I fly BWEE

THE EDITOR: Becoming a British citizen has not shut my eyes and heart to events and happenings in my native land. BWIA, the airline of Trinidad and Tobago has been attracting much criticism recently, culminating in the Prime Minister’s announcement to the board that they have one month to come up with a solution. Arriving here in Trinidad for my second Christmas at home in 40 years, I surely should have every right to enjoy the chorus of criticism, since flight delays in London put me over 24 hours late getting here.

Yes, my wife and I were upset at losing a full day of our vacation, but surely the overriding issue here is the fact that we arrived safely, as usual. For the last 40 years BWIA has been our preferred carrier, and although tales of major problems and cancelled flights have reached our ears from time to time, this was our first experience of being unable to board an aircraft after allowing for a reasonable delay. The period of uncertainty and lack of accurate information from the airline was certainly unprofessional, and most overheard comments from fellow travellers centred on that aspect. On the other hand, BWIA did put us up at an airport hotel overnight and flew us home the next day.

It is easy to be critical of people or organisations when we are not faced with their problems, but remember, BWIA is an airline company of long standing, with an outstanding flight and safety record, despite the fact that it is a small scale operation with limited funding for spare capacity. The airline business is highly competitive and not many make a profit. And, make no mistake, even the large airline companies have delays and cancelled flights. The Government must accept that to have a good national carrier in this “guava season” it must continue to put money into it. The Government and BWIA owes it to the regular customers and air mile savers to ensure its continued existence. If a national airline is what you want, be prepared to pay for it, go on, back your own, and give them the tools to do the job.

JOHN A DEANE
Derbyshire, England