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  • Checking your bag on JetBlue is about to get more expensive

Checking your bag on JetBlue is about to get more expensive

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JetBlue Airways is hiking its checked baggage fees for the second time in two years.

Passengers will have to pay $35 for their first checked bag, up from $30. A second checked bag will cost $45, up from $40.

JetBlue (JBLU) announced the changes on its website and said that travelers who book flights from Thursday on must pay the new prices. Flights booked prior to that date will pay $30 and $40 for first and second checked bags, respectively.

JetBlue said it will offer a $5 discount to passengers who add a checked bag online or through its app at least 24 hours before the flight. But passengers who check a bag after the check-in window opens, which is 24 hours before a flight departs, will pay the new prices.

“By incentivizing customers to select their checked bag option ahead of time using our website or award-winning mobile app, we can reduce transactions in the airport lobby and improve the customer experience,” the airline said in a statement.

The baggage fees don’t apply to all JetBlue passengers. For the airline’s credit card holders and passengers who pay more expensive fares, checked bags are included in the price.

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The airline debuted new fare classes in November, introducing a new basic economy fare that forces lower-paying passengers to board last and choose their seats when they check in. The airline said it expects to generate an additional $150 million in revenue from this fare class, which is called Blue Basic.

JetBlue collected $270 million in baggage fees during the first nine months of 2019, according to the Bureau of Transportation statistics. That was an 14% increase from the same period a year earlier. Fourth quarter figures haven’t been released yet.

Overall, the US airline industry collected $4.3 billion in baggage fees in the first nine months of 2019.

Airlines typically follow each others’ lead when it comes to hiking baggage fees. Major US airlines, like Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Airlines (UAL) and American Airlines (AAL), last increased the prices of the first checked bag from $25 to $30 in 2018. Their fees remain unchanged.

The increase in baggage fees comes as the airline industry completes 10 consecutive years of profitability. The International Air Transport Association, a global industry group, predicts that airlines will record total profits of $29.3 billion in 2020 — more than $5 billion it predicted for 2019. The organization said airlines’ profits have been resilient despite multiple complications, including slowing economic growth, trade wars and Brexit uncertainty.

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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]