BWIA, Liat flock to the Caribbean skies By Sharon Lym (Trinidad Guardian) At a time when travel is down, costs are sky rocketing and in an atmosphere of fierce competition, BWIA and Liat have joined forces to survive in the region's struggling airline industry. On Tuesday at the Savannah Hotel in Barbados, BWIA and Liat presidents Conrad Aleong and Garry Cullen shook hands as they announced the deal to the media. Aleong said the strategic alliance would see both airlines sharing key services to provide seamless travel to passengers through the Caribbean from international destinations. This means Liat travellers will make connecting flights to BWIA's international destinations and visa versa without having to worry about their luggage. After the press conference Aleong said this pooling of resources would give the airline an added "piece of strength" as it would stop the erosion of the company's resources. Without the alliance, he said, BWIA would have to find the funds to buy new Dash 8's to expand into the Eastern Caribbean. He said the alliance is suitably timed as the airline industry worked in cycles and is now in a down period. "When you are prepared in the lean times you're positioned well to benefit in the growth time," he said. Aleong predicts that the industry will become vibrant once again in the next three years. BWIA vice president, marketing and sales, Beatrix Carrington, said the agreement will be implemented in phases. The first involves code sharing with Liat travellers on BWIA planes, with the next phase being accommodation for BWIA travellers on Liat flights. Presently both airlines are working on the co-ordination of schedules and frequency of flights. Aleong said the new alliance would not reduce or increase fares put help to sustain the present prices. But both airlines plan to jointly approach insurance companies for better premium insurance rates. "Instead of both of us going to buy our own insurance policies we will do that jointly so we will both get at a better premium," he said. The full effect of the alliance should be felt by March of this year, when both airlines would share the same facilities and services. As an example both airlines will together pay one company in Barbados for its ground handling service. This bulk buying would be applicable also to replacement parts (both airlines own Dash 8s) and food services. Aleong expects the alliance would increase revenues and reduce costs of both airlines. Liat's Cullen said the combination of the two airlines would create a strong Caribbean network. While the presence of international airlines is "crucial" to the future of regional tourism Cullen said dependency on such carriers is risky. The airlines are not afraid of the competition, however, Cullen said. Liat, he disclosed, had had approached other regional competitors regarding an alliance but they expressed no interest. He said large sums are lost duplicating Liat's route, when it could have been spent on other areas that are not being serviced. "If you get a carrier who says they want to dominate the region, it can't work," he said. Within the last year competition has become more "hostile" with air transport capacity almost doubling especially at a time when the market is depressed, Cullen observed. Air travel still has not picked up as fast as the airlines expected after September 11 and to improve service there may be moves to join responsibilities, Aleong added. While Liat has already had a round of job cuts, BWIA is holding its hand on any layoffs for now, he said From 1016 employees in 1999, Liat has cut its workforce down to 720. This number, Cullen said, had to be reduced to about 650 and the company is in negotiations with employees unions. Last year, Liat issued a bond in Barbados to raise money to purchase new Dash 8s and to offer severance packages for those employees who took voluntary retirement. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com ICQ: ICQ # 15836110 ICQ Pager: mailto:15836110@pager.icq.com escape email #!1 mailto:ejames@escape.ca yahoo email #2: mailto:triniroj@yahoo.com Yahoo Pager: triniroj Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Group on Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribsocabrass Caribbean Brass & Soca Connection Club Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeansocabrassconnection/ ******************************************************* Steel Expressions Orch http://www.escape.ca/~ejames/se/ email #1: mailto:steelexpressions@yahoo.com email #2: mailto:steelexpressions@home.com ******************************************************* The Trinbago Site of the Week: (Traffik) http://www.cariwaksoca.com/trafik.htm (Caribbean Traffik Jam) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************