ASL commissions new departure lounge at Ogle, two aircraft

Jul 28, 2012 News

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Air Services Limited has officially launched its spanking new departure and VIP lounge at the Ogle Airport.
During the auspicious opening, the company which has been in existence for 50 years also commissioned two Cessna Grand Caravans which will be added to the fleet of aircraft. The lounge has been named the Yacoob Ally Departure Lounge.
On the occasion Annette Arjoon-Martins, Operations Manager, said that the event shows an obvious development story for her organization.
“I suggest to you that a simplified story of a country’s development can be seen in the story of individual companies, such as ours, on their private development path at the same time”.
She reflected that fifty years ago, when Guyana was a young country, struggling to develop, the ASL business, being a young one at the time, came into being with one Darter aircraft intended to meet the needs of the A. Mazaharally and Sons timber operations.
Back then, ASL had five employees. Today the company has 23 aircraft, 18 employees and operates approximately 150 flights per week.
“To look at both the economy generally, and ASL specifically, is to see the wheels beginning to turn, economies beginning to expand, opportunities opening up – for the country, and for us”.
She said that as Guyana’s economic expansion continues, expansion has come, as well, to Air Services as it keeps pace with the increased demand for safe, affordable local air service.
“We connect travelers to some 60 airstrips scattered across our country”.
Further, Arjoon-Martins lamented the fact that while that picture is the story of Air Services, it is also the story of Guyana’s development.
“We are a reflection of what has taken place in our country…our generally known expansion has paralleled that of Guyana”.
Adding on the other aspect of development which ASL has seen over the year, Arjoon-Martins said that ASL’s flight school is now offering pilot training for the Private Pilot to the Commercial Pilot licences and Instrument Rating accreditation.
“We started in 2003 with one flight instructor. It has expanded. We now have flight instructors from the USA, Jamaica and as far away as Syria and Egypt…We are fortunate to have them because of the high level of experience they bring, but clearly it is the economic development here that now provides opportunities for such specialists to work in Guyana.”
Historically, in our development, Air Services Limited has operated the workhorse Britten-Norman Islander sourced from the UK, The Isle of Wight specifically where they are built. “Our Cessna aircraft were sourced from North America.
“Recently we have looked for trading partners nearer to home, and mindful of the South/South emphasis, I am happy to report that all of the nine Caravans in our fleet were profitably sourced from Belize and Nicaragua.
“I would like to thank Citizens Bank for its invaluable support to us from the beginning of this upgrading of our older piston engine fleet to the fuel efficient and faster turbine aircraft.”
To look carefully is to see that this change taking place at ASL is happening in the wider country, as well, as both private sector and government are moving to new partners and new suppliers leading to further development, she added.
“We have new bridges in Guyana; the construction sector is busy; and several other government projects are on the drawing board to improve our infrastructure.
“That improvement is reflected in Air Services. Today we are proud of the fact that we will soon have the most advanced state-of-the-art fuel farm at Ogle Airport, oblique to our hangar. It will be of a standard comparable to what exists in more developed countries. That’s certainly something to celebrate.”
“Recently, another cause for elation was the achievement of our own Captain Feriel Ally, my younger sister, becoming qualified as the first female captain of a Cessna Grand Caravan in Guyana.
“A little aside here is the fact that some four years ago, our brother, Captain Mazahar Ally, had actually named one of the Caravan aircraft after her and this is GFA which are her initials. I realize now it wasn’t just a family thing; Maz had bigger plans for her and was simply predicting the future!”
The two Caravans which were commissioned are named after two outstanding ASL employees —Mr. Bhesham Persaud, the ASL Quality Manager and Mr. Chandrashekar Balgrim, a veteran aircraft engineer.
These two Caravans were purchased specifically to service the expanded schedule to Lethem and for tourism flights.
Further ASL has received permission from government, and security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, to operate a helicopter service in Guyana. The company is looking at the possibility of bringing a Bell 206 to deliver service.

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