Dear Editor,
My wife, sister, two grandchildren and myself just returned from a peaceful, restful and enjoyable week in Guyana, but unfortunately our trip was marred by unpleasant experiences with Caribbean Airlines, including arrogance, rudeness, incompetence, hostility and disrespect for Guyanese. My ticket was booked in Barbados by my sister, including her seat number. Our flight number from Trinidad was BW661 on April 9, 2009. On checking in my sister was told that the flight was over booked and as a result her seat was no longer available. I travel lightly all the time with a single leather carry-on bag, which I travel with all over the world and which conforms to the normal dimensions allowed by IATA. However, the empty carry-on bag weighs about 5 kilos, and my total weight was 10 kilos and to my surprise I was told I cannot carry any bag weighing more than 7 kilos.
I then asked to see the supervisor whose manner and attitude words cannot describe; she said I either conform to the 7 kilos or I cannot travel. I then dared her to prevent me from travelling, but my sister decided to transfer some of my belongings to her suitcase to save further confrontation. My sister was allocated a seat after a lot of hassle. I asked to see a Caribbean Airlines representative since both the individuals we had spoken to were from Servicair. I never got to see one.
Next we were requested to board the aircraft one hour before the scheduled departure only to find most of the passengers in transit from Toronto. And the aircraft was in a filthy condition as it was not serviced. Then to our astonishment we were told not to fasten our seat belts as they were refuelling the plane. I then told the air hostess who was young and looked inexperienced that this activity is against all international regulations and they were putting our lives at risk. I requested she inform the captain of my protest. She never answered nor did I get the impression that she conveyed my message. To add insult to injury it was announced that they have no immigration cards for Guyana, but on leaving the aircraft we were handed Trinidad and Tobago immigration forms with Guyana written in ink and Trinidad and Tobago scratched out. After completing these immigration forms at Cheddi Jagan International Airport Guyanese immigration officers came and apologized and gave us the correct forms. Also I find it absurd that the one-hour flight to Guyana cost the same or more than the three and half hour flight to Miami and five hour flight to New York. Why is it that Guyanese travelling out of Guyana to Trinidad can only buy a year’s return? I have found Caribbean Airlines and its predecessor BWIA have scant regard for Guyanese and treat them with disdain, although I understand revenue from Guyanese accounts for 15-20% of their income. It is about time Caribbean Airlines have well-trained, polite and cultured staff rather than give the impression that they are discriminatory and not service oriented.
Yours faithfully,
Hughley Hanoman (Snr)
Editor’s note
We sent a copy of this letter to Ms Laura Asbjorsen, Marketing Director, Caribbean Airlines for any comments she might have wished to make, and received the following response from Ms Aneesa Mohammed of Customer Relations:
“Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to respond to Dr Hanoman’s letter.
“While we have launched an investigation into his concerns, we must inform you that passenger information is private and confidential. As such, our findings will be communicated directly to Dr Hanoman.
“We continue to place a great emphasis on the delivery of excellent customer service and we regret those instances when our service does not match our customers’ expectations or our standards.”
