Raise airline ticket prices

A director of Tobago Express, Troy Small, has called on government to either raise the price of the return ticket from Piarco to Crown Point or increase the subsidy, as the airline struggles to stay afloat with millions of dollars in operating costs. Small disclosed that the “real problem” with the Tobago air bridge is that the demand is too high and the airfare too low. He indicated that currently, the cost of producing the service on the air bridge surpasses the price of the return ticket from Piarco to Crown Point.

“At the moment, the true cost of a return ticket from Piarco to Crown Point is definitely more than TT$300,” he said.  The price of a return ticket at the moment is TT$200. His comments come in the wake of a recent concern from President of the TT Hotel Association Tobago Chapter, Rene Seepersadsingh, who had  publicly stated that the airline did not have enough seats to service travellers. In a statement questioning the economics and challenges the airline faced, Small asked, “how can it become more efficient when the staff is already underpaid and overworked? how can it cut the costs of its operation when there is nothing else to cut, and how does it decrease maintenance costs when, without proper maintenance, the planes become unsafe?” He disclosed that recently, one of the engines malfunctioned and it cost the airline approximately US $500,000 in order to rectify the problem.

Despite the maintenance challenges, he boasted that the planes in the Tobago Express fleet, in addition to its parts, were relatively new. “I cannot speak for the way other businesses operate but at Tobago Express, we cannot cut corners,” he said. He pointed out that Tobago Express was designed from the start as a low cost carrier, which does not provide meals, snacks or mints while in flight, due to its high operation costs. “All flights with empty seats fly at a loss. When the price of oil goes up, so does the cost of the fuel. The costs of our essential input rise, yet our price remains the same,” Small explained. “When the entire flight schedule for the day is delayed due to ‘go slow’ action, we are forced to cancel the last flight because it cannot operate when the airport is closed. This now means that the revenue for the day is short by one return flight and we have to accommodate 100 disgruntled passengers on the following day,” he said.

The airline’s Director pointed out that if there was a lot of profit to be made on the Tobago route, Liat, Caribbean Star or any other airline would have purchased or leased an additional aircraft to fly on it by now, regardless of a subsidy. “In any event, the current subsidy is not a benefit for Tobago Express, but a benefit for the people of Trinidad and Tobago,” he said. As a result of the struggles, Small has called on all parties involved or affected by the service, such as the Hotel Association, to work together with the airline so that all parties can be satisfied.

Speaking with Sunday Newsday, Seepersadsingh said the Association was always willing to work with any airline since it was always available to extend support. He said when he made the statement, he was just echoing what other people and groups in Tobago had complained about. “When I made the statement, it was broad-based because other people from parties including the Tobago House of Assembly had also publicly made the same complaint, so I don’t know why Tobago Express sought to single out the Association in its response,” he said. Seepersadsingh added that in any event, the Association would be willing to hold discussions and support the airline on the issue.