Dear Editor,
This is a response to the letter in yesterday’s edition under the heading `Mr Jagan’s flight was cancelled after debris hit landing gear sensor, EZjet has operated well over 90% of flights on time’
It is clear from this response that EZjet Airlines CEO Sonny Ramdeo is intent on not accepting the deficiencies and disgraceful business practices of his airline. Rather than attempt to persuade Guyanese that he will do better in the future or offer some reasonable explanation of his airline’s past failures, he has opted to misrepresent and distort the accuracy of my observations of EZjet’s performance.
As I stated in my first article, there would be a series of articles describing EZjet’s disgraceful business practices and treatment of Guyanese. In my second article, which I sent to you, Mr Ramdeo, personally and which has not yet been published, I explicitly explained my claim for the damages that EZjet proximately caused to my checked-in television.
Now, to respond to your falsities and derogations from reality, you, Sonny, are the one that attempted to contact me once I threatened to go public with your airline’s shameful practices. You offered to give me free flights in exchange for me promising not to divulge your airline’s inefficiency and unprofessional manner of operation. I immediately denied your offer. Sonny, you know this to be true, just ask the travel agency which represents EZjet in Guyana. I made no threat about settling the claim to my satisfaction, but rather, continuously urged you to come to a resolution in a mutually acceptable manner. You were entirely unreasonable in your handling of my claim. Make no mistake Sonny. I was never not going to expose your EZjet’s poor treatment of Guyanese. I was simply waiting for your decision in regards to my claim before I so exposed such.
As to the March 4, 2012 flight cancellation, yes, cancellation, not delay, as the CEO of EZjet, you should know that passengers were never offered an explanation as to why their flight was cancelled. This is the first time you are offering any explanation whatsoever. In fact, rather than having the decency to communicate any such reasons, each and every EZjet representative hurriedly vacated JFK Airport immediately after cancelling the flight. This is truly disgraceful. To not even be available to offer an explanation is entirely unacceptable to any reasonable person.
Moreover, JFK representatives informed us that EZjet knew the flight was cancelled since the moment they began checking us in.
You know very well that EZjet did not provide hotel accommodations and meals for passengers of the cancelled March 4, 2012 flight. Anyone who is undecided as to who to believe in this matter can easily verify what I have just stated by contacting any passenger of the cancelled March 4, 2012 flight. Your reference to my upgrade to first class is irrelevant especially since you know that this upgrade, which was done solely at EZjet’s discretion, took place on March 4, 2012 prior to the flight being cancelled. As such, your reference to this upgrade is immaterial. As for your claim about the use of a VIP lounge, there is no such EZjet VIP lounge in JFK’s airport. What free breakfast are you referring to? How could you be offering free breakfast if the rescheduled flight was scheduled to leave on March 5, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. and check-in began at 2:30 p.m. How would you even be offering a free breakfast? Your claims are not even capable of reconciliation, let alone do they make sense.
The fact that you, as CEO of a newly formed airline which has not been in operation for an extended period of time, are proud of operating “well over 90% of its flights” is truly pathetic. 90%? Are you serious Thank you for proving my point that you have not operated well for many of EZjet’s flights.
I have made no false allegations. While waiting to be checked in at EZjet’s JFK terminal, I observed the handling of passenger luggage on the conveyor belts and reported my observations to your EZjet’s staff which agreed that handling was done in a grossly negligent and recklessly wanton manner. Baggage was literally tossed onto the conveyor belts, rather than being placed upon such with care or even slight prudence. The terminal EZjet operates out of is not in fact JFK’s premier terminal. This claim is simply false.
I do not expect customs and security officials at JFK to assist passengers in collecting or handling of baggage and did not claim to expect such in any of my writings. However, Guyanese passengers were restricted to the zone in which their luggage carousel was located. In this zone there were no luggage carts to be used in collecting luggage. Because EZjet’s representatives had fled JFK to avoid us Guyanese, EZjet made no provision or procedures so that we would have access to using luggage carts.
I flew round trip with EZjet this one time and never will again. I was not completely satisfied in traveling from Guyana to New York on the first leg of the trip either. Even then, my original flight was cancelled and re-scheduled because EZjet claimed that they did not have enough passengers to fly on my originally scheduled flight. I made no complaints then simply and only because I was entrenched in my preparations for my Bar Examination. As I have completed such, I have all the time in the world to expose your airlines inefficiencies and deficiencies.
EZjet is, as you claim, competitively priced, no doubt. You are also right in stating that EZjet is not perfect, in fact, they are far from it. But, competitive pricing does not exempt your airline from providing professional, decent and dignified service to Guyanese. Guyanese are human beings and deserve better from an airline who claims to be working hard for Guyanese.
Yours faithfully,
Cheddi B. Jagan II,
Esq.
