Editorial
The National Airline -
Prudence vs Pride
The Cayman Islands' success story could not have become a reality,without the participation, determination and wisdom of Caymaniansand Caymanian-owned entities.
One such entity, which has seen these islandsthrough thick and thin - though mainly the thin of its own existence- has been the national flag carrier, Cayman Airways (CAL), theweary subject of many political football games.
When British West Indian Airways (BWIA)- the national flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago which, at thetime provided the necessary air bridge for tourists and Caribbeannationals to get to and from the English speaking Caribbean -pulled its operations from the Cayman Islands in 1971, BWIA, asthe country's then only link by jet service to the US mainland,dealt a severe blow to the islands.
Enter LACSA, the Costa Rican carrier asa service provider of passenger traffic from the Miami gateway,which forged a link with the infant Cayman Brac Airways, the predecessorto CAL.
After years of being treated to the useof LACSA's' left over seats' to sell to tourists, business andlocal passengers, the late national hero of the Cayman Islands,Mr. Jim Bodden, under whose responsibility CAL fell, secured thefull ownership of the airline, and embarked on a grand plan tomake the national flag carrier into a regional 'air' force todeal with.
After selling off CAL's two aging British-made,noisy BAC 1-11's, Mr. Jim in 1983 struck a lease/purchase dealfor two practically new Boeing 727-200s, with 155 seats, includingfirst class sections.
With the election of a new Government in1984, and the cost of aviation fuel at the highest it had everbeen, the then newly-appointed Chairman of the airline, with abanker/accountant's eye and some rather short-sighted views, soldoff the two prides of the Cayman Islands, to Alaska Airlines fora sum which left the airline in a serious deficit still sufferedtoday.
It then acquired a new series of 737 seriesaircraft, which packed passengers into a very uncomfortable ride,while aging, to the near unsuitability of service which they areat present.
Meanwhile, by jumping through a series ofhoops, the airline, its management and staff, its aircraft equipment,including a recent acquisition of a third 737 for too much money- $13 million - continue to fly though the airline has reportedlybeen recording steady losses over the past 20 - 25 years, tothe tune over 100 million dollars, which includes an average $2million a year loss on the Cayman Brac run.
In these days of prudent shopping, touristsand business people are using the Internet, supported by the bigname international scheduled and charter air carriers, to offerhuge discount rates for travel to and from Europe and other places.
The net result is that one can now fly tothese destinations at an average cost of seven to eight centsper mile, while the cost to fly to Cayman from Miami is averagingten times that at 70 cents a mile.
One respected local airline analyst hassuggested that with the right type of management, CAL - with alimited amount of subsidy - could offer airfares as low as $125-140per round trip, and $150 on the weekend.
The beauty of this is that with this reduction,the other carriers serving the Cayman Islands from the US mainland,including American Airlines which is now hogging the majorityof passengers, will have to follow suit.
And as privately-owned airlines, they certainlywill not get any subsidy from their government, which could verywell force them to relinquish many thousands of passengers toCayman Airways.
Does this make sense? You bet it does.
If this is not done -- as a tourist destinationwith our own flag carrier driving up the cost of airfares, wecould very well be ... done.
If this is not possible, then the next sensiblething to do, is to fold the wings of Cayman Airways, absorb thestaff into the Cayman workforce with re-training if required tofill the next 200 to 300 jobs, with the attendant salaries whichwould normally be given to work permit holders in that categoryof income.