guardian news - BWIA bosses not honest - Manning - We did not lie' **************************************************************** BWIA bosses not honest - Manning By Gail Alexander As international creditors seized a second BWIA plane yesterday, Prime Minister Patrick Manning made it clear Government may "wash its hands" completely of the airline. Manning has also accused BWIA's management of not being honest, saying the airline did not use US$5million (TT$31.25 million) released by Government on Tuesday to bail it out of debt to creditors in a proper manner. "When we were being told US$5 million was to be applied to a particular problem, the following day, we're being told that of the US$5 million, US$1.5 million is going in one direction and US$3.5 million in the next," Manning said in a post-Cabinet news briefing at Whitehall. "I think the time has come for me to make this statement: that those in BWIA who were reporting to the Government have not been as forthright with Government as they ought to be. All the facts we've now come to realise are not known to us," he added. Government issued a letter of comfort to BWIA for US$5 million on Tuesday after the International Leasing Finance Corporation (ILFC) took possession of an aircraft at Miami International Airport. Even as that plane was due back yesterday, a second aircraft was impounded by ILFC in Miami. A Cabinet subcommittee was due to meet yesterday afternoon to discuss the seizure, Manning told reporters. However, the Finance Ministry last night said the meeting had been postponed to this morning to allow members to gather more information. As a result, a special Cabinet session would be held later today to consider the report of the subcommittee, a Finance source said yesterday. Earlier at the news briefing, Manning said it should not be expected that Government will pull BWIA out again. "It is by no means a foregone conclusion that the Government will bail BWIA out any further, it is by no means so. We thought we had done so with the first aircraft, only to find that a second aircraft has been seized." Asked if he was in a mood to possibly wash his hands of BWIA, Manning replied: "It is not to be ruled out.... it is not to be ruled out." On whether the airline's crises were being strategically timed, he also said: "I cannot say the crises are not being strategically timed." As for what will take place, he added: "Let's wait until the subcommittee reports and then we'll decide what takes place afterwards." **************************************************************** We did not lie' BY JUHEL BROWNE More BWIA passengers were inconvenienced in Miami yesterday when a second BWIA aircraft was seized by its owners, International Leasing Finance Corporation. Last night, as BWIA made frantic attempt to retrieve the two aircraft, its chief executive officer Conrad Aleong denied it tried to deceive Government into putting more State money into the carrier. ILFC yesterday seized a BWIA Boeing 737-800 aircraft, following similar action on Tuesday, in an effort to get BWIA to clear what Aleong says is a US$4.3 million debt. Both aircraft are now detained at the Miami International Airport. The action has left BWIA with four of its six 737s. With BWIA chronically short of cash, Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday gave no guarantee of another State bailout to retrieve the two seized aircraft. He said the airline's representatives were not being "forthright" with the Government. Interviewed at the BWIA Sunjet offices in Port-of-Spain last night, Aleong was asked if the airline had ever lied to the Government. He said, "We're denying it." Manning signed a US$5 million letter of comfort on Wednesday to clear BWIA's debt to ILFC and retrieve the first seized plane. In an interview Wednesday, Trade and Industry Minister Kenneth Valley said he expected the aircraft to be returned to BWIA yesterday. Aleong said two BWIA Board members will speak to Manning directly to resolve the issue. Aleong said the BWIA Board directed him to only speak with Public Administration Minister Lenny Saith, the head of the Inter-Ministerial Committee now reviewing the airline. The review is part of negotiations for a $116.8 million State loan, out of which emerged the US$5 million letter of comfort. "I think the Prime Minister may have been misinformed. I know he had not spoken to Dr Saith and there may have been some misunderstanding," Aleong said. He called Manning's comments "very unfortunate." Aleong said he spoke with Saith, reported to be in London, yesterday, and informed him that ILFC had demanded a maintenance reserve for the future overhaul of the BWIA fleet in addition to the US$4.3 million. He said: "The US$5 million would have cleared the debt....but what ILFC is trying to do, in our opinion, they are trying to bring the Government into the picture. "We haven't touched the US$5 million...his (Saith's) views were, 'we are not putting any more' (State money). We (BWIA) said 'fine we have no problem with that'. We recognised if you let ILFC do this to our Government, then all of the other creditors will come running in expecting the Government to cover BWIA's other debts. "The country should not be blackmailed like that," he added. ILFC is a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group Inc which owns Algico. An AIG subsidiary has shares in BWIA. Aleong said ILFC was trying to hold the nation "to ransom." An official at the Los Angeles office of ILFC president John Plueger said the company had no comment at this time. The second BWIA aircraft was seized by ILFC as it was preparing to leave the Miami airport at 1.50 pm. BWIA spokesperson Clint Williams said the affected passengers were transferred to two American Airlines flights and were expected to return to Trinidad last night. BWIA debt: BWIA's debt to ILFC was in two parts. Rent - US$5 million. Actual amount owed - US$4.3 million. BWIA CEO Conrad Aleong explained US$3.5 million is owed now and another US$800,000 becomes due at the end of May. **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** **************************************************************** *************************************************** 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/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.caribbeanfloral.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************