Caribbean Airlines had losses of US$117M in 2012

Guyana’s National Flag Carrier, the Trinidad & Tobago owned Caribbean Airlines may be facing more financial problems than expected and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago is appearing set to make even more changes at the regional carrier.

Last week, Trinidad Finance Minister Larry Howai fired the entire Board of the airline. A new Board has since been put in place and one of the new members has since been removed from that Board because of his previous work with the airline.

The Trinidad Finance Minister recently revealed that the airline incurred losses of just over US$117 Million in 2012. The company was also forced to write off an additional US$33 Million in lost cargo and credit card fraud according to Trinidad media reports.

There have been concerns expressed for months about the financial state of the airline. The Trinidadian Government’s decision to change the entire board comes at a time when the airline is also looking to the Government of the twin-island Republic to make more investment in the carrier.

The recently fired Board of Directors had already put together a plan to ensure the airline become viable. Some of the fired members of that Board have already indicated that they do not believe they were given adequate time to put their plan into action.

The Government of Guyana is paying keen attention to the developments at Caribbean Airlines and local officials intend to reach out to the new Board and the Trinidadian Government to have some concerns addressed. Caribbean Airlines is now the only carrier serving the Georgetown-New York market. The airline has been performing well on the Guyana route.

Guyana made the decision two weeks ago to grant the carrier National Flag Carrier status which should have some benefits for both the country and the airline. Caribbean Airlines and its predecessor BWIA have been serving the Guyana market for over 50 years.