Caribbean must rally around BWIA

THE EDITOR: As a frequent flyer to the Caribbean for the past 20 years and an ex-airline employee of a rival air carrier, I have watched with great interest and sadness the struggles faced by your wonderful West Indian airline and its dedicated staff. I myself have had the opportunity to fly on Bwee, as you call the airline, and have been impressed by the warmth and unique hospitality of the cabin crew and the professionalism of the cockpit crew.

This I must admit is one of the strengths of Bwee, which many of us in other airlines have envied. So I am extremely happy to see the Government of Trinidad and Tobago coming to the rescue to this Caribbean institution. We in the airline industry have and continue to face tremendous challenges and your BWIA is no exception. The fact that this dynamic little carrier has been able to survive 63 years in a turbulent period speaks volumes for its employees, management and loyal ethnic supporters. Many larger carriers have fallen by the wayside over the last three years and the struggle continues for survival in an era of rising fuel costs, competition from low-cost carriers while attempting to operate from a lower cost structure.

The aviation landscape has changed dramatically, forcing carriers such as BWIA to change tactics and compete more aggressively to avoid a further drop in profits. We’ve seen major carriers go bankrupt, smaller carriers such as Sweden’s low cost carrier Goodjet suspend operations last December after their entire fleet of six Airbus A320’s was repossessed. Airline management and staff worldwide have accepted voluntary pay cuts of varying percentages and BWIA has had to implement this as well to stay in flight. Faced by a sluggish world economy and with rising fuel prices, increased security costs and high fixed labour costs, all airlines including your BWIA are now in the red or bankrupt, so this is not just a Caribbean problem but a global one.Governments in the region served by BWIA, especially in an area where many are dependent on the tourism trade, have got to realise the importance and ensure that there is a strong, viable airline industry serving the Caribbean.

All the players must take more interest and by these I mean the various governments and not just the government of Trinidad and Tobago but the employees, the unions, the stakeholders and Caribbean people in general must all be involved if a viable solution is found to keep the regional carrier flying. With the demise of Swissair and Belgium’s Sabena together with major bankruptcy problems facing the giants American and Untied and even my own Delta Air Lines which has lost nearly a quarter of its workforce, we are all facing an ultimatum and that is to “Restructure ... or Die.” It was quite apparent for those of us on the outside looking on, that the past President and CEO of BWIA Conrad Aleong made a valiant attempt to restructure the airline but faced mounting pressures. Hopefully the good work that he started will continue with the interim team and when the restructuring is complete, one should not forget the critical area of Sales and Marketing which seems to have been the weak line in the chain at Bwee.  This is a division that needs urgent attention if the airline is to survive and restore financial health. Bwee has everything to become successful again, good highly trained staff, a great safety record and now the support of at least one Caribbean government. The new management team I’ve read about will certainly need to continue the struggle, competing more effectively on the global stage, all the while fighting to reduce costs. Success is attainable, just look at Jetblue and Southwest who have managed to not only survive but make a profit. I would like to wish all at Bwee good luck in the future and keep flying those blue skies.

CHARLES REVELL
Binghamton, NY