The embattled Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is reporting that it has been making “significant progress” in pursuit of its eagerly anticipated restructuring plans, having been the victim of a severe COVID-19 economic blowout and even prior to that a considerable erosion in consumer confidence in a region where it had previously been lauded for its service.
Back in June, CAL had underlined the extent of the ongoing crisis it has been experiencing by declaring a 75% revenue decline this year compared with the same period in 2020. Simultaneously, CAL had announced the shedding of at least 450 jobs from its workforce. In effect the airline was reporting the continuation of a similar perform-ance downturn in 2020 during which it had endured an operating loss of TT$738 million compared to operating profits for 2018 and 2019.
Seeking, it seems, to lift the gloom that has hung like a menacing rain cloud over the airline, CAL announced a week ago that it “has made significant progress on the previously announced consultation process for its proposed restructuring, undertaken as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its commercial activities.
“The airline has adjusted its planned strategy, fleet size and route network to reflect the decreased size of its future market, specifically, reduced passenger numbers, which is estimated to remain below 2019 levels for the next two to three years.”
This latest progress report, the airline said, came on the heels of “extensive discussions” with employees and employee represen-tatives in the various locations that Caribbean Airlines operates. It said that those discussions were “constructive and as a result, the number of employees to be separated is now 280, significantly fewer than previously estimated.”
