The Antigua and Barbuda government’s efforts to build out LIAT 2020 have been dealt a fresh blow, with Caribbean Airlines (CAL) set to expand both its passenger and cargo operations across the region.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Finance Minister Colm Imbert made the revelation during his presentation of the 2024 Budget in Parliament earlier this week, noting that the plans will see the carrier’s fleet size return to pre-pandemic levels.
Reports of the potential expansion surfaced in April this year, that the Trinidad-headquartered CAL was preparing to submit a strategic plan to the Dr Keith Rowley-led Cabinet before the end of the month, detailing its intentions to expand operations and to increase connectivity to Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the region.
In his presentation on Monday, Imbert stated that the carrier will lease four additional ATR aircraft (to complement the 72-600s already in the fleet), along with three additional Boeing 737-8s and five Embraer E175 commercial jets.
The latter, Imbert explained, would be utilised to service CAL’s inter-regional travel demand and “to establish bases and hubs across the region to promote efficiency and cost-reducing measures”.
Meanwhile, two Boeings and two ATRs will be leased “to grow and expand its cargo services across the region”, as the carrier purses cargo operations as an essential revenue source.
The announcement of this fleet expansion comes on the heels of constant route expansions by CAL over the past several months.
In July, the carrier added new non-stop services between Barbados and St Vincent, as well as St Lucia. It also added new services between Trinidad, Dominica and Antigua in August, in a bid to satisfy demand in the Eastern Caribbean.
This latest news will likely not be welcomed by the Gaston Browne-led administration, which has been pinning its hopes on a revitalised LIAT brand reclaiming its position in the regional market.
Prior to its demise, LIAT 1974 Ltd served the subregion as the premier carrier for decades, but prolonged financial issues forced it into the ground and created a significant gap in the market.
The government has since been on a quest to ‘build it back up’ through LIAT 2020, establishing a partnership with Nigerian carrier Air Peace and its CEO, Allen Onyema, who is expected to purchase a large stake in the Antigua-based airline.
Plans are to officially launch LIAT 2020 in a few weeks, according to government officials, but it remains to be seen whether the Air Peace partnership will result in any immediate improvements to its fleet or its available routes.
In the meantime, CAL continues to widen its reach across the region, and that – if it follows through on the aforementioned plans in short order – could prove disastrous for a LIAT 2020 still looking to get off the ground.
Observer has reached out to government officials for comment on the CAL expansion announcement and its potential impact on the plans for LIAT 2020.