Stanford does not want BWIA BY JUHEL BROWNE Guardian 04.07,03 Texan billionaire R Allen Stanford, chairman and sole shareholder of=20 Caribbean Star and Caribbean Sun Airlines, has no intention of purchasing=20 or investing in financially-troubled BWIA one of his airline=92s directors= =20 said last week. Edward Gilkes, Caribbean Star director of scheduling,=20 government affairs and network operations said Stanford=92s 20- minute=20 meeting with Prime Minister Patrick Manning on March 28 had nothing to do=20 with any attempt by Stanford to buy out or into BWIA. Asked if Stanford=20 planned to purchase BWIA, Gilkes said: =93Let me make one categorical=20 statement =AD no.=94 Gilkes=92 response to the question of whether= Stanford=92s=20 airlines were interested in a merger with BWIA was: =93No, no, no.=94 Gilkes= =20 spoke to the media at Rafters restaurant in Woodbrook after the launch of=20 Caribbean Star=92s sub-city office for reservations and ticketing to be=20 located on Picton Street, Port-of-Spain. On Wednesday, Trade and Industry=20 Minister Kenneth Valley said =93It is easier for a camel to pass through the= =20 eye of a needle=94 than for the Government to sell its shares in BWIA to=20 Stanford. Gilkes insisted Stanford met with Manning last week to discuss=20 Government support for the Stanford Caribbean Development Fund and nothing= =20 else. However, Gilkes said Caribbean Star was not opposed to entering=20 inter-line agreements, such as code sharing with either BWIA or LIAT. He=20 said Caribbean Star has received no response to the numerous requests for=20 such arrangements it sent to BWIA and LIAT since May 2002 . Caribbean Star= =20 competes with those two airlines on the Tobago airbridge. =93Liat and BWIA= =20 were the first two companies which we made overtures to and those are the=20 two companies which that have thus far agreed to do any business with us,=94= =20 Gilkes said. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.carstt.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************