Bahamasair expects to unveil the "change-out" of its Dash-8 dominated aircraft fleet within the next 30 days, a move it hopes will slash maintenance and operational costs.
Valentine Grimes, Bahamasair's chairman, told Tribune Business that while the airline has had financial challenges from inception, the Government was making strides on the "long road" to improving its financial position.
Speaking after the signing of a five-year industrial agreement with the Public Managers Union (PMU), which represents the carrier's 60 middle management employees, Mr Grimes said: “We are going to announce the changing of our fleet, which is very important.
"That will go towards reducing costs also because, unfortunately, the older your planes are the more expensive they are to maintain and operate. We hope to make a formal announcement with details in another 30 days.”
Mr Grimes added that negotiating new industrial agreements with the national flag carrier's middle managers, the pilot’s union and the Airport, Airline and Allied Workers Union (AAAWU) was important to Bahamasair.
"We have three local unions that we deal with. Getting the agreement signed with the managers' union is very important," he said.
"We now have to try and complete the agreement with the pilots union and the line staff union. We feel the sooner the both of these can get done, the better for all. We are hoping that all sides would act reasonably in the process."
Mr Grimes added: “The truth is that we cannot continue down the road we are on in terms of having increased expenses, and revenue that is just standing still or not increasing sufficiently.
"We hope that all sides understand that, and will work with us to complete the other two agreements. We are are ready, willing and able to do so, and we hope that the other unions would accommodate.”
“The truth is we do pay our staff reasonably well. We, for example, pay 100 per cent of the medical insurance, which is unheard of, and so we have taken strides to reduce our costs with that because we have found another carrier that was prepared to give us a better price for even better terms and conditions in terms of what the staff would benefit from," Mr Grimes continued.
"We just initiated that. I think that was done as of May 1, but the truth is we are satisfied that we do pay our staff reasonably well and we just want to make sure that they produce at a level that will make the airline a success."
Comments
Economist 8 years, 11 months ago
Just shut the airline down and save the money.
These plane will be at what cost to the PUBLIC Treasury? 70 million plus is my guess.
Please tell the public how much this will cost. It is our money you are spending.
duppyVAT 8 years, 11 months ago
Please Jesus ............. come to our rescue and get us out of this mess!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The government needs to sell off the domestic routes to private air carriers on contract (like the mail boats) and make Bahamasair an international flag carrier ............ we cannot afford $20 million losses per year anymore .......................... PLEEEEEEEEEZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Economist 8 years, 11 months ago
Yup you pay 100% of the insurance because you are sucking dollars out of the poor man in the street. Show me how many real businesses that can't steal from the public like you do who can afford to pay 100%.
This disgusting.
bimjim 8 years, 11 months ago
I sincerely hope this is not to exchange the Dash-8s for the catastrophic ATRs which Caribbean Airlines and LIAT were jammed into. Both airlines have had costs and limitations far beyond what were promised, and they may be the reason for LIAT's impending demise.
Even now, LIAT is having problems going into and out of two airports in the EC. And on a monthly basis they are having to decide between paying for the new aircraft or paying salaries.
I do hope the heads of the Bahamian politicians are not as dense and solid as the heads of the eastern Caribbean political leaders - only Trinidad, with their own oil and gas, can afford the endless expenses these airplanes incur - and the furnishings of the LIAT ATRs - brand new aircraft - are falling apart inside already, where the 20+year-old Dash-8s soldier on in almost-new condition.
If the swapped airplanes are in fact ATRs, don't ever say nobody warned you.
To me, if they were to swap Dash-8-100 or Dash-8-300 for the Dash-8 Q400, that would make a great deal more sense - and would be much more logical (depending on the limitations of the runways they are serving now).
Economist 8 years, 11 months ago
The reality is that we don't need Bahamasair, period. Airlines such as SkyBahamas and Western are quite capable of filling the gap.
Indeed they have survived against an airline that has a bottomless pit of money, who else could lose 500 million and still be in business.
Countries like Belgium, Holland, France , United Kingdom, Italy and Switzerland have all either sold or closed down their national airline because they were losing money.
Mr. Christie "Shut Bahamasair Down."
newcitizen 8 years, 11 months ago
You are absolutely right. Bahamasair is just another mismanaged crown corporation whose purpose has long since passed. Every year they cost tax payers money. It's not as if there are no other options. In fact the other options are usually cheaper and more reliable.
Sell it off, make some money and pay down the debt. The government has proven year after year and administration after administration that they cannot run a business.
Well_mudda_take_sic 8 years, 11 months ago
Christie can't shut down Bahamasair because running it at a great loss to the Bahamian public at large is one of the many ridiculous concessions our Ingraham and Christie led governments gave to both Atlantis and Baha Mar, and possibly other foreign interests with a stake in our tourism industry. Henry Woods involvement in the affairs of Bahamasair is the primary reason the airline's losses have mushroomed over the past decade or so. He and Valentine Grime's are Christie's point men for buying PLP votes through the lossing making operations of Bahamasair. Christie is now using VAT revenues to sweeten new union agreements across the board and grow government wherever he can rather than paying down our national debt. What are all the proponents of the recently introduced VAT saying now!
duppyVAT 8 years, 11 months ago
Agreed ............ too much political cronyism and bad fiscal management. Now what type of planes are they going to buy to take the constant beating on the poor Family Island runways???????????? The Dash-8 was a workhorse ........... what are they going to get now?????????????
brownskinboi 8 years, 11 months ago
Smt... man here we go again. If they are gonna keep the domestic routes (which they shouldnt) then go with Saabs. Werent they saying that the Dash-8's load factor wasn't profitable for their current doomestic routes???? They just need to GET OUT OF DOMESTIC. Focus on Canada, Europe. Americans wanna go to Cuba now, not so much the Bahamas.
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