bye-bye BWIA - hello Caribbean Airlines

[CK]

Trinidad and Tobago to form new carrier in place of BWIA (09/11/2006)
Caribbean Airlines to serve many of BWIA's Caribbean, int'l routes
By Gay Nagle Myers

BWIA (British West Indies Airways) will be shut down on Dec. 31 and a new carrier, Caribbean Airlines, will take its place as the national carrier of Trinidad and Tobago in January 2007, according to Peter Davies, BWIA's CEO.

The government of Trinidad and Tobago, which is a 97.188% shareholder in BWIA, announced plans to shut BWIA and form Caribbean Airlines, which will be based at Piarco International Airport in Port of Spain, Trinidad, during a cabinet session Sept. 7.

The government approved an equity injection for the creation of the new carrier and BWIA will continue uninterrupted service "while management ensures a seamless transition to Caribbean Airlines," according to Davies.

Caribbean Airlines' route structure will provide regional air service within the Caribbean and between the Caribbean and several of the major international gateways now served by BWIA, although the new carrier has not announced its route network yet.

BWIA's international gateways include New York, Washington, Miami, Toronto and London. Its Caribbean routes to and from Trinidad and Tobago include Barbados, St. Lucia, Jamaica, Antigua, St. Maarten, Guyana and Suriname.

While the decision to shutter the airline was handed down last Thursday, BWIA's employees and its four major unions had an inkling of what was to come as long as six months ago when new business proposals for the future of the cash-strapped carrier were turned over to cabinet members for discussion by a 10-member ministerial team.

BWIA lost $26 million in 2005 and had posted losses of $1 million or more each month of this year.

The government earlier this year had agreed to pump $250 million into BWIA if a solution could be worked out to stem the losses by eliminating non-profitable routes, reducing its current fleet size of two Airbus A340s and seven 737-800s, cutting staff and improving technology.

Sahfeek Sultan-Khan, BWIA's legal/management consultant, said that the decision by the government and BWIA's board of directors to shut down the carrier and establish a new Caribbean airline was a "unanimous one."

He said that Caribbean Airlines currently is in the process of being incorporated.

BWIA, which was founded in 1940, has more than 1,800 employees. Sultan-Khan said that all employees would be offered separation packages and have the opportunity to apply for jobs with Caribbean Airlines.

He also noted that the new airline will honor tickets already purchased on BWIA, and BWIA's frequent flyer miles will transfer to the new airline.