What’s going to happen to REDjet?
This is the question on the tongues of many from across the region as it appears that less than a year from it taking to the Caribbean skies, its future now hangs in the balance.
The news has been met with mixed opinions, with some saying that it was only a matter of time before this happened, especially in a climate of high fuel costs and taxes.
Many others are expressing shock that the airline, which to all appearances was doing so well and which had numerous, glowing publicised reports, is now in such dire straits that it has pulled out its service
indefinitely.
It is this eyebrow-raising indefinite status that is so worrying, since the travelling public has accepted somewhat quietly what it viewed as teething problems within the airline’s ten months of operation, with unexpected changed schedules and mechanical problem experiences.
This disbelief was underlined by the fact that REDjet launched its service to St. Lucia just a few weeks ago and had announced its upcoming service to Antigua and St. Maarten, the latter which was much-anticipated with its no visa, no baggage limit for all those shopaholics out there.
There is the consensus that the announcement should not have been made at the very last minute. This is putting into consideration that many people paid for their tickets that very same day, or in some publicised cases, mere hours before the news was made public. The reality that persons who had paid for tickets may have to wait for up to three weeks to get a refund is a bitter pill for would-be passengers to swallow.
The question remains though, what will happen to the privately-owned enterprise? On the one hand, regional governments have admitted that a low-cost airline is desperately needed in this area; but on the other hand, several are shareholders with the competing airlines which employ hundreds of their citizens.
Trinidad has already outlined that it will not be lending any aid to the privately-owned carrier. This is not surprising considering that the low-cost airline was single handedly responsible for forcing its carrier, Caribbean Airlines, to lower its prices. To make matters worse, the twin-island state is threatening to revoke REDjet’s operating licence.
Barbados also remains mum on the situation, and the public continues to wait it out to see if REDjet will be relegated to the Caribbean airline graveyard, as so many before have been.
Reports now are that the carrier is in talks and seeking subsidies, especially a financial injection from Barbados. Barbados, however, cannot be responsible for the airline alone. If the region wants a low-cost carrier, than all regional governments must be willing to step up and accept some financial responsibility for it.
One fact remains unfailingly true – the region requires a low-cost carrier, especially at a time when countries are looking to pull themselves out of the economic slump and seeking to create business linkages across the Caribbean zone.
The region can only wait and see if its governments will seek to address the matter of air travel or let it slide under the rug.
(Source http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/newsitem.asp?more=columnists&NewsID=23580)
