BWIA: Surviving on a Prayer
National airline BWIA continued to face challenges in 2005 and its board of directors was mandated by the Prime Minister in December 2004 to develop a long term plan for the airline’s viability. Government turned to business magnate Arthur Lok Jack, the chairman of its Vision 2020 committee, to head a special task force to develop the commercial options that would transform BWIA into a viable entity. Trade and Industry Minister Ken Valley received a draft of the Lok Jack task force’s plan on January 11 and the final plan one month later. Cabinet would ponder over the plan until September 28, when Manning announced that BWIA would be restructured into a regional air carrier that would be open in due course to participation from regional governments and the regional private sector. Lok Jack was subsequently appointed as chairman of BWIA’s new board of directors which was given the mandate by Government to ensure that the airline was transformed into an entity that is "efficient, safe, reliable and customer-oriented." However uncertainty about the plans for BWIA’s transformation led to the airline requesting that its shares be suspended from trading on the TT Stock Exchange in November for a period of three months. West Indies Stockbrokers Ltd (WISE) on December 16 revealed that the airline’s operating profits fell 80 percent during the third quarter of 2005 despite an increase in its operating revenue for the same period. Outgoing WISE CEO Peter Clarke said BWIA’s performance in this quarter broke with tradition since the third quarter was usually a strong period for airlines. Clarke said the suspension of BWIA’s shares from active trading would not adversely affect the operations of the airline but Government needed to give BWIA’s shareholders some clear indication of the type of reforms that will be undertaken to make the airline viable.
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"BWIA: Surviving on a Prayer"