ST JOHN’S, Antigua, Jun 22 2017 – LIAT has reported losing some $7 million as a result of a recent three-day strike by the airline’s pilots.
Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Julie Reifer-Jones was quoted by Observer media as saying that the strike resulted in thousands of bookings being cancelled over a very short period.
“The challenge with cancellation is that when they are in that kind of volume – it’s dramatic and many of the cancellations were in our summer period which is our peak period,” she said.
Between June 7 and June 9 LIAT’s pilots were on strike protesting the status of negotiations on the implementation of a new, increased pay scale for pilots who now fly LIAT’s ATR-72 aircraft.
Late on June 9, the Leeward Islands Airline Pilots Association (LIAPA) made a deal with LIAT bringing an end to three days of industrial action.
Reifer-Jones said that the greatest impact of the strike was the confidence that had been lost in LIAT and the brand.
Source: Caribbean News Service