Garvin Medera, CEO, Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL): Interview

Interview: Garvin Medera

What strategy is being employed to boost air traffic in Trinidad and Tobago, and the region?

GARVIN MEDERA: We are looking forward to the ratification of a regional open skies agreement by CARICOM member states. This would effectively allow all airlines based in the community to establish flights within the jurisdiction without the need for additional permits or agreements.

CARICOM-based airlines could fly more easily within the community, which would boost regional air travel. Airlines in the region are looking for better ways to connect customers from different islands. The International Air Transport Association and CARICOM are playing key roles in encouraging cooperation among these airlines, which could result in better service for customers, with more attractive pricing for regional flights.

This should create a virtuous cycle, and with increased participation from governments, we will have significant growth in passenger and cargo volumes over the next few years. CARICOM governments also need to work more actively with stakeholders from larger economies such as those in North America, Europe and especially Asia – a relatively new, potentially huge inbound tourist market.

What are the key priorities for improving domestic and regional aviation infrastructure?

MEDERA: An improvement in existing aviation infrastructure goes hand in hand with higher levels of profitability. This, in turn, is dependent on maintaining high load factors that rely on demand, which may require a radical rethink of airlines’ current revenue strategies. Aviation in the Caribbean will also benefit from extended partnerships with travel agencies and general service providers. For instance, it is essential for us to partner with the Airports Authority of T&T to develop new processes and deploy new technology to improve the customer experience. Two examples of this are the implementation of check-in kiosks and the use of radio frequency identification to more efficiently track passengers’ bags. Modernisation of the immigration set-up is also essential, as a paperless, automated system could potentially reduce waiting times for arriving passengers. However, this is dependent on more funding, as government entities do not have sufficient resources to adapt airport infrastructure to all new developments in commercial aviation. The rollout of public-private partnerships could therefore provide a partial solution.

How do you assess the progress being made towards improving aviation links between the two islands of T&T?

MEDERA: The T&T airbridge’s main challenge is the regulated low price of tickets, which means we provide the service at a significant loss. Thus, CAL’s ability to fund necessary service improvements is challenged. Although there are over 1m seats every year on this route, with 850,000 passengers travelling, seat availability issues can arise during peak travel times such as Christmas, Carnival, Easter, weekends and bank holidays. One example of progress made with domestic air travel between the two islands is the change to dynamic ticket purchasing. Customers’ previous difficulties purchasing seats at peak times were in part due to the pre-booking of seats that were then not used to travel. The introduction of a TT$50 ($7.42) change fee has rechannelled customer behaviour in a way that means more customers get to travel when they want, and the airline has become more efficient. New measures, such as direct check-in at the airbridge, would make travel faster and easier, but these are constrained by limited space. It is therefore essential that Tobago’s airport be upgraded to adequately meet projected passenger demand.