR has offered CAL an operating lease agreement, which is similar to what CAL has with its other airline manufacturer, Boeing, but that no such recommendation was made to the board and it was not explored by CAL’s management.

Instead, after Cabinet approved the acquisition of the aircraft, the company used its cash in hand to make the purchase.

“With no financing arrangement secured by management mere weeks before delivery of the aircraft, the last option to purchase using cash was approved by the board, which many believe has been and continues to be unfairly blamed as the former chairman’s (George Nicholas III) directive and which threw the company into cash flow chaos,” a senior executive stated.

It has cost the company US$116 million.

Another bad decision was CAL’s pricing strategy to stave off competition which led to it running major losses.

“Management kept these low prices even after the competition left. Why didn’t they give the competition the low end of the market?

“They used the easy approach of price warring and then kept prices low after,” the executive observed.

CAL had introduced new flights to compete against Barbadian low-cost carrier RedJet, but then uncompetitively left these flights with low loads even after RedJet discontinued service.

Several CAL executives are seeking to distance themselves from the decisions which have led to the present state of affairs.

One pointed out that it was difficult for an executive to challenge the decision of a board because many were concerned about job security.

The Express was unable to get chief executive Robert Corbie to comment on the issues, but current acting CEO Captain Jagmohan Singh stated that CAL’s transformation plan was in effect to fix these issues and the company was aiming to be at break-even by the end of 2013.

Cognizant not to compromise the company’s strategy, Singh said CAL has rolled out several projects, including managing air fares more aggressively on all routes; route and fleet optimisation; cost cutting throughout the organisation aimed at removing close to US$55 million in costs involving the Jamaica operations; wet leasing strategy; and catering.

When pressed further on the losses and leaks at CAL, Singh indicated that it has always been CAL’s intention to be a profitable organisation and plans are now in place to do so.

Singh also stressed that if the taxpayers of Trinidad and Tobago are being called on to fund CAL’s past losses, the company will now need to be fully transparent going forward on what it is doing.

After publication of CAL’s financial state in a Sunday Express exclusive, the Express learnt that its chief financial officer Shiva Ramnarine presented CAL’s transformation plan to Ministry of Finance representatives, foreign suppliers, bankers and employees to appease its vendors and to be transparent.

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 #485 on: May 14, 2013, 03:46:35 AM »
DON’T BLAME ME
Former CAL chairman files claim in court on role in airline’s performance
By Asha Javeed (Express).


Former controversial Caribbean Airlines (CAL) chairman George Nicholas says he’s not to blame for the company’s present financial state.

The six-year-old airline, of which Nicholas was the chairman for 16 months, has been in the red for the past three years and has suffered millions in losses and write-offs during the same period.

Nicholas’s response was in a statement of case he filed in the High Court against publisher Maxie Cuffie, for a column Cuffie wrote in the Trinidad Guardian on April 21, 2013 titled “CAL Heads for Another Crash”.

Cuffie’s column had followed a Sunday Express exclusive that CAL had an accumulated debt of $1.4 billion and was seeking a loan to stem its debt.

Nicholas took offence at Cuffie’s statement that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had appointed him (George) as chairman, “someone with no significant track record other than employment in the family firm, but stuck with him when from the outset, George Nicholas 111 proved himself manifestly unequal to the task. The absence of aptitude for the job was demonstrated in public spats with the Ministers of Finance (then Winston Dookeran) and Works and Transport (then Jack Warner) whose opinions were ignored as the PM continued to show favour to the neophyte chairman”.

In his statement of case, Nicholas claimed Cuffie ignored the accomplishments of CAL under his chairmanship.

From November 2010 to April 2012, the period during which CAL was under Nicholas’ tenure, he identified his achievements as:

1. Growing the company from circa $600 million to $3.4 billion within 16 months—this notwithstanding having the fuel hedge retroactively increased by 50 per cent by Cabinet in or about November 2011 after billions of tickets were sold premised on the unadjusted subsidy.

2. Crisis management of an aircraft incident in Guyana. (In July 2011, CAL’s flight BW 523 crash landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Timehri, Guyana, and the aircraft split into two. All 163 passengers survived.)

3. Winning the best airline in the region for two years—2011 and 2012—beating over 40 competitors.

4. Making CAL the State’s second largest revenue earner.

5. Acquiring two fleets of aircraft (ATR and 767-300s and 8 737-800 aircraft).

6. Reacquiring the London to Port of Spain route.

Nicholas stated Cuffie “ignored the recently published reports of the financial and investment successes of the publicly listed company Mora Ven Holdings Ltd of which the claimant (George) is the executive chairman. Mora Ven Holdings Ltd registered a 90 per cent increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2013 and over 500 per cent increase in profit before tax; its Solaris Renewable Energy division formed in 2010 is now present in ten countries and has active interest in Africa.”

He stated Cuffie’s column “was written in such a manner as to present the current financial situation of CAL as entirely attributable to the claimant, whereas in fact and in truth such is entirely false”.

The former chairman, in his statement of case filed by Lionel Luckhoo in the civil court on May 7, 2013, included his resume to substantiate the quality of his character and business acumen. His lists CAL in his professional background (November 3, 2010 to date) and itemises his success as:

1. Significant revenue growth in a competitive market place, year on year.

2. System wide service upgrades.

3. Air Jamaica merger and that brand’s profitable turnaround and on time record.

4. Produced a strong EBITADA result for the first three months.

5. An eight-digit improvement in net results for the first three months.

6.  Motivating 1,860 employees in 18 destinations through a nimble management structure.

Nicholas resigned from the cash-strapped national carrier in April 2012 over what he said were statements about his performance by his then line authority, Transport Minister Devant Maharaj.

He ended his tenure at CAL via letter to corporation sole, then finance minster Winston Dookeran. He was swiftly replaced by Rabindra Moonan.

The former chairman has not commented on the airline’s activities except to lash out at Dookeran after he revealed CAL’s unhealthy financial state in Parliament last May. He said  Dookeran “had failed his people”.

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 #486 on: May 14, 2013, 03:51:18 AM »
CARICOM HEADS VEX OVER CAL.
T&T Guardian Reports.


Shareholder governments of the regional airline Liat say the T&T Government’s subsidy to State-owned Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is a violation of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas that governs Caricom. Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, speaking at the end of a shareholders’ meeting of Liat in Barbados, said the subsidy to CAL also violated the Common Air Services Agreement among Caricom member countries and had resulted in substantial losses to Liat. Gonsalves plans to raise these issues with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar when he comes to Port-of-Spain later this month for a meeting between regional leaders and US Vice President Joe Biden.

He said: “You take the period 2008 to 2012, because we have the data. Liat expended on fuel US$106.1 million in that five-year period but if we were to get the price that CAL paid, we would have spent US $43.64 million. “In other words, we have spent US$62.4 million on the fuel bill over this period more than we would have spent if we got the subsidy similar to CAL.” Gonsalves said Liat paid an average US$127 for a barrel of jet fuel over the five-year period, while CAL paid an average price of US$53. “That is on the fuel-subsidy side. It is estimated by the management that during that five-year period we lost 78, 000 passengers to CAL because of their subsidy, and the revenues which we would have lost as a result of that unfair competition would have been US$10.2 million,” he said.

But Gonsalves, who chairs Liat’s shareholder governments, said they had no intention of picking a fight with the Government of T&T. “This is a serious matter, so we have the facts on our side and we have the law on our side but we don’t want to fight T&T. We won’t want to get into any confrontation with them, but we have to have a sensible discussion on this matter,” he said. The Liat shareholder governments are Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados. The shareholders’ meeting also examined proposals to strengthen co-operation between Liat and CAL, with airline officials indicating they are not contemplating a merger but seeking practical areas of co-operation.

LIAT chairman Dr Jean Holder said there have been several unsuccessful attempts in the past to create a nexus between the carriers, but  it was  time they returned to the drawingboard, given the competitive nature of the airline business. “You don’t wait until you have a situation—Air Jamaica as it is about to fall out of the sky, as it were, through bankruptcy. That is not a strategic merger. You are merging just to save the Jamaican brand—and even now we are concerned about whether that is working or not. “While LIAT and CAL are still flying we need to sit down and say what is the best route to go for us to create air services for the region. That should be the goal: how do you create excellent air services so that our tourism industry flourishes? And I think it can be done. But we must drop some of the idea that somebody needs to be in charge of somebody else,” Holder said.

LIAT has also announced that it is holding discussions with the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to secure a long-term commercial loan to fund its re-fleeting exercise. CEO Captain Ian Brunton said the re-fleeting exercise was estimated at US$100 million and LIAT was seeking to borrow between US$60 and US$70 million from the regional bank. “We are going through a process of engaging the CDB to explore a long-term commercial loan. The CDB, of course, has been long-term traditional partners with LIAT and with this entire region, so they are our preferred lender, obviously, if it is possible. “We are in the discussion stages and in the due-diligence stages and so nothing is concrete yet, but it will be the preferred option for us, and I am sure that the CDB wants to assist LIAT too,” Brunton said.

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

Offline Deeks

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #487 on: May 14, 2013, 04:50:20 PM »
It is all about the luck of the draw in life. The northerners have all the nice beaches!!!! TT has oil and gas ..... for now.   location, location, location!!!!

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #488 on: May 15, 2013, 02:39:22 AM »
$704m LOSS FOR CAL
Finance Minister reveals state of national airline in 2012
By Ria Taitt Political Editor


Caribbean Airlines (CAL) lost US$70 million last year.

And if the fuel subsidy is added, the total loss would be US$110 milli­on ($704 million), Finance Minister Larry Howai conceded yesterday.

However, he said the airline remains solvent.

Howai yesterday faced a barrage of questions on the State-owned airline. And People’s National Movement (PNM) Senator Lester Henry said he was “astounded that the minister could describe as solvent a company which cannot cover its costs and no money in the bank’.

Howai replied that the company may be cash-strapped but it had assets.

“Perhaps the decisions made in respect of how those assets would be leveraged and what kind of leveraging you have for the balance sheet were not addressed perhaps in the way that others might have done,” the minister said.

He said the “preliminary” unaudi­ted” figures showed US$32 million of the $70 million loss was incurred by the Air Jamaica route, and another major part of the loss was also incurred on the London route.

“On the Jamaica route, it has cut flights to Jamaica and on the London route, it has terminated the wet-leasing arrangement. He said he expec­ted to “significantly reduce the losses of the airline during this year”.

He said the airline used a lot of its cash in the acquisition of planes. He said he had instructed that a new restructuring of the balance sheet be done where the airline would have to borrow and replace the cash which had previously been used. “It is better to leverage the asset rather than leave it unencumbered while having the company incurring significant debt obligations.”

On the issue of CAL vice-chairman Mohan Jaikaran issuing instructions for 19 complimentary tickets to be approved for a Mother’s Day function in Toronto, Canada, in which he is a promoter, as well as his instructions to upgrade persons from economy to first-class, Howai said he had asked for and received a report.

“But when we went through it, there were a number of questions which the Ministry of Finance had that we have asked for further clarification on before I take anything to Cabinet.

“When I left earlier today, they (Ministry of Finance) had not yet received all the information required.... I expect that by tomorrow, I would have the additional information I need...to facilitate a discussion on the matter on Thursday at Cabinet,” he said.

He said one contention put forward by Caribbean Airlines was that it was normal practice, predating this board. He said CAL said this was an arrangement for marketing of the airline and the arrangement was that part of the cost would have been picked up by the company itself and part by the marketing people. They have submitted some documentation to support that, but there were additional questions.

Asked whether there is a clear con­flict of interest between Jaika­ran’s position on the board and the de­gree to which CAL has been supporting many of the ventures which involve his companies, Howai said Jaikaran has a company which perhaps did work for CAL even before he became vice-chairman of the board.

“But there is a concern that we do have—where a director is getting a contract from the company; our expectation is that the director is not involved in any way in the discussion or decision concerning the matter and that the board of directors would be the appropriate body to approve such an arrangement...the director himself being excused from the deliberations of the board. These are some things that we are trying to get clarification on—was this decision taken by the board? “

The board, in approving this arrangement, must be satisfied that it is getting value that is defensible and easily explained to the population at large, Howai stated.

“Yes, you have a company and you can’t be expected to stop the business of your company. You are on board. Your company does business with Ca­ribbean Airlines. If there is going to be an approval of any such undertakings, then it should take place in a particular kind of way.

“That protocol is that it must be approved at the highest level of the company, which is the board, and the director (Jaikaran) should not be involved in any of the deliberations.

“Because it seems, and that is subject to correction...that the director may have liaised directly with the management. And it would have perhaps created some degree of discomfort somewhere along the line”, he said.

Asked whether Jaikaran should be on the board, given the potential of conflict of interest situations, How­ai said when he gets all the data, the ministry would come to a conclusion on that and present its findings and recommendations to Cabinet.

Asked whether any jobs were on the line, he said: “Like I said, we would go to Cabinet and let the decision be made. I don’t want to pre-empt Cabinet.”

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Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #489 on: May 15, 2013, 02:40:25 AM »
Rowley: Air Jamaica bleeding T&T ‘like a chop neck’
By Ria Taitt Political Editor


Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday Air Jamaica was bleeding Trinidad and Tobago “like a chop neck”.

“Right now nobody knows what the Minister of Finance is doing by bankrolling CAL. All he is doing is giving them permission to go and borrow money short term. As of now we don’t know how much money they have borrowed and they writing off $200 million and the CAL board is having a generally good time as you see in the behaviour of  (vice chairman) Mohan Jaikaran,” Rowley said.

He said the airline was now “absolutely bankrupt”.

Rowley who recalled that he had always opposed the Air Jamaica/Caribbean Airlines merger, said as a backbencher in the last PNM administration, he took strong objection to that Government buying into Air Jamaica and had warned that it could come to no good.

He was responding to a Sunday Express exclusive story which disclosed that CAL was facing a potential $200 million write-off, after having already been given a $100 million write-off.

 He said it was after serious investigation and study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that that international body had advised Jamaica to get rid of its airline. 

“Jamaica needs Air Jamaica more than we do, and if the IMF could have told Jamaica to get rid of that expense, what in God’s name was Trinidad and Tobago Government doing taking up that airline?” he asked.

Rowley said despite his persistent objections, this People’s Partnership Government came into office and proceeded to buy Air Jamaica.

Rowley said when he raised issues about what was happening in CAL in the last no-confidence motion last year, not a single Government spokesperson responded to anything he said about CAL.

“Look at what is happening in CAL today. Imagine you are running a jet airline with multi aircraft going to international areas and you take the cash flow, the working capital for the country, and go and buy jet prop aircraft to go and fly to Tobago, Grenada and Barbados. You have to be crazy,” he said. He said nobody buys planes today as everyone is into lease arrangements.

Noting that the last chairman, Arthur Lok Jack, had stated that the previous board had left over $100 million in CAL’s account, Rowley said: “Today they are borrowing $40 million by the piece. $40 and $50 million, paying high interest rates for short-term borrowing to keep the airline afloat, while the Minister of Finance is absolutely silent.”

He also noted that the situation with CAL was now compounded by the legal issue because St Vincent is prepared to push the matter of Trinidad and Tobago being in breach of the Caricom treaty by subsidising CAL  and not subsidising anybody else (ie LIAT) with whom CAL is competing in the region.

He said if this matter goes to the Caribbean Court of Justice, this country would not have a leg to stand on “because we are subsidising an airline which is competing with other airlines in the region who are not part of the subsidy”.

He said the law (revised Treaty of Chaguaramas) requires that the country either stops the subsidy or makes it available to the other regional airline.

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 #490 on: May 17, 2013, 02:44:40 AM »
CAL board's wings clipped
T&T Guardian.


The wings of Caribbean Airlines’ board have been “clipped” and a new board is on the horizon, expected to be announced shortly, government officials said yesterday. The development is now in the works after yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, they added. The new board is tipped to include certain business and professional people. However, former BWIA CEO Conrad Aleong is not among them, a source said. The first CAL board appointed by the People’s Partnership (PP) administration in 2010 was headed by George Nicholas III, who resigned in April 2012. He was swiftly replaced by current chairman Rabindra Moonan.

In 2011, board members Allan Clovis and Susan Smith were also dropped from the board. Smith was replaced by an Air Jamaica (AJ) representative. The current board listed on CAL’s Web site comprises the rest of the original board, including Mohan Jaikaran (vice-chairman), Gizelle Russell, Avedanand Persad, Venosh Sagewan-Maraj and Dennis Lalor. CAL was expected to be the focus of discussion at a certain Cabinet level yesterday, after Finance Minister Larry Howai’s stance on the recent incident in which a senior CAL executive reportedly requested 19 complimentary tickets for friends to attend Mother’s Day concerts in New York and Toronto. The request, which raised concerns among CAL management and staff, was allegedly made by Jaikaran, also a co-promoter of the concert event, and was reported exclusively in the T&T Guardian last week.

On Tuesday, Howai expressed deep concern about the way the matter was handled. He had said CAL board directors should not be involved in any deliberations where a company of theirs is doing business with the state-owned company.

The impending removal of the board also comes as CAL attempts to restructure its way  with new initiatives out of an $800 million loss for 2012, and amid complaints by Caricom neighbours of preferential treatment for the airline by  the Government. At yesterday’s post-cabinet media briefing, Communications Minister Jamal Mohammed said discussions on CAL did not arise at yesterday’s session. However, after the meeting, Government officials confirmed to the Trinidad Guardian that the CAL issue had been concluded, the current board was on its way out and a new board was overhead.

They said Howai is expected to meet today with the outgoing board and incoming board. They said he would then make a comprehensive statement on the situation at a press conference today or tomorrow. A senior official explained that the CAL’s board was perceived as “weak” and had not come up to scratch in terms of technical competence or experience for the airline industry. The board members, the official said, would “by now have expected” to be replaced, since the board largely comprises people who were appointed in 2010 and their term would have been up “by now anyway.”  Around 5.30 pm yesterday, letters were being drafted for the new board members.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a Government source said, is expected to peruse the situation and have final say before the expected news conference. A special emergency Cabinet meeting will also have to be held before the announcement, since the board has to be officially appointed by Cabinet, officials said. Arrangements were being made to try to fit everything in with today’s Parliament session. Other sources said efforts may be made to place outgoing CAL board members in other positions. On Tuesday, Howai had commented on the CAL board’s handling of the complimentary ticket issue. Describing the issue as one of governance, Howai said he had received a report which he had requested from CAL on the matter. He said CAL’s report had contended that the procedure which took place with the tickets was previously used in a marketing arrangement for the airline and documentation was provided to support this. But Howai said the ministry had additional questions on this and sought further clarification “to get answers” before proceeding “with a position to Cabinet.”

Howai had expected the additional information by yesterday, and to raise the matter at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. He said there was the concern that despite Jaikaran had a company that was doing business with CAL, a director was not expected to be involved in any way in discussions concerning their business aspect. Howai said it was expected the director would be excused from board deliberations in such situations. Howai had said his ministry had tried to find out if this was done in the current issue, since that information was not included in the document which he received. He had said there ought to have been “some protocol” by which such issues were handled.  Howai said it seemed the director may have liaised directly with the management in the current issue. In fact, reliable sources had told the T&T Guardian that acting CEO Robert Corbie objected to the number of airline tickets, said to be worth more than US$20,000, requested, but was pressured to approve the request.

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

Offline weary1969

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #491 on: May 17, 2013, 11:42:26 AM »
Ah hear on the news new interim board install.
Today you're the dog, tomorrow you're the hydrant - so be good to others - it comes back!"

Offline grimm01

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #492 on: May 17, 2013, 01:38:24 PM »
Ah hear on the news new interim board install.

Steups they go and replace a board that had nobody with airline industry experience with another board that have nobody with airline industry experience. At the very least they couldn't find someone with experience in corporate restructuring/turning around distressed companies to provide advice to the management?

The new board consists of three public servants (one is a lawyer), a HR professional (whatever that is), and a consultant (former Finance exec.) and the Jamaican is an insurance exec.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2013, 01:40:25 PM by grimm01 »

Offline Flex

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #493 on: May 19, 2013, 06:33:43 AM »
ONE DOWN AT CAL
Howai fires new director at State airline
By Asha Javeed (Express).


One day after he was appointed to the Caribbean Airlines (CAL) board on Friday, the appointment of Courtney McNish has been revoked by Finance Minister Larry Howai.

The Express reported yesterday that McNish was previously employed at CAL as vice president of Human Resources in 2008, but was fired from the company in 2009. In a statement yesterday, Howai said he had withdrawn McNish from the interim CAL board chaired by former senator Philip Marshall.

“Immediately as information about Mr McNish’s previous tenure at CAL came to light, I acted to withdraw his name on Friday afternoon as I have every intention of ensuring that the board has the full confidence and faith of all stakeholders and is focused on achieving its very clear mandate,” said Howai.

On Friday, Howai accepted full responsibility for the massive million-dollar losses racked up the national airline.

The Express was told that Howai did not seek Cabinet’s approval to change the board but did so himself.

McNish was one of five members appointed to the CAL board to replace the dismissed board chaired by Rabindra Moonan last Friday.

The Express was informed that McNish’s employment with the airline came to an end following a janitorial contract awarded by CAL to a company in which he was a major shareholder.

Contacted for comment yesterday, McNish who is also president of the National Basketball Federation of Trinidad and Tobago, argued that he was never appointed to the CAL board as he never received any instrument of appointment.

But he confirmed that he was present at the meeting in which the Minister asked him and the other members—Marshall, Vishnu Dhanpaul,  Indira Ramkissoon, Patricia Kong-Ting and Jamaican businessman Denis Lalor—to be part of the interim board.

On Friday, Howai had officially announced McNish as one of the members of the interim CAL board.

McNish yesterday told the Express that he had made his previous employment history at CAL known to the other incoming members and while he had reservations sitting on a public board he was persuaded to be part of the new composition because of his love for the airline.

He said he spoke with Howai yesterday morning and it was a “mutual agreement” to not go forward with the appointment given his previous tenure at the airline.

“It was a very amicable discussion. It was a good decision,” he said.

Employees at CAL had indicated their concern to the Sunday Express when McNish was selected to the board.
For his part, McNish maintained that he had a one-year employment contract at CAL and he left the company after the contract expired in July 2009.

He told the Sunday Express that the then Arthur Lok Jack board had already begun discussions with Air Jamaica (AJ) for the acquisition of its routes and they had already identified a vice president of Human Resources from AJ to take over so he departed the organisation.
“I didn’t necessarily want to continue,” he said.

 The Shareholders Agreement with AJ was signed in May 2010 and the deal was finalised in June 2011.
Meanwhile, the Sunday Express understands that employee morale is at a low.

Howai has given the interim board a three-month deadline to diagnose the company’s issues and chart a way forward.

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 #494 on: October 05, 2013, 02:01:57 AM »
US blanks Caribbean Airlines…
By Vernon Khelawan (Newsday).
Saturday, October 5 2013


The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has blanked Caribbean Airlines in its request to fly non-stop from Georgetown to New York. The same applies to Fly Jamaica’s application to operate a similar service.

An order signed by Paul Gretch, director, Office of International Aviation of the DOT, and dated September 30, stated both carriers had not provided “ compelling evidence” that doing so would be in the public interest.

What this in effect means is that in both instances the carriers would have to access JFK International, New York, through Port-of-Spain in the case of Caribbean Airlines and Kingston in the case of Fly Jamaica, as they now do. It also means Guyanese passengers would have to continue with their layover at Piarco International and at Norman Manley International if Fly Jamaica is the carrier.

The order stated, “In light of these existing Georgetown-New York services and the lack of a showing by the applicants on the record that there is a truly demonstrable need for additional Georgetown-New York services, we are unable to find that the CAL and Fly Jamaica seventh freedom turnaround proposals satisfy our public interest test for the type of extraordinary authority at issue.”

A window of seven days from the date of the order has been given within which petitions to review this action, can be submitted, but it added, “This action is effective immediately and the filing of a petition for review will not alter the effectiveness.” Efforts to reach acting Chief Executive Officer at CAL, Captain Jagmohan Singh yesterday as to whether or not CAL planned to file for a review were futile.

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #495 on: October 05, 2013, 09:30:49 PM »
Trinidad Express
Vision Airlines to begin service to and from T&T
Story Updated: Oct 4, 2013

Amral’s Travel has announced that TravelSpan Vacations and Vision Airlines have been granted approval by the Government and the United States Department of Transportation to begin nonstop services to and from Trinidad, New York and Guyana, using a wide-body Boeing 767 aircraft from December.

Amral’s Travel and TravelSpan have been serving these markets for over 47 years, the company said in a statement.

Vision Airlines brings over 20 years of aviation expertise, along with a fleet of three 767s, three 737s and several Dornier 328 aircraft, the company said.

The proposed flights will depart Piarco International Airport for New York on Tuesdays and Fridays, with additional flights for the peak season.

Schedule and fares are currently available either on-line at www.amralstravel.com or by calling any Amral’s Travel office.

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #496 on: October 05, 2013, 09:31:34 PM »

The return of the charter flights. Come bring something to Miami.

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Pilots' sickout affects all Caribbean Airlines flights
« Reply #497 on: July 01, 2014, 10:57:15 PM »
Pilots' sickout affects all Caribbean Airlines flights
Passengers advised to consult company website for flight updates

Published: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 (T&T Guardian)


Scores of passengers seeking to leave the country for business, vacation and other reasons have been affected by an apparent sickout by Caribbean Airlines pilots, which has resulted in all its flights for today being grounded.

In a release, the company said all of its international and domestic flights scheduled for today would be affected, as many of its pilots who were rostered to operate flights had called in sick.

The Guardian understands some 24 pilots called in sick yesterday.
Despite the sickout, the airline said it would do everything to minimise delays.

CAL asked all passengers to confirm their flight times with the Flight Status Tool on the Web site at www.caribbean-airlines.com before arriving at the airport to avoid any potential further inconvenience.

In an internal release to all staff, CEO Michael DiLollo said the company was “naturally concerned firstly for the health and welfare” of its pilot body, since this was an unprecedented occurrence.

“This unfortunate situation has disrupted our scheduled services at the beginning of our critical summer season, during which we count most on our operational crews to demonstrate reliability and service for our loyal customers.”

DiLollo also expressed concern about the potential negative impact of the disruptions to passengers who had committed hard-earned savings to enjoying this time together.

“To disappoint them will surely be a serious breach of our unspoken contract with them, a betrayal far deeper than even our legal commitment to provide the promised service.”

The release said while the management and the pilots’ recognised majority union, the T&T Pilots Association (TTALPA), have been in communication, Caribbean Airlines was disappointed by the action of the pilots.

“Caribbean Airlines will continue to urge further open and frank discussion in good faith with TTALPA while exploring all options available,” it said.
« Last Edit: July 01, 2014, 11:05:54 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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STRANDED: Dozens of flights cancelled as CAL pilots stage sick-out
« Reply #498 on: July 01, 2014, 11:03:14 PM »
STRANDED
Dozens of flights cancelled as CAL pilots stage sick-out

By Port of Spain Carla Bridglal carla.bridglal@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Jul 1, 2014 at 9:43 PM ECT (T&T Express)


Travellers on State-owned airline Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) were yesterday left stranded across the hemisphere as almost 20 pilots who were rostered to operate flights called in sick.

In a release yesterday, the airline said all its inter­national and domestic flights would be affected.

Most of the pilots parti­cipating in the “sick-out” action belong to the majo­rity recognised pilots’ union, Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots’ Association (TALPA).

Sources told the Express the situ­a­tion was developing since late Monday night. The tensions culmi­nated in most of CAL’s flights to and from New York (USA), Toronto (Canada), Guyana, Suriname, seve­ral Caribbean islands and the Tobago air bridge being either delayed or cancelled.

The flight schedule for Piarco International Airport listed on the Airports Authority (AATT) website as 38 CAL flights down to arrive yesterday, but 18 were listed as cancelled. Forty-one were scheduled to depart, but 20 of those were cancelled. The majority of flights affected were on the T&T air bridge where out of 42 flights between the islands, 24 were cancelled.

As of 3.21 p.m., the Express was told all flights on the air bridge were grounded, with no idea when they would take off.

In its release yesterday, the airline’s newly appoin­ted chief executive officer, Michael DiLollo, said the company was “naturally concerned for the health and welfare” of its pilots since the incident was “unprecedented”.

“This unfortunate situation has disrupted our scheduled services at the beginning of our critical summer season, during which we count most on operational crews to demonstrate reliability and service to our loyal customers,” he said.

He noted the potential negative impact of the disruption, especially since families had chosen this time to travel and committed hard-earned savings to enjoying this time together.

“To disappoint them will surely be a serious breach of our unspokencontract with them, a betrayal far deeper than even our legal commitment to provide the promised service,” he continued.

CAL said it had been “in commu­nication” with TALPA but it was disappointed with the action of the pilots. The airline added however it will continue to “urge open and frank discussion in good faith while exploring all options available”.

When the Express contacted CAL’s communications director, Clint Williams, he said he could not say more on the situation than the release had stated. He also advised passengers to confirm their flights online at www.caribbean-airlines.com before going to the airport.

CAL’s line minister, Finance Minister Larry Howai, directed questi­ons about the situation to the airline’s chairman, Phillip Marshall, but he did not return telephone requests for comments.

The Express tried repeatedly to speak with a representative of TAL­PA but was told the executive members were “in a meeting” and will issue a statement “soon”. Up to press time last night, none had been given. The Express was told however that DiLollo and TALPA president Capt David Pereira met yesterday.

One pilot, who did not give his name, said he and his colleagues felt they were overworked as a result of the airline’s refusal to hire new pilots. As such, the present staff have been overworked for far too long and their remuneration packages were not up to par.
 
Displaced passengers at Piarco express frustration
 
The Express visited Piarco International Airport to see how the affected passengers were faring but for the most part, there wasn’t much chaos, just a general feeling of frustration and resignation.

Most were reluctant to give interviews but Gillian, who was booked to fly to St Lucia, said while she was advised by counter staff that there were no more flights until Friday, they were “very helpful”, redirecting her to another airline, United, heading to her destination.

The same happened to Irvin, a St Lucian working in Trinidad, heading home on holiday. He couldn’t get a flight on CAL but the counter staff tried to get him on to British Airways instead.

Displaced passengers between Trinidad and Tobago resorted to the interisland ferry as a last-ditch attempt to get to the other side, resulting in sold-out trips, several stand-by passengers and large crowds gathered at the ferry terminals at both the Ports of Port of Spain and Scarborough.
« Last Edit: July 01, 2014, 11:12:39 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #499 on: July 22, 2014, 02:04:54 AM »
London calls for separate airline to operate Tobago airbridge
By Anna Ramdass (Express).


FLY OUT, CAL

There should be a separate airline to service the Trinidad to Tobago airbridge.

Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Orville London has requested that Finance Minister Larry Howai look into delinking of the Trinidad to Tobago airbridge from Caribbean Airlines (CAL).

However, Minister in the Ministry of Finance Vasant Bharath says the current route is heavily subsidised and a separate airline through the private sector would result in increased airfares.

London met with Howai last week to discuss the upcoming 2015 national budget.

According to a release from the THA yesterday, London stated the use of a separate airline could bring better management to the Trinidad to Tobago route.

“We are asking Caribbean Airlines to make a profit but on the other hand we are accepting the fact that the Trinidad to Tobago airbridge has to be subsidised. We are saying this situation is untenable, it is unworkable and it will create problems for the central government and, of course, the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” stated London.

“Our strong recommendation is that we return to a more efficient arrangement which would entail that we have a separate airline running the bridge between Trinidad and Tobago where we could deal with all the nuances. We could determine what level of subsidy, we could determine what is the best type of airplane and we can ensure it achieves the objective with respect to bringing people between the two islands,” he added,

London stated the THA was convinced that if there was an efficient airbridge there would be tens of millions worth in benefit to the tourism sector.

He added he was heartened by Howai’s response as well as by the response of Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz, whom he met earlier this month and was looking forward to a statement on the matter in this year’s budget.

Cadiz said CAL no longer falls under his ministry and is now under the purview of the Finance Ministry.

However, he said the Finance Minister would have to look at the suggestion and determine if it is feasible.

He said CAL is being asked to make a profit or break even and at the same time they operate the very heavily subsidised Trinidad to Tobago airbridge.

TOURISM MINISTER: CHARGE PASSENGERS FOR UNUSED RESERVATIONS:

Contacted for comment yesterday, Tourism Minister Gerald Hadeed said there should be some action in dealing with the current booking system used by CAL.

He pointed out that people make reservations and block seats and don’t utilise them. He said in this way the flights always appear full but when one goes to the airport there is availability.

Hadeed said travellers should be charged $400 for reserving earlier and confirming their seat and $300 if they go straight to the airport and purchase from the counter.

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 #500 on: July 22, 2014, 06:55:54 AM »
Hoovercraft from Toco to Tobago.

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #501 on: July 22, 2014, 01:45:07 PM »
Mohan Jaikaran is a con-man living in NY. We have plenty of them in NY, queens. Ahmad Realty is another one.

These indian businessmen think they smarter than everybody. They roam the streets of Liberty Avenue trying to con they own people.

Read some of my reviews on yelp.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/ahmad-realty-ozone-park





I knew the name sounded familiar...http://www.espncricinfo.com/usa/content/story/545127.html
We fire de old set ah managers we had wukkin..and iz ah new group we went and we bring in. And if the goods we require de new managers not supplying, when election time come back round iz new ones we bringin. For iz one ting about my people I can guarantee..They will never ever vote party b4 country

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #502 on: December 21, 2014, 05:38:57 AM »
Any $$ cutback for CAL?
By Vernon Khelawan
Thursday, December 18 2014


It seems hardly likely that State-owned Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) would be a victim of the Finance Minister’s paring knife as he seeks to control spending in the various ministries and other State-run companies because of declining oil prices.

Minister of Finance and the Economy Senator Larry Howai in responding to an email question told Business Day he did not think CAL’s allocation of $718 million would be touched, because the airline was in the process of implementing its new Business Plan, which contains several cost cutting components. The money was appropriated to the cash-losing carrier to help with its debt servicing obligations among other things.

Last month Minister Howai said a new Business Plan would have been presented to him by the airline’s new Chief Executive Officer Michael Di Lollo. Whether this has in fact been done is not known at the time of writing. Business Day understands however, that this new Plan was supposed to be completed with the help of the German Consulting Group connected with German carrier Lufthansa and members of CAL’s local management team.

Asked whether he has been told that the airline’s allocation might be cut, Di Lollo, responding through an external Public Relations company couched his answer this way, “CAL’s management is aware of all leading macro risk indicators that affects us and must manage all risk and combined with proactive preparation, this planning remains an important part of CAL’s work.”

Di Lollo added, “The management team will do its utmost in risk preparedness and mitigate in a proactive manner.” (Since the departure of Clint Williams a few months ago, CAL does not have a Corporate Communications Manager and has sought the assistance of Port-of-Spain PR company to help with its external communications. Business Day understands that a two –person short list has been completed in the search for Williams’ replacement, one of which has served in the position before.)

On the question of whether or not any reduction of taxpayers’ money would impact on the airline’s new Business Plan, Di Lollo said, “We are conducting sensitive analysis and modelling various outcomes in preparation. Therefore adjustments can be made if and when required.”

He further said strategic plans were road maps to any organisation’s competitive position and cannot be shared with publicly. “Organisations”, he said “guard these plans and their details closely. Cal is no different.”

Di Lollo, however, gave the assurance that efforts were currently being made to cut costs. “We have initiated many cost cutting and expense reduction initiatives,” he said. “Both external and internal cost focus has been applied, he added. “Some of our work is already showing results,” he boasted. “An airline must continuously focus on its cost if it is to survive in a hyper competitive market,” said Di Lollo.

If later down the fiscal road however, there remains no choice but to reduce the airline’s allocation what areas would be most affected? Di Lollo responded, “The key area that will never be compromised is safety. Customer Service, essential services and our market position score very high on the priority scale.

“Austerity,” he added, “will be applied in priority to areas with the least impact and working up from there. The breadth and depth of any adjustments will correlate to the sensitivity assessments we are doing.”

However, on the revenue generating side of the equation and following an exclusive report by Business Day, alerting loyal customer and potential passengers that CAL would soon introduce charge for extra baggage on its flights, the airline last Friday put out a notice it was implementing baggage charges in two phases.

Beginning today the carrier will charge (US)$25 for the second checked piece of luggage, for tickets bought from December 18 for travel from January 15, 2015 on all flights between the Caribbean and Toronto.

Phase two will kick in on tickets purchased on or after February 1, 2015 for travel from April 15 on all flights throughout the remainder of its network. The statement says, “This two-phase introduction allows our customers to adjust and plan ahead.”

But there are passengers who would be exempt from paying for their second bag. They include: Those who purchase fully flexible fares in W, Y and K categories; Caribbean Miles members in Executive Gold. Gold and Silver Tier categories and 7th Heaven Rewards Executive Gold, Gold and Silver Tier levels. Emphasising that its new baggage policy is highly competitive, the statement read, “While our competitors showcase low fares, they conveniently fail to mention that bag fees – some in excess of (US$100 – are charged to customers. Caribbean Airlines assures its passengers that our fee of (US)$25 for the second bag is the lowest in the industry.”

One group to benefit significantly from the new baggage fees are customers travelling within the Caribbean who will now see a reduction in their bag fees as it drops from (US)$50 to (US)$25.

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #503 on: December 21, 2014, 05:39:39 AM »
CAL’s seat sale pays off; customers benefit
By Vernon Khelawan
Thursday, December 11 2014


IN an attempt to take the fight to the competition, dominated mainly by low cost carriers, Caribbean Airlines recently offered severely reduced fares between Port-of-Spain and all its North American destinations, including Toronto.

The airline also cultured a low fare to London, which has been snapped up by anxious visiting friends and relatives desirous of spending the Yuletide season in London or other parts of Europe.

According to well-placed sources, the two- week sale — offered between November 1 and 15 — has resulted in increased bookings on all the advertised destinations, with London reflecting the biggest jump in sales. While no specific figures are available, Business Day has learned that US destinations like Miami and Fort Lauderdale are doing quite well in spite of heavy competition from American on Miami and JetBlue to Fort Lauderdale.

The New York route according to booking statistics has shown a huge jump and as Christmas comes closer the demand continues to rise to the point that CAL may be forced to mount extra flights to take care of the growing demand of passengers wishing to spend Christmas back home with their families and friends.

The Toronto service however, continues to lag behind the competition, although the current figures represent an increase in bookings. As of now, Canadian low cost carrier WestJet controls a larger share of that market into which CAL is finding some difficulty in regaining.

The cheaper fares were sold for a specific time period, between December 15 and 25 out of Port-of-Spain with return bookings covering the period January 01 to 15. One way fares to Miami and Fort Lauderdale were sold at (US)$168, while the JFK, New York fare was (US)$202 and the price to Toronto’s Pearson’s International stood at (US)$165. The airline’s Orlando fare remained the highest at (US)$310.

All fares were for economy travel and is inclusive of taxes, fees and surcharges, but were subject to seat availability at the time of booking. Some advantages passengers using these lower fares would still enjoy include free meals, snacks and beverages, inflight entertainment and the ability to earn frequent flyer miles.

The highly attractive two free bags each of 50 pounds applies plus one carry-on piece with a limit of 22 pounds. Passengers requiring special meals were able be accommodated by the airline.

However, in a masterful stroke of marketing, Caribbean Airlines became the first carrier to eliminate the longstanding fuel surcharge. In a media release last week, the airline announced the “immediate removal of fuel surcharges on all routes between North America and the Caribbean.”

Canadian George Reeleeder, vice-president of Commercial and Customer Service stated in the release, “This is great news for Caribbean Airlines’ customers. With the reduction in jet fuel prices, we have removed the surcharges as they were only ever planned to be of temporary nature.”

The fuel surcharge was introduced to cover additional costs when the price of fuel was more than (US)$100 per barrel. Reedleeder said, “We never wanted this surcharge to be a permanent feature of our fares, thus when our largest expense – fuel – came down, we wanted our customers to benefit.” He added, “As we approach the Christmas travel season, there could be no better time to remove this surcharge.”

Caribbean Airlines which enjoyed a fuel subsidy from the Trinidad and Tobago Government was taken away last year following threats by Dr Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and also Chair of the government owners of LIAT, to take the matter to court. The removal was announced by Finance Minister Larry Howai in his 2014 budget presentation.

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 #504 on: January 19, 2015, 06:05:55 AM »
Close call for CAL, JetBlue planes at JFK
T&T Newsday Reports.


Passengers aboard JetBlue flight 1295 are today thanking their lucky stars after the aircraft they were in almost collided with a Caribbean Airlines aircraft at Kennedy Airport in New York, USA on Saturday night. The JetBlue flight was proceeding at full speed down the runway and was about to take off for Austin, Texas, USA when it came to a sudden halt.

Passenger Brandon Card told Eyewitness News, New York, that Caribbean Airlines flight 526 was right in the path of the JetBlue plane. “The people came on the intercom and said ‘yeah, we almost collided with another plane,” said another passenger Krista Hollis.

“When they said that collision would have been inevitable if we hadn’t braked, I was like, ‘what?!’”

Eyewitness News, New York reported that radio transmissions between the tower and both planes show the tower contacted the Caribbean Airlines pilot at least twice with no answer. There were tense moments as the JetBlue pilot aborted his takeoff moments before a potential deadly disaster could have taken place.

Aviation expert JP Tristani said the Caribbean Airlines plane should not have been on the runway.

“No aircraft that is taxiing has the right of way without clearance from the ground operator,” Tristani said. Passengers aboard the JetBlue flight eventually made it to Austin, Texas, several hours late, but more than happy to be safe.

“They gave us a hundred dollar voucher, we had beer and wine and whatever we wanted on the plane,” added passenger Anna Greenwood, “free movies - it was fine, they took good care of us.”

JetBlue says that Caribbean Airlines was not authorised to cross the runway at the time.

JetBlue is not sure how close the two aircraft got to each other. No one was hurt.

Attempts to contact officials at CAL yesterday were unsuccessful as calls made went to voice mail.

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 #505 on: January 19, 2015, 06:43:44 AM »
Close call for CAL, JetBlue planes at JFK
T&T Newsday Reports.


Passengers aboard JetBlue flight 1295 are today thanking their lucky stars after the aircraft they were in almost collided with a Caribbean Airlines aircraft at Kennedy Airport in New York, USA on Saturday night. The JetBlue flight was proceeding at full speed down the runway and was about to take off for Austin, Texas, USA when it came to a sudden halt.

Passenger Brandon Card told Eyewitness News, New York, that Caribbean Airlines flight 526 was right in the path of the JetBlue plane. “The people came on the intercom and said ‘yeah, we almost collided with another plane,” said another passenger Krista Hollis.

“When they said that collision would have been inevitable if we hadn’t braked, I was like, ‘what?!’”

Eyewitness News, New York reported that radio transmissions between the tower and both planes show the tower contacted the Caribbean Airlines pilot at least twice with no answer. There were tense moments as the JetBlue pilot aborted his takeoff moments before a potential deadly disaster could have taken place.

Aviation expert JP Tristani said the Caribbean Airlines plane should not have been on the runway.

“No aircraft that is taxiing has the right of way without clearance from the ground operator,” Tristani said. Passengers aboard the JetBlue flight eventually made it to Austin, Texas, several hours late, but more than happy to be safe.

“They gave us a hundred dollar voucher, we had beer and wine and whatever we wanted on the plane,” added passenger Anna Greenwood, “free movies - it was fine, they took good care of us.”

JetBlue says that Caribbean Airlines was not authorised to cross the runway at the time.

JetBlue is not sure how close the two aircraft got to each other. No one was hurt.

Attempts to contact officials at CAL yesterday were unsuccessful as calls made went to voice mail.



Wonder what their excuse could be?! Someone obviously needs to get the sack here!  :-\
« Last Edit: January 19, 2015, 11:26:46 PM by Socapro »
De higher a monkey climbs is de less his ass is on de line, if he works for FIFA that is! ;-)

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #506 on: January 19, 2015, 09:02:17 AM »
http://7online.com/travel/jetblue-flight-stops-short-during-takeoff-at-kennedy-airport/479757/

Quote
Having been given a clearance, a passenger-packed JetBlue flight 1295 headed full throttle down JFK's runway. At about the same time, Caribbean Airways Flight 526 had just landed. Air Traffic Control gave it instructions to hold short, meaning to stop before crossing the active runway.

The Caribbean Pilot never answered because as Eyewitness News has learned, he was on the wrong frequency and never heard tower instructions to stop, nor repeated calls from the tower.

Flight 526 rolled across the runway as the JetBlue plane neared take-off speeds. Fortunately, the JetBlue pilots saw the other plane crossing in the night and slammed on their brakes.

"It's about as bad as it can get without having two planes collide," said former commercial airline pilot Bob Ober.

Bob Ober spent decades as an airline pilot and flew in and out of JFK hundreds of times.

"In just a matter of two to three seconds, that plane would have been at a speed where it could not have stopped," Ober adds.

The FAA says the planes never came within 2,800 feet of each other, which is not that much space when one plane is going 130 miles per hour.

"We were headed full steam down the runway, and the plane came to a screeching stop," said passenger Brandon Card.

"When they said a collision was inevitable if pilot hadn't braked, I said 'WHAT?!'" adds passenger Krista Hollis.

Eyewitness News has learned that JFK was scheduled to get a new runway lighting system that would help prevent through flashing red lights, this exact kind of close call. Red in-pavement lights illuminate when it is not safe to enter or cross the runway.

Airport sources tell Eyewitness News that the FAA has not even begun to install the safety lights - a year overdue.

"Ninety percent of these things can be eliminated with technology," says Ober, "you spend the money and do it right, there's no reason for a delay in doing this."

9 airports including Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. have the safety lights installed on the runway. JFK, LaGuardia and Newark are all waiting for the safety lights to be installed.

Map My News

This seems strange to me...what frequency were the instructions to land given on? How come that change happened so quickly?
« Last Edit: January 19, 2015, 12:04:38 PM by Bourbon »
The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are Christians who acknowledge Jesus ;with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #507 on: January 19, 2015, 09:29:55 AM »
Not downplaying the seriousness of the incident, but how long would it have taken  the CAL aircraft to cross the runway? According to the FAA the planes never got within 2,800 ft of each other...that's about 850 metres...so the JB aircraft was even farther away initially when it sighted the CAL crossing...could CAL have made it across within that time, even if JB was going at 130 mph ?  Who doing de maths??

Offline Deeks

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #508 on: January 19, 2015, 12:15:45 PM »
 :o

Offline 100% Barataria

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Re: Caribbean Airlines Thread.
« Reply #509 on: January 19, 2015, 12:20:17 PM »
CNN report says the planes were 2800 ft apart when the JetBlue pilot applies the brakes (http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/01/19/newday-marsh-air-trouble-fuel-dump.cnn). 

Travelling at 130 mph that's basically 14 seconds away from collision.  In taxi mode a plane travels between 6 to 23 mph and the runway at large airports like JFK can be as wide as 262 ft, so to avoid collision, the CAL plane would have had to be travelling faster than about 12 mph

Again, many assumptions in here (JB take off speed is constant at 130 mph; CAL plane enters runway at the time JB pilot applies brakes, width of runway etc).

Point here though is that a major disaster was averted and steps should be taken to further minimize in the future...
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