Guyana and the Diaspora need EZ Jet

Nov 01, 2012 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,
This is in response to Mr. Lionel Lowe’s missive “Ramdeo and his EZjet venture may be about to end their short flight into infamy” (KN Oct 30) as well as related news items (in KN and all the other media) on allegations of financial improprieties against Mr. Sonny Ramdeo, former CEO, in the preceding days. What one gathers from the tone of the letter is that Lowe is cheering the financial troubles of the airline and would be pleased to see EZ Jet go out of business.
If that were too happen, the nation would suffer as less people would have access to air service to travel to and from Guyana and North America and the economy would be severely affected.
I don’t know Mr. Ramdeo, personally, and my encounters with him were related to his launching of the EZ Jet flight services to Guyana. I don’t have any information on the allegations made against him and as such cannot comment one way or the other. He has denied any wrong doing and as such is presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. As Lowe stated, the court would resolve that one.
For now, we need to focus on the importance of the air service. Those of us from the Guyanese community as well as those who are familiar with the travel industry applauded Ramdeo at his very first press conference on Liberty Avenue, Queens, almost a year ago for initiating the air service to Guyana.
This was a time of high air fares, complaints of abuses of Guyanese travelers by other non-Guyanese-owned carriers, and limited availability of seats that resulted in higher than normal fares. Ramdeo provided a badly needed service at a time when Guyanese travelers were desperate for any carrier to rescue them.
For this, the New York-based Guyanese are grateful and they applaud him.  If you talk to those who traveled on EZ Jet, most will tell you the service is satisfactory and they are supportive of the jet service hoping that it will become a scheduled carrier.  I traveled on it twice and I was satisfied with the service.
Guyanese were (and are) not interested in knowing whose money was funding the carrier. They are more interested in the service and the availability of flights.  They are, however, worried that the financial allegations against Ramdeo and its impact on the carrier’s ability to continue service.
When the airline was launched, Guyanese wanted cheap air fares and Ramdeo gave them what they wanted.  People flocked to the airline in record numbers during the peak season of X-Mas, Mash, Phagwah, Easter, and the summer, causing the charter to increase flights.  The airline is sold out again for this coming Diwali and Christmas seasons.
Some are asking about whether the carrier would still fly.  Management in NY has given assurance to the travel agents, media and passengers.  So EZ Jet is not on its way to “infamy” but improving its service pruning its traveling dates to meet demand.
As Lowe pointed out, Ramdeo had and still has big dreams and has spent big money.  But we should not criticize a man for dreaming big especially if his dreams will benefit our nation. His dreams don’t hurt the nation and so far Guyanese travelers have not been scammed.  He has not robbed any Guyanese of their fares.
And their travel has been assured by the new CEO Rosa Rasul and the staff out of Queens. So this sharp criticism of Ramdeo from Lowe is uncalled for.  What is the objective of the criticism and how will it help to increase flights to Guyana, lower fares and provide better service?  Now is a time to encourage management to stay in the air so Guyanese can continue to benefit from the competition in air travel.
I don’t know the reason for cancellation of flights as identified by Lowe and I cannot comment on their accuracy.  But I do notice the dates Lowe identifies are not peak times for the carrier.  And passengers can be accommodated on other dates. Also, the airline has been using different carriers for its charters and has been known to rearrange use of the aircraft to Trinidad and for flights from Florida and Toronto.  I don’t know if that is a reason for cancellation of dates.
The airline management would be in a better position to address that issue and to give further assurance of its commitment to the Guyana market.  I and many Guyanese with whom I have spoken have retained our faith in EZ Jet from the time it was initiated and I hope that it is transformed into a scheduled service. EZ Jet management is encouraged to continue its service.  The public is behind you.
Guyana needs this carrier to increase passenger arrivals.  It is estimated that every arrival in Guyana injects some US$1,500 into the economy in addition to airport taxes, landing fees, and ticket sales. EZ Jet adds immensely to the GDP of the country with its connections to the main Diaspora centres (NY, Toronto, Florida, Trinidad, etc.) and as such we all stand to lose if it goes under for the other airlines will gouge Guyanese thus making travel unaffordable for many.
Vishnu Bisram

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