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Low-cost paradise
01 November 2005
The Caribbean governments are withdrawing all financial support for their domestic airlines, and LIAT and BWIA are hoping a low-cost model can lead to profits. Alexandra Lennane reports.
Read more:
airline
Airlines
Bombardier; LIAT; BWIA; Roland Blais
There's a spot of trouble in paradise – but not nearly as much as the neighbours have. Bankruptcies to the north, and bankruptcies to the south, but airlines plying the sun-drenched islands of the Caribbean are just managing to stay afloat – although they recognize that drastic action is needed to stave off the worst.
At a first glance the Caribbean looks like an ideal place to run an airline. No roads or bridges between islands, a heavy reliance on imported goods and services, lots of tourism and visiting-friends-and-relatives traffic, proximity to the US. What's more, because flights represent essential services for the islanders, governments seem happy to fund unprofitable routes and offer any assistance they can.
But an overly supportive government owner may also be part of the problem: Antigua-based regional LIAT has only made an annual profit twice in its 49-year history. There has been no incentive to change, until...
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