LIAT 2020 takes to the skies with inaugural passenger flight to Saint Lucia
LIAT 1974 Ltd has been under administration since July 24, 2020, and the new entity has been formed in partnership with Air Peace, a private Nigerian airline founded in 2013.
The inaugural flight, destined for Saint Lucia, took off at 11:30 am, carrying a group of dignitaries and media representatives. This launch followed a brief opening ceremony where the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston A. Browne, along with other officials, expressed pride in this momentous occasion.
No LIAT flight to the VI for now
LIAT 2020 starts its operations with a fleet of seven aircraft, initially offering a limited schedule of three flights per week between Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, and Barbados.
Earlier this year, Antigua authorities announced that Air Peace would invest close to US$65 million, while the government is contributing US$20 million. This collaboration underscores a significant investment in the future of Caribbean aviation, aiming to restore and enhance regional connectivity.
The [British] Virgin Islands may also be hoping for LIAT 2020 to soon make the territory one of its destinations, considering the many challenges with the regional airlines currently serving the VI.
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25 Responses to “LIAT 2020 takes to the skies with inaugural passenger flight to Saint Lucia”
When we boarded, late, in SKB we were told that we were going to stop in ANU on the way to SXM - ANU is almost exactly the opposite direction.
We were told not to worry about making the connection to EIS in SXM because we would be on the same place and it could not go without us.
After a 60 min delay in ANU we arrived in SKB to be told that our plane to EIS had left without us, but that there was another one in 7 hours time.
8 hours later we boarded the plane in SXM expecting to go to EIS, only to be told that we were going to stop in ANU on the way - almost an hours flight in the wrong direction.
Eventually we made it to EIS almost 12 hours late.
No apology, and no response to my complaint.
Give me Intercaribbean any day instead of WinAir.
As a matter of fact ah you not paying any debt. What about the ($10,000,000) that Dominica put into Liat to help save them when some of the other islands were refusan but they were stiil
leaving them straded in Antigua.
Every failure has a root cause(s) and solution(s) . And if the contributing causes of LIAT 1974 failure are not identified, corrected, and avoided, LIAT 2020 may suffer the same fate as LIAT 1974, encountering turbulences in its attempt to stay airborne.
Moreover,,the airline business is a tough business , especially in a competitive market, with capital, labour, safety-intensiveness and on average with a razor-thin profit margin.
Consequently, for success and profitability, require strong, effective leadership, management, transparency, accountability, etc. to stay airborne, satisfactorily serving and meeting customers air travel needs.. Politics may have been one of many contributing cause of LIAT 1974 demise. As such LIAT 2020 should to the maximum extent practical and possible stay above the politics; the reality is it may be difficult to do, for it appears there may be government(s) influence. Government does not have a good track record running rival, excludable things; their province is nonrival, nonexcludable stuffs,ie., public schools, roads, etc.
https://www.virginislandsnewsonline.com/en/news/liat-2020-takes-to-the-skies-with-inaugural-passenger-flight-to-saint-lucia
Collective responsibility is corrupting the governing process, for elected members are scared of their shadow, refuse to speak up and vote against policies/bill they don’t agree with and know don’t pass the smell test but go along to get along, demonstrating fear of losing a ministry for doing the right thing. Does this behavior deserve confidence , respect? It, collective responsibility, was practiced by former governments and is being practice by the current government;no names now. Collective responsibility is slaughtering public interest on the altar of self-interest.
Moreover , the process of spending money needs to be revamped. The government ( no one person)!should not have the authority to spend $7.2M without going through the HoA, highlighting transparency, etc.
Further, we like to wax about and encourage locals to return home but when they do, they are not embraced, treated like shit. The above Round Rock mentaliity lives..Wille Lynch divide, rule, conquer, etc is alive and well. Look in the mirror; it is not about emigrants. I had to take a break from the Carrot Bay cultural mass to rant about this.
[Let’s sour, lead as eagle, not careen off the cliff buffaloes or like lambs going to slaughter].