Caribbean Airlines to fly balisier

The tail of the Dash 8 aircraft flown by Caribbean Airlines will be adorned with five new designs, including one that has a humming bird and a floral arrangement that shows the balisier. The balisier has been the symbol of the governing People's National Movement (PNM) since the party's birth in 1956.

Some people think that is inappropriate. But the airline disagrees.

Caribbean Airlines CEO, Philip Saunders, told the Newsday newspaper it is used, "Simply because it is beautiful."

He said, "We at Caribbean Airlines are proud of fauna and flora of Trinidad and Tobago. We are delighted and particularly proud to have these elements on our planes." he added that he was sure the new designs would become collectibles.

Newsday asked Opposition leader Basdeo Panday for his views on the use of the balisier on the country's national airline.

Panday told the paper he saw it as a dangerous development that reminded him of the late Guyanese President Forbes Burnham who raised the flag of his political party, the People’s National Congress, over the Court of Justice instead of the country’s national flag.

"That is the fascist concept called supremacy of the party and if that is what this Government has done, it is a fascist concept...where the party is superior to national concern," he said.

"This is a dangerous thing for us...this could mean that their party is now supreme to Parliament, the national flag, national concerns and the constitution."

Caribbean Airlines' five designs are meant to celebrate different aspects of Trinidad and Tobago’s culture. The airline will place the designs on the tails of five Dash 8 aircraft which are used for its service to Tobago and other Caribbean destinations, including Caracas, Venezuela.

The airline's advertising firm, Publicis Caribbean Limited, of 61 Dundonald Street, port-of-Spain, has done the designs which feature the Caribbean Airlines symbol and the hummingbird.

The designs include a pair of maracas, a coconut frond, a hibiscus flower and a balisier. Other designs include a celebration of aquatic life, sport, music and the fauna of Trinidad and Tobago.

The repainting, design and decals on each plane is an in-house project that's costing the airline US$16,000 each. That's just over TT$101,000.00 each.