Bridgetown — LIAT CEO, Brian Challenger: "Today marks an important chapter in the growth of regional air transport in the Eastern Caribbean as we witness the official launch of the LIAT Air freighter cargo service. While the transport of various forms of cargo is in fact nothing new to LIAT, today’s ceremony nevertheless signals an important milestone in the evolution of the company’s air cargo business as we move towards the formal introduction of an aircraft dedicated exclusively to the movement of air cargo throughout our islands as well as into Guyana in South America.
Prior to the start of this service, persons and businesses wishing to move air freight through our islands were largely dependent on the availability of space on the company’s scheduled passenger planes to get their products from point A to point B. This was particularly risky for perishables such as agricultural produce which obviously have a finite shelf life, particularly in the tropical heat of the Eastern Caribbean.
I can in fact remember when in another life, my wife and I ventured into the business of moving high value agricultural produce from St. Lucia, where we were resident at the time, to the US Virgin Islands where we had identified markets for certain high value agricultural items such as cut flowers. This was an extremely stressful and challenging enterprise with many shipments being aborted due to lack of adequate air freight capacity.
Hopefully, the launch of our new service will dramatically reduce such stresses for regional exporters and importers and will instead serve as a springboard for the development and expansion of productive export capacity in our region. The new LIAT Cargo Service strives to be a modern and efficient cargo operation, and will be utilizing available information technology resources to enable computerized tracking of goods and other functions. The LIAT Cargo website, www.liatcargo.com, is already up and running and I invite you to visit this colourful and interactive site which provides a full suite of electronic service options for cargo operators.
We are particularly pleased to see such a wide representation of regional export and import businesses here today, as well as our colleagues from the media and of course our partner agencies throughout the region. We look forward to working with you to provide a quality cargo product and look forward to your active feedback and involvement as we jointly work to ensure a cargo service that meets the peculiar needs of our region.
In fact, the LIAT cargo operation is built on a strategy that seeks to build on our extensive regional network in a symbiotic relationship with a wide range of stakeholders and businesses. These include our valued GSA agents and the international cargo operators into our region, many of whom have already signalled their interest in working with LIAT for two-way feed.
One barrier to the growth and development of cargo services within our region involves the presence of outdated and rigid bureaucratic practices which significantly raise cargo costs by requiring overtime and other payments for Customs Officers for operating outside of an eight to four work schedule. Clearly such rules which may have been applicable and appropriate some time ago, today serve as fetters to trade and cost effective operations. We hope that our regional policy makers will work to eliminate these outdated bureaucratic left-overs and allow the consumer to benefit from a streamlined and efficient customs service.
Within LIAT we are extremely excited to see the launch of this venture, and virtually all departments within the company have contributed to bringing us to this stage. Special appreciation must be extended to our engineers and mechanics who have transformed our dedicated aircraft, registration LDQ, into a cargo freighter that conforms to all the safety and regulatory requirements mandated by the manufacturer as well as by the regulatory authorities in our region. This aircraft is now fully equipped with the required safety and technical features to ensure that LIAT Cargo is able to move most types of cargo safely and efficiently throughout our network.
Undoubtedly, however, the main driver and architect of this project has been our Director of Cargo and QuikPak, Mr Wilbur Edwards. Wilbur has literally toiled day and night over the last year, and experienced the many frustrations as regulatory and other requirements were played out. He can now begin to breathe again as his baby literally takes wings – hopefully with a full cargo load.
Wilbur has been solidly supported by his cargo team throughout the network, as well as by Leesa Parris-Rudder and her team at the LIAT Commercial office in Barbados, by the indefatigable Oliver Heywood at the GAIA, and by many others within and outside the company. Special mention must also be made of Mr Michael Clarke who has also been a source of dynamic energy for moving forward this project.
With such a solid and time-proven team we are confident that LIAT Cargo will provide the type of air freight service that has for so long been a dream of our regional exporters and importers. We are committed to working with you by providing a high quality product at competitive prices. We look forward to your business and your support as we aim together at making LIAT Cargo the air freighter of choice for our people and our region.
About LIAT
LIAT is one of the leading Caribbean airlines. It is owned by regional shareholders, with the major shareholders being the Governments of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. More information about LIAT may be found at www.liat.com.
Source: LIAT
