The reincarnation of BWIA

Amid all the controversies swirling around it, BWIA West Indies Airways Ltd (more fondly referred to as BWEE,) has maintained a low profile over the past six months. Whether this has been by design or chance, has not been identified. But if I know interim Chief Executive Officer, Nelson Tom Yew, that position is definitely by design,  and we must not be lulled into the feeling that nothing is happening at the national airline. Government minister with responsibility for the airline, Ken Valley, said recently that “things were happening at BWIA.”

Breaking his self-imposed silence recently, but ensuring he did not disclose too much, Tom Yew told Businessday, “BWIA’s route development strategy recognises the need to look beyond its traditional markets in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.” All BWIA loyalists know that the three cities in North America served for decades by the airline are New York, Toronto and Miami. The West Indian diaspora, concentrated for years in these areas, grew to the point where it was becoming more and more difficult for BWIA to service these markets properly, given the size of its fleet and its utilisation, as well as its route structure.

This seemingly overpowering shortcoming opened the door for the charter operators to move in and offer aggressive competition. This situation, aggravated by BWIA’s almost predictable problems during peak travel seasons, put the airline under severe pressure. A careful study of these statistics surely would have shown the planners at BWIA that change was necessary. The airline could no longer depend on these markets alone to survive. As a natural consequence the airline has now decided to place greater emphasis on developing new markets and diversify its route structure. Tom Yew has made it crystal clear that this new thinking at Piarco had to be concretised and set in motion. “Our objective,” he said, “is to identify new revenue streams through, inter alia, pioneering routes where economically feasible and creating new spheres of influence to complement the maturing routes in our existing network.”

As a direct result, BWIA today operates direct services to Costa Rica, Cuba and just last week the Dominican Republic was added to the list. According to Valley, the next move is to assist the airline in getting into Panama and Brazil. The question can quite logically be asked : Why is BWIA targeting such destinations like Panama City and Belem in Brazil? The rationale given by all parties involved is that since Trinidad and Tobago is at present conducting a fierce lobby to be selected as the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA,) it stands to reason that the national airline should have convenient flights to as many cities in the countries which make up the FTAA. Which leads to another, even more appropriate question : Will BWIA have the physical and equipment resources to satisfy the needs of this development? The airline would obviously have to secure more airplanes, more cockpit and cabin crews and even more maintenance personnel. Here again the government is getting deeply involved in all of these processes. Because while the airline is quietly making every effort to become self sufficient, it might be hard pressed to become viable in such a short period of time.

However, according to the CEO, the diversification of the airline’s route structure would not in anyway diminish its marketing thrust in its traditional destinations. These must be maintained if the airline is to regain its former glory and through sustained development, be able to return to profitability. In planning these new routes the Tom Yew team also recognised the role the government must play, being the entity which controls route rights and negotiates bilateral agreements. “Air transport is one of the most important elements of international trade and recognition of this truism is reflected in government’s policy to maintain a level of involvement in air transportation that is consistent with the need to guarantee, to some degree, the desired level and structure of air transport services,” said Tom Yew.

A soft-spoken, but firm leader, Tom Yew fully understands the complexities of the role of the airline on the one hand and the government on the other. He has been working with governments in many countries when he was the man at BWIA responsible for government relations for almost 25 years. This is spelt out clearly when he pronounces on the power of governments. “International air transport has certain basic foundations upon which its complex structure rests and is permitted to operate. The most important of these are the sovereign governments in whose hands ultimate control of the air transport industry lies.” Minister Valley has repeatedly said that the TT government was adamant in its bid to making Piarco International a hub that would position this country in a superior position to serve the Central and South American markets. Tom Yew understands this situation and has pledged the airline’s support to this government undertaking. “BWIA is committed to supporting the government’s initiative to establish Trinidad and Tobago as a hub for air and sea transportation and to position Trinidad and Tobago as the manufacturing base and financial centre of the Caribbean,” he said.

CEO Tom Yew explained that a developed transportation system would enable this country to grow and subsequently exploit the trade and investment opportunities which would surely become available as well as create a favourable environment for international groupings like the FTAA, the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) and others of similar ilk. This gives a good insight into why government has been so closely involved in the development of the new routes. It has to play a pivotal role in ensuring that all the various conditionalities are met, thus making it easier for the airline to go ahead with the job of marketing itself. BWIA, in its new dispensation therefore, seems not only to be just interested in moving passengers from one country to another, but rather in becoming a partner in the development of the economy by providing cost effective options for the consumer, while stimulating demand in the commercial, cultural and tourism sectors.

Commenting on this new strategy, Captain Ian Brunton, a senior pilot with the airline and a former head of the pilots union said he was in full agreement on the diversification. “We obviously have to change. We’ve been doing the same thing for decades. It is necessary now to look at the route landscape and make the right moves. Of course Trinidad and Tobago being upgraded back to Category 1 would help in no small measure,” added the airbus pilot. “BWIA’s intrinsic benchmarks have always been very good and operationally we’ve always been on top. We need to bring back this prior prowess in areas like maintenance, he said. “We have outsourced so much that we’re now just a shell of our old self. We need to get back control of our maintenance. There was the time we were even attracting a great deal of Third Party maintenance. We need to get back there,” Brunton added. It seems therefore that like Minister Valley said, “Things are happening at BWIA.” The country and the wider Caribbean region waits to see what’s really happening.