Reference is drawn to news reports in Trinidad media on unjustified, ’wasteful’ expenditures by CAL on marketing (advertising, promotion, branding, etc.) over the last two years. Some $60 million was expended on said items just for two years. Expenditures on the same items for the previous eight years are not known. It is not known why one company Saatchi and Saatchi received $60 M in advertisement. Machel Montano received $2M. It is not known whether other singers were contracted for services in a multi-ethnic (largely bi-polarized) society with an airline used by individuals of all ethnicities. Was one singer preferred over others? How about Raymond Ramnarine and other celebrities? It is not known how revenues were spent (besides on staffing) and how much was actually spent on employees annually over the last decade. What percentage was spent on staff, marketing, etc. and how do they compare with previous years and other carriers?
News reports point to the resignations of CEO Garvin Medera and Head of public relations Dionne Ligoure as well as a few others. One staff connected to financial operations was terminated.
There are too many red flags and questions on management and the last board. A proper investigation (audit) is needed on how CAL was run and managed over the last decade. This is needed to put the airline on firm footing in moving forward so that past blunders are not repeated. CAL is in the red despite glowing (misleading) figures that it was making a profit. The management and board apparently engaged in creative accounting to deceive the public about the financial well being of the airline.
There is no justifiable reason why CAL should be in the red. Through community publications in USA and in Caribbean newspapers, I have been promoting CAL (BWIA) gratis for over three decades. I wrote countless articles praising and or defending its services. In addition, I am a loyal traveler of CAL, maintaining elite status over the last couple decades ever since its loyalty program began. This year alone, I flew eleven times from USA and making my twelfth in a few days. Most of my flights were almost all filled to Guyana and or Trinidad or from these airports; the minimum load capacity was 60% in the few flights I took with several filed to capacity; 60% is a break even number given the high fares of CAL compared with other carriers that plied similar routes. Money was coming in but clearly not wisely spent. It can’t be wisely spent when $30M a year was spent on marketing plus millions more on staff tied to marketing and public relations and related services. A thorough investigation is needed on revenues and expenses.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar rightly gives the airline two years to get its house in order. Cancelling flights from Ft Lauderdale to Montego Bay is a wise decision. JFK to Montego Bay was running on high load capacity but terminated while Florida was kept until cancelled a couple weeks ago.
The board has made a wise decision to put Nirmala Ramai as Acting CEO until a permanent, competent replacement is found. She is well known and widely respected among staff for her integrity and hard work. She managed her unit well with a small budget. Ms Ramai should suggest an audit to the board since it is reported that an audit was not conducted for years. The board should request a thorough audit and red flag questionable expenses and hold people accountable for mismanagement.
