CAL being restructured

Trinidad’s trade minister Vasant Bharath says Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is being restructured, as it takes into consideration its relationship with Air Jamaica.

Bharath, said that the newly introduced twice weekly CAL service to London using Gatwick airport was operating at between 75 and 85 per cent and that an additional flight was being added because of the demand.

He said the additional flight would also take up the slack caused by the decision of British Airways to withdraw one of its flights to Trinidad and Tobago.

"Caribbean Airlines is being restructured, its routes, its profitability as well as the entire integration process with Air Jamaica," he said, adding the issue of CAL planes using the Air Jamaica logo had been now solved.

"We can now fly Caribbean Airlines jets with Air Jamaica paraphernalia particularly to the Jamaican Diaspora provided we say that it is an Air Jamaica flight operated under licence by Caribbean Airlines," he said.

In May, then finance minister Winston Dookeran told Parliament that the state-owned airline had recorded losses in excess of TT$50 million or US$8.3 million last year.

In addition, it owed several creditors including the United States Inland Revenue Service and the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica millions of dollars.

In 2010, Port of Spain and Kingston agreed to a deal that allowed the Jamaica government to own 16 per cent of CAL as part of the conditions for CAL taking over the lucrative routes of Air Jamaica.

The deal also allows for Trinidad and Tobago agreeing to a US$300 million transition plan for CAL to acquire and operate six Air Jamaica aircraft and eight of its routes.

Bharath said that CAL's fuel subsidy issue estimated at about "quarter of a billion dollars" was still to be worked out.

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