BWIA treads troubled waters again
By Felicia Persaud
Mr. Conrad Aleong, the beleaguered BWIA CEO
The situation at BWIA, the beleaguered Trinidad airline, is getting worst by the minute. In a scene reminiscent of a landlord evicting a tenant for failure to pay rent, BWIA leasers of two of its major airplanes seized the crafts after the company failed to pay its bill.
Two planes were seized in succession from
the airline this past week, leaving passengers stranded in Miami,
Florida.
Both airplanes are leased to BWIA by creditor International Leasing
Finance Co (ILFC), a subsidiary of the American International
Group (AIG), which is also the parent company of American Life
and General Company Ltd (ALGICO).
The airline reportedly owes ILCF approximately US$16 million in outstanding maintenance reserves, another US$5 million in lease rentals and US$21 million in outstanding payments.
What is ironic is that three directors on BWIA's board Gordon Deane, Michael Stanfield and Rajveer Ranawat are also directors at ALGICO.
Now the Patrick Manning administration is
questioning the seizure of the aircraft, especially since government
provided US$5 million to secure the release of the first aircraft,
seized from ILFC on Tuesday. Two days later, another aircraft
was seized.
PM Manning has openly voiced concern about whether the crisis
was not being strategically timed, according to the Trinidad Express.
He blasted BWIA management for not being upfront with his administration.
"Those reporting from BWIA to government
have not been as forthright as they ought to be; it is clear that
the facts are not known to us, when we are being told that US$5
million is to be applied to one particular problem and then the
following day being told that US$1.5 is for that and US$3.5 is
for another... their tune changes with the weather," the
prime minister said.
But BWIA CEO Mr. Conrad Aleong in a sit-down interview with Express
reporter Nirad Tewarie, said Prime Minister Manning may have been
"informed improperly or somebody got it confused."
He said government has only given over US$5 million of the promised US$18.5 million so far and the airline already has a pending rent bill of US$4.3 million.
Mr. Aleong also claimed that though three ALGICO directors sit on the BWIA board, ILFC and ALGICO are two separate companies.
But he said he agrees with the Trinidad government that ILFC is trying to pile on the pressure. "Don't buckle to that pressure," he advised Manning. "Stick to what you've offered us and let us work with that."
The BWIA honcho is also optimistic that no other planes will be seized and remains optimistic that the entire company would not collapse.
Meanwhile, BWIA spokesperson Clint Williams
assured the airline's passengers that the situation is being handled
and negotiations are underway for the release of both aircraft.