The much anticipated commercial agreement between LIAT, the long established West Indies regional carrier, and Caribbean Star Airlines, both based in Antigua, is now under way. With the actual merging of the two airlines still to take place a common ”LI” airline designator has been established and much work has been done in improving the flight schedules” connectivity of the two carriers. The new combined airline is expected to work closely with bmi, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic who feed in via Antigua and Barbados. The airline serves 22 destinations in the area, including Georgetown, Guyana on the South American mainland and the various islands of the Leeward and Westward isles.
LIAT CEO Mark Darby said: ”Teams from both LIAT and Caribbean Star have been working feverishly over the past few weeks to ensure that a smooth transition takes place. We're looking forward to the benefits this alliance will bring to our customers, staff and shareholders."
However both LIAT and Caribbean Star will continue to operate as separate carriers under their own management until the proposed merger of the airlines is implemented.
Caribbean Star Airlines President and CEO William "Skip" Barnette noted: "Clearly, we believe that this combined schedule is the best thing for our customers as it will allow us to provide a broader range of services, better timing and improved connections. A lot of thought and planning has gone into this new schedule over the past few months and we are happy to see it finally come to fruition."
Darby and Barnette jointly noted that the cricket World Cup was coming up very quickly, something the airline was looking forward to.