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| Founded | October 20, 1956 (as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services)[1] | |||
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| Fleet size | 18 | |||
| Destinations | 22 | |||
| Company slogan | THE Caribbean Airline | |||
| Headquarters | V.C. Bird International Airport Saint George Parish, Antigua |
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| Key people | Brian Challenger (CEO) Ag. Jean Stewart Holder (Chairman) |
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| Website | http://www.liat.com | |||
Leeward Islands Air Transport, known as LIAT, is an airline headquartered on the grounds of V. C. Bird International Airport in Saint George Parish, Antigua.[2] It operates high-frequency interisland scheduled services serving 22 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base is VC Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with bases at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago.[3]
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Leeward Islands Air Transport Services was founded on 20 September 1956 and began flying with a single Piper Apache operating between Antigua and Montserrat. With the acquisition in 1957 of 75% of the airline by the larger, better known BWIA, LIAT was able to expand to other Caribbean destinations and to obtain new aircraft types, such as the Beechcraft Bonanza and de Havilland Heron airplanes. Hawker Siddeley HS 748s came in 1965, due to the airline's decision to phase out the Herons.
LIAT wasn't always an all propeller engined airline: after Court Line.[4] obtained 75% of the airline in 1971, LIAT entered the jet age, using BAC One Elevens for its longer Caribbean routes, along with Britten-Norman types.
Court Line went bankrupt in August 1974,[4] and the BAC-One Elevens were gone from the LIAT fleet as well. In order to keep the airline flying, the governments of 11 Caribbean nations stepped in and bought the airline. The jets were replaced with a series of smaller types, such as the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters.
The 1980s were a decade of growth for the airline: by 1986, many daily flights were operated to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as other regions that the airline had never flown to. Faster Dash 8-100s were bought, to reduce flight times system-wide.
In November 1995, LIAT was partially privatized, to save it from bankruptcy once again. LIAT also began to fly the 50-seater Dash 8-300 series of the Dash 8.
In January 2007 the airline announced an intended merger with Caribbean Star Airlines, and they entered into a commercial alliance, involving the flying of a combined schedule. All flights were marketed as LIAT, although the airlines continued to operate separately using their own air operators certificates, until after completion of the merger. The merged airline will use the LIAT brand with a merged fleet which is standardised on the Bombardier Dash 8 Q300.[3] However in June 2007, the Share Holder Governments of Barbados, Antigua and St. Vincent gave the go ahead to the Board of Directors to buy out Caribbean Star instead. LIAT purchased Caribbean Star Airlines on the 24 October 2007 and five of Caribbean Star's DHC-8 aircraft have been transferred to LIAT. As another result of the merger, LIAT changed its slogan to "LIAT, Star of the Caribbean", which was used as the slogan for a short time, and was then changed back to "THE Caribbean Airline".
The airline is owned by 7 Caribbean governments, with 3 being the Major shareholders (73.4%); private shareholders (10%); and employees (5.3%). It has 673 employees (at March 2007).The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, which also is the sole shareholder of another regional carrier, Caribbean Airlines, the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago, was also offered the option to be another shareholder in LIAT, but the Government of Prime Minister Patrick Manning rejected the offer.
For the past two years LIAT and the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIALPA) and the Leeward Islands Flight Attendants Association (LIFAA), the groups representing the airline’s pilots and cabin crew, have been engaged in talks about establishing a base in Trinidad.
The need for the new base arises from LIAT having to overnight a minimum of 18 crewmembers every night in hotels in Port-of-Spain at an annual cost of over US$1 million. The opening of a base in Trinidad is a part of the company’s attempts to respond to the dynamics of regional inter-island traffic, including Trinidad’s significance as a business and commercial centre for the southern Caribbean.
The management of LIAT, although not required by law or contract, has retained professional accounting and consulting services firm PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) to undertake a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) study to assess any differentials in costs that might arise for pilots and flight attendants as a result of having to be based in Trinidad. The PWC study specifically included costs associated with the increased security risks associated with Trinidad. A similar study, without the security risk factors, was done when LIAT successfully re-established its Barbados base in May 2001.
LIAT’s management wishes to emphasize that it remains committed to the safety, security and general welfare of its staff. The company expects to continue its discussions with the unions representing the Flight Attendants and Pilots in order to establish a base in Trinidad.[5]
LIAT is currently looking at acquiring Bombardier Dash 8 Q400s as part of a new study into future aircraft alternatives. Acting chief executive Brian Challenger says the carrier has initiated an evaluation of new turboprops and plans to hire a consultant to help it evaluate its options.
The youngest Q300s currently available are eight years old, providing an improvement over LIAT's current Q300s. LIAT's Q300s are now 14 to 19 years-old. Switching the entire fleet to ATR 42/ATR 72s is also being looked at but Challenger says LIAT will most likely stick with Dash 8s. The Chinese government is also offering Xian MA60s through government-to-government channels. "The China government is very keen on making aircraft available," he says. "The financing wouldn't be a challenge but support issues are high. It's really unlikely we'd go that way." He adds another challenge for the MA60s is that the aircraft has not yet been certified in the US or the Caribbean. He points out public confidence in Chinese-built aircraft is also low. He adds LIAT also prefers not to switch to a new aircraft type because any transition would require operating a mixed fleet for a few years.
LIAT currently connects 22 destinations throughout the Caribbean with most flights operated using 50-seat Q300s. While some routes can potentially support 70-seat Q400s (such as Antigua to Barbados, Trinidad, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Guyana and as well as launching new flights to Cuba and Jamaica), Challenger says switching to an all-Q400 fleet is not an option because it has several routes which can only be sustained with the 50-seat and 37-seat aircraft. Challenger says 50-seat aircraft remain the ideal aircraft size for most of LIAT's routes. He says 37-seat aircraft are also needed for very small markets such as St. Kitts and Nevis.
It has not been stated how many Q400s would potentially be required and whether LIAT would opt to acquire new or second-hand aircraft. Challenger's predecessor, Mark Darby stated in November 2008 that LIAT could potentially use three to four Q400s but most of the carrier's Q300 fleet would need to be replaced with similarly sized 50-seat aircraft.
LIAT owns its three Dash 8-100s, that are about 19 to 21-years old. LIAT is now in the process of converting one of these into a freighter. Challenger says LIAT will also consider converting a second Dash 8-100 into a freighter but it plans to continue to operate the third aircraft on its thinnest passenger routes.[6]
If LIAT proceeds with its plans, the airline will be the first and only Q400 operator in the Caribbean region.
LIAT's services to Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat and St. Vincent are codeshared with Carib Aviation, which also uses Antigua & Barbuda as its hub. On July 11, 2008, LIAT had to temporarily suspend its arrangement with Carib Aviation, due to the recent grounding of two of Carib Aviation's six aircraft by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA).[7]
Both airlines later agreed that from August 16, 2008 the existing codeshare and wet-lease arrangements would be terminated but a new arrangement was planned, whereby LIAT would make Carib Aviation flights available through its reservations system. The agreement was canceled due to Carib Aviation's decision to suspend all service effective September 30, 2008. Following the suspension of operations, LIAT discontinued its marketing of Carib Aviation tickets.[8]
LIAT also provides cargo services, with its service called Quikpak. This service provides Airport-to-Airport & Door-to-Door, customs cleared delivery service throughout the Caribbean. The delivery time is typically within one to two days, guaranteed by the LIAT staff.[9]
LIAT will also begin all cargo services with a Dash 8-100, which is currently being converted from a passenger aircraft to a full-fledged cargo aircraft. Once the new cargo service comes on stream, customers for the first time will be able to book cargo online on the company’s web site. Already, there has been considerable interest by regional manufacturers, agricultural exporters and other traders in the start-up of the service.
The introduction of its new cargo service is planned for later this year.[10]
LIAT provides service in the Eastern Caribbean region from Santo Domingo Dominican Republic in the north to Georgetown Guyana in the south, linking the chain of islands in between.[11]
LIAT has a very poor reputation among both locals and visitors. Their flights often operate irregularly, with inconsistent arrival and departure times (both late and sometimes early, even if all ticketed passengers are not on-board). Baggage is often misdirected or not loaded entirely. They are known for having very poor customer service, and their staff is surly and unhelpful. These problems have been exacerbated with the 2010 strikes - with many flights canceled and passengers stranded and unable to receive refunds.[15][16]
The airline's poor reputation has earned them the nickname "Leave Island Any Time."
The LIAT fleet includes the following aircraft (at 2009):[18]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Economy) |
Notes |
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| Bombardier Dash 8-100 | 3 | 37 | One converted to cargo cofiguration, with plans for a second aircraft to also be converted |
| Bombardier Dash 8-300 | 10 | 50 | |
| Bombardier Dash 8 Q-300 | 5 | 50 | Acquired from Caribbean Star |
As of 2009, the average fleet age of LIAT was 17.6 years.[19]
The LIAT retired fleet includes the following aircraft:
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