(Trinidad Guardian) A senior British Airways (BA) executive has complained that majority state-owned Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL) is benefiting from an unfair advantage as a result of using subsidised fuel on its London–Caribbean route. “Their prices reflect the fact that they are not paying in full for fuel. All the other islands are concerned about it making them less competitive. It is great for the consumer in the short term, but it’s not sustainable. It’s having an impact on the VFR [visiting friends and relations] market, which is very price sensitive,” said Colm Lacy, BA’s head of commercial at Gatwick. Lacy was referring to has been CAL’s June re-entry into the market flying between Gatwick and Trinidad in a recent interview with Travel Weekly, which was reported on the Caribbean360 Website on Thursday.
He said that the cost of flying between Britain and the Caribbean had increased because of the British airport passenger duty (APD), which was having a negative impact on the airline’s plans to expand its capacity to the region. “The fuel cost on flying to the Caribbean is significant. It’s the main cost: almost 50 per cent of the total. APD is big as well, given it has gone up 360 per cent in the last six years. It is completely disproportionate. A family of four pays £324 to fly to the Caribbean (in economy), when flying to Miami it is £260. The Caribbean is unfairly penalised,” Lacy was quoted as saying.
