Business
Fallout from REDjet suspension announcement
However, St Lucia’s Prime Minsiter Dr Kenny Anthony told reporters he had always thought that REDjet was a “courageous investment”.
“Firstly, when REDjet entered the market, you will recall that airlines all over the world were reeling and that they faced major difficulties because of rising fuel prices,” Anthony explained.
Added to that, he said, the Caribbean had proven to be an exceedingly difficult place to operate airlines, not only from the standpoint of regulation or licensing, but owing to the very nature of the islands with “several airports, short distances, and the cost of operating airlines tends to be very high; overheads are very high”.
Anthony also responded to concerns raised by REDjet about not receiving government support and assistance. The St Lucian leader said while he was not in a position to speak on behalf of Barbados, where the carrier is based, “what I can say is that governments throughout the Eastern Caribbean are reeling from the issue of subsidies to airlines”.
“We have just got into office in St Lucia and we now have to face fairly heavy bills to pay airlines who are induced to enter St Lucia to support our tourism industry.
“Therefore I don’t know for how long governments can continue to provide subsidies to airlines, and this is therefore a very, very challenging problem,” he said.
However, Anthony believes the owners of REDjet do have a point about the “uneven competitive environment”.
