BWIA HOSTS WORLD RENOWNED AIRLINE EXPERT

On March 27, Doganis delivered a detailed presentation to the airline’s four bargaining units on the challenges facing airlines worldwide.

According to a release, the professor pointed that the experiences of many airlines show that capital injection alone are often insufficient to achieve airline success, and that culture change, flexible work rules, organisational restructuring, and other key short- and long-term improvement initiatives are also required.

On March 28, an all-day seminar was held at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business when Doganis addressed invited guests on the “Experiences of Government Owned Airlines.” The audience included Minister Dr Lenny Saith — chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee responsible for BWIA, former airline chief executive officers, current members of BWIA’s Executive team, representatives from major industry partners, and other key stakeholders.

BWIA’s chief executive officer, Peter Davies, delivered a presentation on his recent experience restructuring Sabena Airlines, now SN Brussels Airways. As chief executive officer of SN Brussels, Davies engineered the rapid recovery of the airline, and secured profitability in three consecutive years of its four-year history. The seminar concluded with a panel discussion on “The Need for a Caribbean Regional Airline.” Panelists included the airline’s chairman Arthur Lok Jack, chief executive officer Peter Davies, BWIA’s former chief executive officer Nelson Tom Yew and Doganis.

“Professor Doganis is well respected in the airline industry worldwide. Having him here was an excellent opportunity to share information and exchange ideas, as the Board and Management work closely with stakeholders to take BWIA forward,” stated Davies.

Meanwhile, the Board of BWIA has requested from the Government of Trinidad and Tobago an extension of time from April 1, 2006 to finalise new Collective Agreements, as negotiations with the Unions of BWIA are continuing.