Liat, Redjet and Caribbean Airlines

A Caribbean Airlines Billboard in Jamaica, Queens, New York, U.S.A A sign they are taking their business seriously

Photo by: Allan H. F Palmer (taken with cell phone)

All through history, the making of a hero begins and ends, not by premeditated planning, but  occures when selected people, saw real problems within their communities and the world around them and as a result; they voluntarily put their lives on hold and plunge themselves into service to humanity. They did so in order to bring relief to the suffering that inflames their consciousness. They give of themselves, their time and their resources to find solutions to serious problems that affected their life and the life of others. What is interesting, they did so with no expectation or hope of recognition or reward. The though of and participating in such pursuit, brought the pursuer, the fulfillment that was needed.

Every hero, at some point of there pursuit, had to came up against and overcome tremendous odds, but most of all, there were unique qualities that were evident in them. The chief of those Qualities was and still is: they were willing to sacrifice all; however, they did so not for the glory of recognition but for the betterment of there fellow men.

Today we live in a world where the genuine love for people and a desire to provide genuine service seem to be none-existent. It appears as if everyone has a burning desire for instant recognition. Even in the churches, if at some point in the service, the pastor or some other person fails to publicly recognize the people who officiated in the service, there may be problems. So it is now standard and expected practice or procedure, for an official to thank those who have participated in the service. Having put the current trends into prospective, it will be safe to conclude; in this era, volunteering for the genuine love of service to and for humanity, rarely or no longer exists.

In his quest for recognition and to secure his place in regional history, Ralph Gonslaves took on the responsibility to save Liat 1974 limited. In doing so, he struck a deal with Liat’s chief competitor: Allan Stanford and his airline The Caribbean Star, which was slowly forcing LIAT out of the Caribbean skies. Gonsalves’ ego forced him into, a sly maneuver, where he took all of the credit for single handed leading Liat 1974 Ltd. in to a merger with Allan Stanford’s Caribbean Star.

Many people expressed concerned over the deal Ralph E Gonsalves struck with Sir. Allan Stanford and were of the opinion that the deal was a less than desirable/favorable one. Then the troubling news of Mr. Allan Stanford’s habitual dishonesty surfaced; this gave rise to even more serious concern as it related to the deal PM Gonsalves made with the now imprisoned Sir. Stanford.

What Ralph Gonsalves, Liat’s shareholders and Liat’s management fail to understand was: to eliminate the competition was not enough to make this airline (which has a history of falling into debt) a viable entity.

After allegations of Allan Stanford’s legal troubles, the allege deceitful and cunning manner in which Mr. Stanford conducted business and his imprisonment surfaced, many people wondered how these allegations and Stanford’s trouble were going to impact the merger. Unfortunately none of the share holders saw it fit to publicly address this matter. We all know the USA federal officials are in the process of following Stanford’s money trail with a view of recovering the monies of those who were allegedly swindled. This is very good reason for the share holders of LIAT to be concerned.

It is strange that even after Ralph E. Gonsalves himself had overseen and led the restructuring of Liat 1974 Ltd, even after Liat’s sole competitor were eliminated from the market in a merger and the company control the inter island (flight between Windward and Leeward) monopoly; they were unable to realize any significant profit. As a matter of fact the monopoly holding airline still managed to fall into serious indebtedness.

Ralph Gonsalves’ adopted child (Liat) is now faced with a mountain of foreseeable challenges which, may results in the traumatic death of Liat. The first thing to happen was Caribbean Airlines (CAL) came on the scene and decided to lawfully impose on Liat’s protective market, interrupting Liat’s three year monopoly; then a new airlines: REDjet, have chosen to make the Caribbean community their chief target market. REDjet has vowed to provide cheaper rates for a high quality product; the recent competition only seeks to increase the stress of the financially Ailing Liat. You would have though that the environment under which Liat is now forced to function could not have gotten any worst, the recent surge in oil prices only seeks to compound her problems.

What do these recent developments mean for LIAT, for Ralph E. Gonsalves’ Legacy as a business man and the Savior of Liat?

In this global market, where the setting up of protective trade barriers is prohibited, I knew it was only a matter of time, before some entrepreneur saw the value of providing affordable air transportation service to the Caribbean; tapping into Liat’s market. It took two years longer than I though it would have, but I knew it would happen.

I must confess that Liat have been around for quite a long time, and the airline had weathered many terrible storms; however, since the hands of death, that have taken hold of and sucked the life out of Yulemo (the 1970s black conscious, political organization) and has drove St. Vincent and the Grenadines into a place of social, political, economical; spiritual and moral terminal illness, what chance does Liat have now that the hands of death have take hold of her?

It is my opinion that LiatLiat may have been able to weather this new storms that now brewing on the horizon; however, since the hands of death have taken hold of this entity, the winds of competition may just be to strong for Liat to withstand and will knock this poorly managed company (LIAT) flat on its back and out of business.

The question that we must seek answer for are:

After recognizing the serious winds of competition that is brewing on the horizon and the rapidly elevating cost of fuel; what strategic plans does Ralph E. Gonsalves, the shareholders and management of Liat has put together to deal with these new development?

I hope the other shareholders of Liat are not following Prime Minister Gonsalves in his favorite pass time: groping in the dark hoping to bump into a miracle that will fix everything. It surely do not work like that. According to Albert Einstein, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.