Jack waiting to hear of ATR safety report, says he did nothing wrong in endorsing ATR deal

Works and Transport Minister Jack Warner told the NEWSDAY newspaper he did nothing wrong in endorsing a decision by Caribbean Airlines (CAL) to invest US$200 million to buy nine turboprop aircraft from French-based manufacturer ATR.

And he also questioned the timing of a letter dated December 21, 2010 to Attorney General Anand Ramlogan from Canadian aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier, suggesting that Bombardier was not treated fairly by CAL.  

Warner also told the paper that he found it interesting that the focus of attention in the CAL-ATR agreement had shifted from “one of safety to one of transparency.”

The letter from Ross Gray, Director of Sales, the Americas Bombardier Commercial Aircraft, stated:

"...the procurement process was flawed: - no RFP was issued; - no objective criteria were established and communicated to Bombardier regarding how competing offers would be evaluated; - no timelines were established; - preferential treatment/focus was given to ATR; and - by not running concurrent negotiations with ATR and Bombardier, CAL likely did not achieve the most favorable terms and conditions possible."

It added that the evaluation process was also flawed: "...CAL hadn't given due consideration to where the aircraft would be operated; and - CAL was evaluating its jets and turboprops as separate fleets rather than as one integrated fleet."

Read the letter: AG Ramlogan gets a letter from Bombardier saying CAL didn't act fairly

The new CAL board has complained about possible safety issues about the ATR planes and Ramlogan, acting on instructions from the Prime Minister, has appointed a British aviation expert to prepare a report on the matter for cabinet.

Warner told NEWSDAY while his actions to date in the CAL-ATR issue "are totally above board" he prefers to wait on the outcome of the matter before making any further comment.

Cabinet approved the agreement to buy the ATR planes in September this year after Warner recommended it based on advice from CAL.

The report from international aviation expert John Dunne was supposed to be presented to cabinet before Christmas but ho was hired by the matter was not discussed at last week's meeting.

NEWSDAY said it was told by government officials that Dunne may be given more time to complete his work in light of Bombardier’s letter.