BWIA hunts for $b planes By Juhel Browne (Trinidad Guardian) At a time of staff cutbacks, national carrier BWIA West Indies Airways has taken steps to lease two new planes for a possible maximum price of $1 billion (US$180 million). This is not a done deal, however, says the airline which has denied a report by the International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) that it has already acquired the planes. On January 17, ILFC announced on its web site that BWIA had dry-leased two Airbus A340-300s-MSN 88 and 93- for five years. ILFC, which leases aircraft to airlines around the world, also stated the planes are scheduled for delivery to BWIA in June and November. But Clint Williams, BWIA's director of corporate communications, last Thursday dismissed the ILFC report. "To my knowledge a final decision has not been made and approved by the board," Williams said. BWIA chief executive officer Conrad Aleong has written a strong note to the ILFC condemning its announcement, he disclosed. Williams did confirm BWIA has been actively pursuing the acquisition of new aircraft to replace two of its three ageing Lockheed L-1011 TriStars. A committee of BWIA executives is leading the search for the planes. In the February edition of BWIA's in-flight magazine Caribbean Beat, Aleong said the airline expects to pay between US$144 million (TT$904 million) to US$180 million (TT$1.1 billion) for the two planes. "There's no showroom where you can pick out a new US$90 million (TT$565 million) aircraft or a slightly used one for US$72 million (TT$452 million) - that's roughly what we expect to pay for each of the two new, almost new, aircraft we will be deploying on the London route," Aleong wrote in his column. Despite the conflicting reports about the acquisition, an industry source said BWIA is now in advanced negotiations with ILFC. The source said BWIA wants to acquire two five-year-old Airbus Industrie A340-313s, different models to the ones the ILFC said the airline had obtained. The A340-313 aircraft, now registered as C-FTNP and C-FTNQ, were formerly flown by Air Canada. Air Canada will return three of the 12 A340s it leased back to the ILFC. One of these, the source said, is now being prepared for lease to Air Jamaica while the other two are expected to go to BWIA. The source said BWIA should receive the aircraft by September or October and not June and November as the ILFC stated. The new aircraft are meant to reduce the fuel and maintenance costs incurred by the L-1011s. BWIA insists the purchases, if completed during the restructuring exercise, will not contradict its cost cutting measures. BWIA's plan is not only to cut costs but also to find methods and equipment that will improve its efficiency and revenue earning ability. "A restructuring exercise is not just a witch hunt to find people to fire," Williams said. "It would be premature to answer questions when we have not made a final decision." But premature is how Curtis John, acting president of the Aviation Communication & Allied Workers Union (ACAWU) described BWIA's plan to buy any aircraft at this time. "If you are restructuring and people going to lose their jobs, now is not the right time to purchase these aircraft," John said. He did not disagree with the need for BWIA to replace the L-1011s. However, John said the purchase of any aircraft, when BWIA says it has to reduce staff, raises suspicions about the airline's true financial state. BWIA has been looking for two new planes long before September 11, Williams said. The airline had stated that its revenues and passengers loads have decreased since the terrorist attacks in the United States. BWIA too plans to return two MD-83s, to their leasing company, as it reduces flights as well. The MD-83s normally ply BWIA's regional routes. John said the airline's executives stated that US$3 million (TT$19 million) of BWIA's revenue was already dedicated for the refurbishing of the L-1011s. "If you are doing a restructuring programme, you refurbish the L-1011s and when you are finished with your restructuring then purchase new aircraft," he said. If BWIA has millions to purchase the aircraft, train and equip the relevant departments for their operation, John believed the airline can then afford to keep its staff. "The company doesn't have valid reasons for sending home people." -with reporting by Vernon Khelawan, Antigua Sun 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: (Revellers Mas Band) http://www.revellers.com/ (Trini Revellers Mas Band) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://195.224.187.36/ *********************************************************