That's the figure quoted by the Express newspaper in a story Thursday. The report said former CAL chairman Arthur Lok Jack produced documents showing that when he and his board resigned after the new government took office in 2010 the airline had that much money in the bank.
However, Finance Minister Winston Dookeran told Parliament last week that the airline recorded an unaudited loss for 2011 of TT$339 million.
Maharaj told the Express he cannot comment on the matter until he is properly briefed by CAL officials.
The Express said CAL used its savings to buy at least two new aircraft and to deal with the merger with Air Jamaica, citing unnamed sources familiar with the airline.
Lok Jack told the Express that his board's strategy included operations on profitable routes, noting that the board dropped non-performing routes like Manchester in the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic and Washington, DC.
"We focused on profitable routes like Miami, New York, Caracas and Toronto and we developed them. We used similar strategies by making routes nonstop and offering frequency of service, like New York four times a day. We also concentrated on the diaspora and ensured there was 100 per cent reliability of flights," Lok Jack said.
He added that CAL's service was better that what was offered by charter and discount airlines.
CAL recently introduced service to Grenada and St Lucia, and next month it plans to reintroduce its direct flights to London with service to Gatwick airport.
However, Finance Minister Winston Dookeran told Parliament last week that the airline recorded an unaudited loss for 2011 of TT$339 million.
Maharaj told the Express he cannot comment on the matter until he is properly briefed by CAL officials.
The Express said CAL used its savings to buy at least two new aircraft and to deal with the merger with Air Jamaica, citing unnamed sources familiar with the airline.
Lok Jack told the Express that his board's strategy included operations on profitable routes, noting that the board dropped non-performing routes like Manchester in the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic and Washington, DC.
"We focused on profitable routes like Miami, New York, Caracas and Toronto and we developed them. We used similar strategies by making routes nonstop and offering frequency of service, like New York four times a day. We also concentrated on the diaspora and ensured there was 100 per cent reliability of flights," Lok Jack said.
He added that CAL's service was better that what was offered by charter and discount airlines.
CAL recently introduced service to Grenada and St Lucia, and next month it plans to reintroduce its direct flights to London with service to Gatwick airport.
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