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| Founded | October 20, 1956 (as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services)[1] | |||
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| Fleet size | 17 | |||
| Destinations | 22 | |||
| Company slogan | THE Caribbean Airline | |||
| Headquarters | Saint George Parish, Antigua | |||
| Key people | Brian Challenger (CEO) Ag. Jean Stewart Holder (Chairman) |
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| Website | http://www.liat.com | |||
LIAT is an airline headquartered on the grounds of V.C. Bird International Airport in Saint George Parish, Antigua.[2] It operates high-frequency interisland scheduled services serving 21 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base is VC Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with hubs at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago.[3]
Contents |
History
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This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2008) |
Leeward Islands Air Transport Services was founded on 20 September 1956 and began flying with a single Piper Apache operating between Antigua and Montserrat. With the acquisition in 1957 of 75% of the airline by the larger, better known BWIA, LIAT was able to expand to other Caribbean destinations and to obtain new airplane types, such as the Beechcraft Bonanza and de Havilland Heron airplanes. Hawker Siddeley HS 748's came in 1965, due to the airline's decision to phase out the Herons.
LIAT wasn't always an all propeller engined airline: after Court Line obtained the airline in the early 1970s, LIAT entered the jet age, using BAC One Elevens for their longer Caribbean routes, as well as Britten-Norman types. In 1973, LIAT provided maintenance work for another Caribbean airline, Carib Aviation; these services were suspended when Carib Aviation decided to hire their own mechanics in 1974.
Court Line went bankrupt soon after acquiring LIAT, and the BAC-One Elevens were gone from the LIAT fleet as well. In order to keep the airline flying, the governments of 11 Caribbean nations stepped in and bought the airline. The jets were replaced with a series of smaller airplanes, such as the Twin Otters.
The 1980s were a decade of growth for the airline: by 1986, many daily flights were operated to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as other regions that the airline had never flown to. Faster Dash 8-100 airplanes were bought, to reduce flighttimes system-wide.
In November 1995, LIAT was partially privatized, to save it from bankruptcy once again. LIAT also began to fly the 50 seater Dash 8-300 series of the Dash 8.
LIAT's Pilots are represented by the Leeward Islands Air Line Pilots' Association (LIALPA), which is affiliated with IFALPA. LIALPA is also part of the regional Caribbean Air Line Pilots' Association (C-ALPA).
Merger
In January 2007 the airline announced an intended merger with Caribbean Star Airlines, and they entered into a commercial alliance, involving the flying of a combined schedule. All flights were now marketed as LIAT, although the airlines continued to operate separately using their own air operators certificates, until after completion of the merger. The merged airline will use the LIAT brand with a merged fleet which is standardised on the Bombardier Dash 8 Q300[3]. However in June 2007, the Share Holder Governments of Barbados, Antigua and St. Vincent gave the go ahead to the Board of Directors to buy out Caribbean Star instead. LIAT purchased Caribbean Star Airlines on the 24 October 2007 and five of Caribbean Star's DHC-8 aircraft have been transferred to LIAT. As another result of the merger, LIAT changed its slogan to "LIAT, Star of the Caribbean", which is its current slogan.
The airline is owned by 7 Caribbean governments, with 3 being the Major shareholders (73.4%), privately held (10%) and employees (5.3%). It has 673 employees (at March 2007).The Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, who is also the sole shareholder of another regional carrier, Caribbean Airlines, the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago, was also offered the option to be another shareholder in LIAT, but the Government rejected the offer by Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Patrick Manning.
LIAT's services to Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat and St. Vincent are codeshared with Carib Aviation, which also uses Antigua & Barbuda as its hub. On July 11, 2008, LIAT had to temporarily suspend its arrangement with Carib Aviation, due to the recent grounding of two of Carib Aviation's six aircraft by the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA).[4].
Both airlines later agreed that from August 16, 2008 the existing codeshare and wet-lease arrangements would be terminated but a new arrangement was planned, whereby LIAT would make Carib Aviation flights available through its reservations system. The agreement was canceled due to Carib Aviation's decision to suspend all service effective September 30, 2008. Following the suspension of operations, LIAT discontinued its marketing of Carib Aviation tickets.[5]
Cargo services
LIAT Also provides cargo services, with its service called Quickpack. This service provides Airport-to-Airport & Door-to-Door, customs cleared delivery service throughout the Caribbean. The delivery time is typically within one to two days, guaranteed by the LIAT staff. [6]
Antigua Sailing Week
On April 10, 2008, in celebration of the 41st anniversary of the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, sailboats will be travelling the skies. As a Silver Sponsor of the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week, LIAT has replaced the usual white fuselage on one of its Bombardier Dash 8 300 aircraft with a brightly coloured, nautical themed livery featuring sailboats on the ocean, as well as the Stanford Antigua Sailing Week logo. The aircraft that was painted is registered as V2-LFU.[7] This happens to be LIAT's first and only special schemed aircraft.
Destinations
LIAT provides service in the Eastern Caribbean region from Santo Domingo Dominican Republic in the north to Georgetown Guyana in the south, linking the chain of islands in between.[8]
Incidents & Accidents
- On August 23, 1959, a LIAT de Havilland DH-114 Heron 2B crashed on landing in St. Kitts. The plane was en-route between St. Johns, Antigua and St. Kitts. After landing, the aircraft overran the runway and was damaged beyond repair. No one was seriously injured and there were no fatalities.[9]
- On August 4, 1986, a LIAT de Havilland Canada DHC-6-310 Twin Otter crashed into the Caribbean Sea. The aircraft was en-route between St. Lucia and St. Vincent when it crashed due to poor weather conditions, while on approach. After a full day's search failed to find a trace of the Twin Otter commercial plane believed to have crashed somewhere in the Caribbean, all were assumed dead. The aircraft was written off and all of the 11 passengers and two crew apparently lost their lives.[10]
- On May 10, 2004, a LIAT de Havilland Canada DHC-8-311 flight made an emergency landing after one of its wheels fell off shortly after takeoff. The flight operated by the Antigua-based airline had departed from St. Maarten en route to St. Kitts when one of its wheels reportedly fell off. The Dash 8-311 turboprop was diverted to Antigua and was able to land safely on its three remaining wheels, without causing any damage to the aircraft. None of the 24 passengers and three crew members were injured. The airline has launched an investigation into the incident.
- On November 12, 2008, a LIAT de Havilland Canada DHC-8-311 circled around the VC Bird International Airport in Antigua following reports of landing gear malfunctions. Aircraft was en route to the Robert Bradshaw International Airport in St. Kitts, but was diverted to Antigua because of the problem. It turned out that the landing gear was in order, but the indicators in the cockpit gave a reading that there was a fault. Firefighters, medical personnel and police were on alert but, after clearance, the aircraft landed safely with its 42 passengers and three crew members.
Fleet
The LIAT fleet includes the following aircraft (at January 2008):[11]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier Dash 8-100 | 2* |
(37) | One in storage |
| Bombardier Dash 8-300 | 14 |
(50) |
As of September 2008, the average fleet age of LIAT was 16 years.[12]
LIAT is also the largest operator of the Dash 8 aircraft in the Caribbean region (BahamasAir comes in second with 6 aircraft and Caribbean Airlines comes in third with 5 aircraft).
Previously operated
The LIAT retired fleet includes the following aircraft. The number of aircraft is still uncertain:
- BAC One Eleven 518FG
- Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander
- De Havilland Canada DHC-6-310 Twin Otter
- DH-114 Heron 2B
- Hawker Siddeley HS-748
External links
References
- ^ Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9. http://www.airwaysnews.com.
- ^ "Contact Us." LIAT. Retrieved on October 12, 2009.
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International: p. 105. 2007-04-03.
- ^ LIAT suspends Carib Aviaition codeshare arrangements
- ^ Carib Aviation suspends all operations, leaving LIAT in the dust
- ^ LIAT Quickpack/Cargo
- ^ LIAT Antigua Sailing Week Launch
- ^ LIAT Destinations map
- ^ LIAT St Kitts. Accident
- ^ LIAT St. Lucia Accident
- ^ LIAT Fleet
- ^ LIAT Fleet Age
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