Hi Roger, only to inform you that a piece of Trinidad & Tobago still continue to survive here in Italy, I speak about MD83 EI-CMZ ex 9Y-THN....extimated retirement from the Eurofly fleet is in late October '02. The only serviceable MD83 in the fleet. See yaa and have a nice day there in the Carribbeans. Marco Quota Roger James <ejames@escape.ca>: > Manchester around the corner > By CURTIS RAMPERSAD > > IT TOOK a long time, but national airline BWIA West Indies Airways has > finally launched a twice-weekly, non-stop service from Manchester, > Eng-land, to Barbados, then on to BWIA's hub in Trinidad and Tobago. > Launched officially on July 26, the service offers eight destinations in > the Caribbean with the online connections also available to Tobago, St > Lucia, St Vincent, Grenada, Geor-getown, Guyana and Paramaribo, Suriname. > The route will be served by an L1011-500 aircraft, offering 21 business > class and 228 economy class seats. Two additional services operated into > Manchester to coincide with the Commonwealth Games in July, with flights > arriving and departing Manc-hester on July 14 and July 21. A team > comprising some of Trinidad and Tobago's most prominent business leaders > joined BWIA's director of Corporate Commu-nications Clint Williams on a > mini-trade mission to Manchester as part of its inaugural service. > > After a long, ten-hour flight from Piarco Airport to Manchester Airport, > made not so gruelling by the service and almost limitless array of food and > drink in business class, the team met BWIA's director, Sales and Marketing > UK/Eu-rope Peter Iland. Included in the group were Trade Minister Kenneth > Valley, Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers' Association vice president > Anthony Hosang, the Amer-ican Chamber's David Chaney and South Chamber > president Wayne Moze. > Minutes after the team disembarked from the L1011 on Friday morning > Manchester time, it was off to a press conference for the British media > launch of the Manchester route. BWIA's Iland noted "We have been interested > in the potential of Manchester in particular, and the North of England for > quite some time." But BWIA had been unable to file for a permit to begin > the operation due to shortage of aircraft, he said. > > That problem was solved when BWIA took possession earlier this year of its > new A340-300 aircraft which will be used into Heathrow. The new alliance > with Liat will also provide additional destinations throu-ghout the > Carib-bean and will open up the whole region to the North of England. The > Trinidadian trade team was shown some of the city over its two-day stay. > Manchester is fast becoming the most dynamic city in Britain and offers > visitors a rich combination of shopping, arts and entertainment, heritage > and leisure activities. Then there is Trafford Centre, one of the most > exciting and innovative shopping malls in Europe. For art lovers there are > Manchester City Art Gallery and Salford Art Gallery. The city's vibrant > night life is often referred to as the best in the country and the city is > also renowned for its rich heritage of sporting achievements; Manchester > United FC in particular. > > From Manch-ester it is easy to explore the nearby Peak District, Lake > District, Yorkshire Dales, Liverpool and even North Wales, all of which can > be easily reached within an hour by car. For the local delegation, > potential business opportunities were recognised. At a dinner hosted by the > Manch-ester Chamber, Trade Minister Valley noted that Trinidad and Tobago > and Manchester shared much in common, including a well educated workforce. > Other members spotted possible links in telecommunications and trade. Less > than a month before, BWIA also flew its first A340- 300 aircraft into > Heathrow on its inaugural flight from Port of Spain. The Airbus is in a > two-class configuration with 32 seats in business and 252 in economy class. > Not long after the launch of the Airbus, BWIA chef executive Conrad Aleong > said: "The introduction of A340s provides travellers to the Caribbean with > a whole new standard of service and reaffirms our commitment to the London > route". > > > > The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: > Roj (Roger James) > *************************************************** > escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca > Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com > CBC Website > http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ > The Trinbago Site of the Week: > (TnT Medical Assn.) http://www.tntmedical.com/ > (Trinidad & Tobago Medical Association) > courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory > Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com > TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt > ******************************************************** * >