INTERCARIBBEAN, the airline has one again been the target of much criticism and scrutiny. This heightened even more lately after it was learnt that the Government of St. Vincent & the Grenadines had expended US$50K to have the nation’s insignia emblazoned on the tail of one of its aircrafts.
It must have seemed to the Minister of Tourism that this sort of branding would add to the promotion efforts of the nation. Except that it could be countered that association with a bad product cannot be a most positive move.
InterCaribbean burst upon the scene upon the demise of the regional carrier LIAT. Given the challenges the latter faced, one would imagine that InterCaribbean would have done a feasibility study. They must have decided that this was a challenge worth undertaking. But sadly, since this fledgling airline came on stream, its most ambitious undertaking has been met with much criticism.The complaints have been almost continuous and thus cannot be good for business. From the complaints being made public it does seem that the manner in which their staff handle customer service issues leaves much to be desired.
Serving our multi-island region can never be an easy undertaking. It is one of the reasons LIAT floundered. Another of course was the refusal of some CARICOM nations this airline served to contribute to its survival. It cannot be profitable for any airline to fly from one island to another with very few passengers aboard. A more efficient operation would suggest that schedules must be organized to ensure maximum payload on each flight.
With the increase in direct flights from the large metropolitan capitals into our countries, the need for island hopping airlines is being diminished daily. Caribbean people rarely visit their friends in neighboring islands anymore, we plan to meet up in NewYork, Miami or Toronto.The cost of inter-island travel is almost as much as travelling to those three cities we mentioned. Many large firms operating in the region often find it easier to have meetings in Miami.We saw Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gastón Browne complain about being left stranded in Barbados on his way to the CARICOM Summit at which he arrived four hours late. The struggle is real.
So that leaves InterCaribbean, a private airline, struggling to do the improbable task of servicing a region whose own governments refused to subsidize travel for their populations. Ask former Prime Minister Gonsalves about the licks he got for putting money into LIAT.
But InterCaribbean must be commended for the effort even as we criticize their evident inefficiencies. Having their staff communicate rudely to frustrated passengers is not going to help them. They must fix their scheduling. They must be realistic and, if it means offering just one flight into destinations a day, the customers must not be given unrealistic expectations.
Our people complain, as is their right when a contract is broken.We must know that large countries also have airlines which for one reason or the other have to reroute customers. But the passenger- the customer- must be communicated to so they know what they are faced with.They may even sympathize with your efforts. Inter-island service is always going to be an expensive, challenging undertaking. But InterCaribbean must lift its game, and soon.
