We're Still In Business Says BWIA Nation News - Monday 18, November-2002 by Bernard Babb London =96 BWIA has been assuring partners in the travel industry that a=20 rescue plan to cut costs by $1 million a month, and a fall-back loan of=20 $13m from the Trinidad government, had secured the airline=92s=20 future. Concerns have been raised on both sides of the Atlantic about the= =20 financial health of the airline, and its ability to keep on flying, and=20 BWIA=92s Sales Director in the United Kingdom, Peter Iland, was forced to=20 address the issues at the just concluded World Travel Market in=20 London. =93We had to explain to the trade that BWIA is here and we are= still=20 flying. We really needed to reassure our partners and I think we have=20 achieved that,=94 Iland told the Business Authority. Iland was among BWIA= =20 executives at the travel industry=92s leading trade show where his airline= =20 shared space with the Caribbean Tourism Organisation and sponsored the BWEE= =20 bar. The airline also took advantage of advertising opportunities at the=20 showcase and was highly visible with a wrap-around ad in Travel Weekly, a=20 leading travel-trade publication and full-page ads in other publications. Stressing these were challenging times for BWIA, and the airline industry=20 as a whole, the London-based executive said his airline still possessed=20 certain competitive edges on which they intended to capitalise. Among=20 them, he said, was the fact that BWIA flew out of Heathrow, Britain=92s=20 busiest airport, and the new craft acquired by the company offered greater= =20 leg-space than offered by competitors. He noted however, that although the= =20 airline was profitable out of Britain and Europe, United States routes were= =20 still sources of difficulties. He cited the September 11 terrorist attacks= =20 on the United States last year and the resultant crisis in global travel=20 pointing out that for the first six months of 2002, BWIA reported a loss of= =20 US$8m and failed to recover the losses in the summer as the airline had=20 been hoping. In a restructuring move, the airline axed older craft from its fleet and=20 further trimmed the fleet to two types =96 Airbus A340=92s for British= routes=20 and new generation Boeing 737-800s for United States routes. It also=20 closed BWIA Express, the airline=92s regional subsidiary, and created a=20 stronger alliance with long-serving regional carrier LIAT, of which BWIA=20 owns 25 per cent. =93We are 80 per cent of the way there in terms of the=20 cost reduction,=94 Iland told the London Travel Trade Gazette. In further= =20 moves to control costs, LIAT will soon be placed under BWIA=92s billing and= =20 settlement plan in the Britain which will allow agents to book the airline= =20 . =93It will bring down costs and give us 20 Caribbean destinations,=94 he= =20 said. With the support of the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), BWIA is=20 also expected to launch a second weekly Manchester to Barbados flight in=20 February 2003. Barbados views the operation of BWIA as important to the tourism industry=20 and economy. Minister of Tourism Noel Lynch said BWIA was responsible for=20 25 per cent of the air traffic into Barbados on an annual basis while BTA=20 chairman Hudson Husbands said BWIA was needed for Barbados=92 tourism to=20 continue its rebound and positive impact on the economy. BWIA operates=20 eight flights per day to Barbados from major tourist markets and the=20 Caribbean and last year, the airline moved 558 944 passengers through the=20 Grantley Adams International Airport among the 1.4 million it carried=20 overall. After weeks of efforts, BWIA was recently able to strike a deal=20 with unions representing its 2 300 workers to help reduce costs and put=20 expenses in line with revenues. President Conrad Aleong also said the=20 airline was cutting $690 000 a month in marketing, food services, discount= =20 ticketing and airport landing fees =96 all in an effort to reduce operating= =20 costs. 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: (chgdev) http://www.chagdev.com/ (Chaguaramas Development Authority) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************