Gov’t could get back into airline business - Jagdeo

Gov’t could get back into airline business – Jagdeo

Mar 11, 2010 News

President Bharrat Jagdeo on Tuesday said that his government has not ruled out getting back into the airline business. The announcement comes as the government continues to lash out at what Jagdeo called “unconscionable” fare increases by Caribbean Airlines.
Caribbean Airlines is the main regional and international carrier out of Guyana, but it is the fare to destinations in the Caribbean, mainly Trinidad and Barbados, that the government is mostly outraged about.
Jagdeo said that what Guyanese are being asked to pay to go to Trinidad and Barbados is sometimes more than what it costs from these destinations to go to the United States.
Caribbean Airlines, Jagdeo noted, has argued that their fares are lower to the US because of the competition in these islands for flights to the United States. If that is the case, Jagdeo said, the Guyana Government could operate a service to Trinidad and Barbados.
The government was once engaged in the airline business, but when leasing one aircraft and employing 500 workers with a US$10 million subsidy was no longer feasible, the airline was closed.
He said that the country has done better over the years and in a discussion with his government Ministers about the fare structure of Caribbean Airlines, he did not rule out the government getting back into the airline business.
“If we are going to open up our country, we need to ensure services are properly priced and people get value for money,” Jagdeo said.
The government had previously announced that it was looking to increase competition in the airline industry following moves by Caribbean Airlines to increase fares.
Secretary to Cabinet, Dr Roger Luncheon, had described the move by Caribbean Airlines as “an injustice” expressing public sentiment that Guyanese are “being shafted.”
He said that the increased fares, especially on the Georgetown to Port-of-Spain route is not something the government was prepared to “live with” and hence the resort to encourage competition. Prime Minister Samuel Hinds is seeking to address the matter with the Trinidad-based airline.
President Jagdeo last year met with senior officials of Caribbean Airlines who then promised both a review of the fare structure as well as the quality of service the airline is providing.
However, those promises evidently did not materialise.
Persons traveling with Caribbean Airlines to Trinidad and Tobago from Guyana and around the Caribbean will have to pay a minimal increase ranging from US$10 to US$40 while the air fares to New York, Canada and Miami remain the same.
Jagdeo said the increase “simply is not sustainable.”
Caribbean Airlines Manager in Guyana, Carl Stewart, had assured Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Manniram Prashad, that Guyana’s concerns were raised with Caribbean Airlines officials in Trinidad.
Stewart was quoted by the Government Information Agency as saying the increase in airfares does not apply to Guyana alone, but the entire Caribbean.

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