New Caribbean Airlines Chief Executive Officer Philip Saunders says his focus at the helm is to consistently deliver excellent service from A-Z and declared that Guyana is important in their strategy.
Saunders officially took the position on Monday from Peter Davies and at the airline’s press conference to introduce him at the Demerara Life Conference Room on Robb Street, he noted that the airline’s commitment to Guyana is clear with his appearance here in the first week on the job.
“Guyana is a central part of our strategy,” Saunders told the media, noting that when a new CEO comes on board the question is does it mean change or continuity?
Saunders said that for him “change means continuity and evolution.” It was also noted that Davies will remain at the airlines as an advisor.
Saunders served as vice president of commercial operations at Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline alliance, and in senior management positions at British Airways as well as providing the commercial direction to achieve the turnaround at SN Brussels Airlines in Belgium and Deutsche BA in Germany.
This country, he remarked, was “different and remarkable” because of its natural resources.
Yesterday, Saunders held meetings with major tour operators and learned about the ambitions for the tourism industry and he also met with Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister Manniram Prashad.
In the meeting with Minister Prashad the airline reaffirmed its commitment to promoting the eco and nature tourism the country has to offer, he told the media.
Included in his focus is to have consistent delivery of excellent service and to recognize the characteristics of the market. In this regard it was mentioned that the airline’s on time performance is at one of the leading levels in the airline industry. According to Saunders, they also respect the fact that the passengers’ time is valuable.
Providing excellent service from A-Z, he noted, was their aim, beginning from customer service to being a consumer advocate.
In addition, a commitment was also given by the new CEO that they will have “fair fares,” as part of their objective to increase market share. Saunders also indicated that they need to constantly address the cost base. Key to increasing its market share, said the CEO, is to ensure good service and being fair.
BWIA now Caribbean Airlines benefited from several bailouts from the T&T government to ensure its survival, before it was restructured and its name changed, with the hope of being profitable.
In Guyana there are over 40 employees, and 11 persons are being trained in T&T to boost the cabin crew on the North America scheduled flights and throughout the network. The airlines also provide engineering internships to staff. Currently, from Guyana there are eight flights per week to Toronto and 11 per week to New York, with five non-stop daily flights to Port of Spain.
Initiatives that demonstrated the airline’s commitment to the environment were noted as well.
In this light, he noted, bringing people to Guyana will enable them to understand the importance of the rainforest. He also said that the airline is proud of its association with the Iwokrama rainforest project.
Global awareness and travel needs are changing with increased interest in Guyana from Europe and North America, the media was told. It was also stated that there is an opportunity for dual destination packages between Guyana and T&T.
Drug problem
Saunders pledged to continue to work tirelessly to combat the drug problem (the use of flights to transport drugs), which he described as “terrible.”
Airlines officials noted that this was being examined on a day-to-day basis. Methods already in place include a contracted private security firm for luggage checks and the installation of CCTV, along with collaboration with regulatory drug fighting units.
General Manager Carlton Defour said over the past eight months there has been no incidents of drugs being found on board flights. Regional Director Robert Corbie also affirmed that security checks were being done on in-transit flights in T&T as well.
And with the upcoming Christmas season, the airline is also assuring that it will be covering the subject of the timely arrival of passenger luggage to avert luggage problems like the fiasco three years ago when a number of passengers arrived on flights from North America minus luggage.
Scheduling direct flights to North America is also being examined, Saunders noted, as “this is something we are constantly looking at.”
Meanwhile, Defour said that there has been no official announcement on Caribbean Airlines becoming the nation’s official carrier, but it is something to which the airline is looking forward.
