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Be careful with promises from Nigerian airline

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(EIN NEWSDESK) — A top expert in the regional travel industry is not too optimistic about the grand promises being made by the Nigerian airline Air Peace which is taking over the operations of LIAT in the Caribbean.

THE NEW TODAY understands that the privately-owned airline which was founded in 2013 was supposed to officially take over the Antigua-based Liat from November.

He has warned the Caribbean government to be extremely careful as Air Peace has now been given the greenlight to fly into London, England which is a far more lucrative route than the Caribbean and might now concentrate their efforts and energy into that route.

He feared that the focus of the airline would be on what he labelled “this very extremely rich picking route, very high fielding route” from Lagos to London.

Air Peace is already covering the Lagos to Johannesburg in South Africa route as well as Mumbai in India.

According to the industry official, the Caribbean might no longer be that attractive for the Nigerian airline to give it the kind of service that is needed.

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“My analysis is that their  focus on the Caribbean is somewhat diminished because when you’re getting rich pickings like a Gold Ribbon route as it is called in the trade like London, why would you want to focus on inter-Caribbean routes in the region.

“So (Antigua Prime Minister, Gaston Browne) better knows what he is talking about because he wants to resurrect Liat purely because he wants employment there.”

The industry official warned that a foreign entity will not come into the region with aircrafts and just fly around to service non-profitable routes like was the case of the old LIAT.

“From my airline analyst you can’t operate a service today for tomorrow. These things have to be planned months ahead, now we should be selling for February and March – now we should be focusing on Easter.”

“We can’t be focusing on December because December is upon us – it should be within a 6-month remit. No airline can launch a service within a couple of months, it is impossible – just the paperwork and the ramifications … will stifle you especially in our region.”

He also expressed concerns with the fact that Air Peace has promised to bring jet aircrafts to fly in the region, as well as to operate several new destinations like to the United States, Nassau in the Bahamas and “other grand, very grand deals and plans.”

“Whether or not it happens is there to be seen,” he quipped.

The airline industry official also commented on the debate in the region following reports that some people do not want Caribbean Airlines to replace LIAT as the regional air carrier.

He took issue with claims that Caribbean Airlines was going to engage “in a mass expansion” when it is really nothing more than one and two flights to a destination whereas LIAT was engaged in “multiple frequencies” in the destination.

He cited the case in which LIAT used to do 4 flights a day on the Grenada/Barbados route and 2 and 3 a day to Port-of-Spain in Trinidad which is a far cry from 2 a week from Caribbean Airlines.

“So if you are operating two flights a week from Port-of-Spain/St Kitts that is hardly a drop in the ocean when compared to the former LIAT frequency of triple or double daily –  it makes no sense,” he said.

The Caribbean has been experiencing difficulty in inter-regional traffic since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic just over two years ago.

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Аdvеrtіѕе wіth thе most visited news site in Antigua and Barbuda ~ Wе оffеr fullу сuѕtоmіzаblе аnd flехіblе dіgіtаl mаrkеtіng расkаgеѕ. Yоur соntеnt іѕ dеlіvеrеd іnѕtаntlу tо thоuѕаndѕ оf uѕеrѕ іn Antigua аnd аbrоаd via our One Signal push notifications! Соntасt uѕ аt [email protected].

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Make a donation to help support ABN, via PayPal: [email protected]. Follow Antigua Breaking News on X, formerly Twitter @ABNAntigua, and Instgram @AntiguaBreakingNews and on Facebook. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-268-779-3189 or email us at [email protected].

Click Here to Get the News Delivered Directly to You.

Аdvеrtіѕе wіth thе most visited news site in Antigua and Barbuda ~ Wе оffеr fullу сuѕtоmіzаblе аnd flехіblе dіgіtаl mаrkеtіng расkаgеѕ. Yоur соntеnt іѕ dеlіvеrеd іnѕtаntlу tо thоuѕаndѕ оf uѕеrѕ іn Antigua аnd аbrоаd via our One Signal push notifications! Соntасt uѕ аt [email protected].

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Make a donation to help support ABN, via PayPal: [email protected]. Follow Antigua Breaking News on X, formerly Twitter @ABNAntigua, and Instgram @AntiguaBreakingNews and on Facebook. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-268-779-3189 or email us at [email protected].

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One response to “Be careful with promises from Nigerian airline”

  1. In addition to an airline that services the Caribbean region, we also have need for ferry services to the islands allowing for daily travel up and down the territories. Antigua and Barbuda can use a ferry that allows for both people and cars to be taken back and forth.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]