Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
BWIA International Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding on a code-share agreement with Continental Airlines as part of a three-year strategic revamp to make the Caribbean carrier profitable. Talks have also been held with Delta Air Lines, but Continental "-is the preferred option", BWIA says.
The airline is also proceeding with plans to renew its fleet, which consists of five Boeing MD-83s and four Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 500s, and has formed a team to look at options. Privatised in 1995, BWIA says that it is now "-poised to launch an initial public offering to raise new equity investment for growth and fleet renewal".
The three-year business plan has been drawn up by the new management team, appointed in February. This is headed by president and chief executive Conrad Aleong, head of airline consultancy CA International and a former president of Curaçao-based ALM. Aleong was previously with BWIA from 1993 to 1995, preparing the airline for privatisation.
The "Strategies 2001" plan includes schedule revisions to strengthen BWIA's presence in markets such as Guyana-New York and to return to core routes such as Tobago-Caracas. A merger with regional carrier LIAT is still being pursued and establishment of a cargo subsidiary is planned. The airline is seeking regional co-operation and, with Air Aruba, Air Jamaica and Cayman Air, it has established a working group to look at areas such as cargo handling.
Under the airline's previous regime, headed by Giles Filiatreault, BWIA finalised a fleet revamp plan in 1996, with deals for Embraer RJ-145s and Airbus A321s for short-haul routes and for two A340-300s for its long haul operations. These plans were dropped when the airline begun discussing tie-ups with other carriers. Two A321s were taken on lease from International Lease Finance in 1996, but these aircraft are now out of the fleet as they are on long-term subleases to another operator.
BWIA says its strategic plan is already showing results, with an operating profit for the first half of the year of $1.7 million, compared to an operating loss of $13 million in the first half of last year. The plan for the 12 months is to break even.
On-time performance has also improved to 80% for the year to date, BWIA says, and efforts are under way to reduce maintenance costs while generating revenue through third-party work.
Source: Flight International
