LIAT
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| Leeward Islands Air Transport | ||
|---|---|---|
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| IATA LI |
ICAO LIA |
Callsign LIAT |
| Founded | 1956-10-20 (as Leeward Islands Air Transport Services)[1] | |
| Hubs | VC Bird International Airport Grantley Adams International Airport Piarco International Airport |
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| Fleet size | 17 | |
| Destinations | 22 | |
| Headquarters | Antigua | |
| Key people | Mark Darby (CEO) Jean Stewart Holder (Chairman) |
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| Website: http://www.liat.com | ||
LIAT is an airline based in St. John's, Antigua. It operates high-frequency interisland scheduled services serving 22 destinations in the Caribbean. The airline's main base is VC Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with hubs at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and Tobago.[2]
Contents |
[edit] History
Leeward Islands Air Transport Services was founded on 20 September 1956 and began flying with a single Piper Apache operating between Antigua and Montserrat. With the acquisition in 1957 of 75% of the airline by the larger, better known BWIA, LIAT was able to expand to other Caribbean destinations and to obtain new airplane types, such as the Beechcraft Bonanza and de Havilland Heron airplanes. Hawker Siddeley HS 748's came in 1965, due to the airline's decision to phase out the Herons.
LIAT wasn't always an all propeller engined airline: after Court Line obtained the airline in the early 1970s, LIAT entered the jet age, using BAC One Elevens for their longer Caribbean routes, as well as Britten-Norman types. In 1973, LIAT provided maintenance work for another Caribbean airline, Carib Aviation; these services were suspended when Carib Aviation decided to hire their own mechanics in 1974.
Court Line went bankrupt soon after acquiring LIAT, and the BAC-One Elevens were gone from the LIAT fleet as well. In order to keep the airline flying, the governments of 11 Caribbean nations stepped in and bought the airline. The jets were replaced with a series of smaller airplanes, such as the Twin Otters.
The 1980s were a decade of growth for the airline: by 1986, many daily flights were operated to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as other regions that the airline had never flown to. Faster Dash 8-100 airplanes were bought, to reduce flighttimes system-wide.
In November 1995, LIAT was partially privatized, to save it from bankruptcy once again. LIAT also began to fly the 50 seater -300 series of the Dash 8.
LIAT's Pilots are represented by the Leeward Islands Air Line Pilots' Association (LIALPA), which is affiliated to IFALPA. LIALPA is also part of the regional Caribbean Air Line Pilots' Association (C-ALPA).
[edit] Merger
In January 2007 the airline announced an intended merger with Caribbean Star Airlines, and they entered into a commercial alliance, involving the flying of a combined schedule. All flights are now marketed as LIAT, although the airlines continued to operate separately using their own air operators certificates, until after completion of the merger. The merged airline will use the LIAT brand and the marketing slogan "The Star of the Caribbean", with a merged fleet expected to standardise on the Bombardier Dash 8 Q300[2]. However in June 2007, the Share Holder Governments of Barbados, Antigua and St. Vincent gave the go ahead to the Board of Directors to Buy Out Caribbean Star instead. LIAT purchased Caribbean Star Airlines on the 24 October 2007 and the five DHC-8 aircraft have been transferred to LIAT.
The airline is owned by 7 Caribbean governments, with 3 being the Major shareholders (73.4%), privately held (10%) and employees (5.3%). It has 673 employees (at March 2007).[2]
[edit] Destinations
LIAT operates the following international scheduled services (at March 2008)[citation needed]:
- Antigua
- Barbados
- British Virgin Islands
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- French West Indies
- Guyana
- Grenada
- Netherlands Antilles
[edit] Fleet
The LIAT fleet includes the following aircraft (at January 2008):[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombardier Dash 8-100 | 3 |
(37) | |
| Bombardier Dash 8-300 | 14 |
(50) |
[edit] Previously operated
The LIAT retired fleet includes the following aircraft:
- BAC One Eleven 518FG
- Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander
- De Havilland Canada DHC-6-310 Twin Otter
- Hawker Siddeley HS-748
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook, 3rd, Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
- ^ a b c "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-03, p. 105.
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