Bharath demands answer on Air Jamaica deal

St Augustine MP Vasant Bharath on friday demanded answers from government about the deal to take over Air Jamaica's routes.

Air Jamaica informed its employees this week that Caribbean Airlines would take over then airlines operations on April 12 and that Air Jamaica would cease operations on that date.

The airline said Caribbean Airlines team in in Jamaica working out all the relevasnt details for the change.

Read the story: Caribbean Airlines only taking over profitable Air Jamaica routes: Imbert
Also read: CAL taking over Air Jamaica April 12, will fund transition

Bharath questioned "the indecent haste for Caribbean Airlines and Air Jamaica to hook up." He wanted to know if Caribbean Airlines would use Air Jamaica planes to fly the more profitable routes.

Manning responded by once again stating that his Government is not taking over the Jamaican carrier.

"We have said before and we want to say again. There is the confidentiality agreement on the discussions taking place between Caribbean Airlines and Air Jamaica.

"Caribbean Airlines is not taking over Air Jamaica or the assets or debts of Air Jamaica. What Caribbean Airlines is taking are the more profitable routes run by Air Jamaica," Manning said.

Bharath was not satisfied with the answer and asked: "Who will determine the price to be paid for these routes and what factors are to be built for the cost of those routes?”

The Jamaican airline has an accumulated debt of more than TT$12 billion. And its debt in the last three years alone has been US$337 million (TT$2.1B).

Bharath produced statitsic to show that Caribbean Airlines depends on the state purse for survival, yet showed a loss of $117 million in its first year of operation. In the second year, together with the subsidies, the airline had a small profit of $34 million.

“There were massive subsidies in the first year. Caribbean Airlines got a subsidy of $270 million. In the second year, a subsidy of $250 million. There is an arrangement for fuel subsidy for four years.

"The taxpayers could be subsidising (the airline) for almost a billion dollars over a four year period," he argued.