Business
Fallout from REDjet suspension announcement
He is also concerned that the region could easily be held hostage in a market in which there is one dominant airline.
“For example, when you have industrial disputes between Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) management and its pilots, the entire region is at their mercy; and I am not too sure that is the best thing for the region,” he said, while acknowledging that the “area may well be far too small for too many airlines”.
“I really do hope they can find a formula to help them [REDjet] to fly again,” said Anthony, who is not expecting any major fallout for St Lucia from its suspension.
The low-cost carrier, which entered the marketplace last year, got off to a rather bumpy start in several key destinations, but regional passengers immediately welcomed its discounted fares which proved to be an issue for LIAT.
Back in April when REDjet was first announced, LIAT chairman Jean Holder had suggested that its fares were simply too good to be true.
“If you are producing a service or a product of any kind and trying to sell at a lower cost than the cost of production, it doesn’t matter what you are selling, it is not a sustainable business model,” he said then.
But yesterday as the suspension news took regional passengers by surprise, Holder said his priority was in helping to transport displaced REDjet passengers who would have booked flights before Friday night’s announcement.
