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'LIAT' is an airline based in St. John's, Antigua. It operates high-frequency interisland scheduled services serving 22 destinations in the Caribbean, in conjunction with Caribbean Star Airlines. The airline's main base is VC Bird International Airport, Antigua and Barbuda, with hubs at Grantley Adams International Airport, Barbados and Princess Juliana International Airport, Sint Maarten.^[1]

Contents

History

Merger

Destinations

Fleet

Previously operated

Humor

External links

References

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).

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 will continue 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.
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).

Destinations

★ Click Here to see a current LIAT Route Map
LIAT operates the following international scheduled services (at May 2007):

★ Anguilla

★
★ The Valley (Anguilla Wallblake Airport)

★ Antigua

★
★ St Johns (VC Bird International Airport) "Main Hub"

★ Barbados

★
★ (Grantley Adams International Airport) "Hub"

★ British Virgin Islands

★
★ (Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport)

★ Dominica

★
★ (Melville Hall Airport)

★
★ (Canefield Airport)

★ Dominican Republic

★
★ (Las Américas International Airport)

★ Guyana

★
★ (Cheddi Jagan International Airport)

★ Grenada

★
★ (Point Salines International Airport)

★ Netherlands Antilles

★
★ Sint Maarten (Princess Juliana International Airport)

★
★ Curacao (Hato International Airport)

★ Puerto Rico

★
★ San Juan (Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport)

★ Trinidad & Tobago

★
★ Port of Spain (Piarco International Airport)

★ St. Kitts

★
★ (Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport)

★
★ (Vance W. Amory International Airport)

★ U.S. Virgin Islands

★
★ St. Croix (Henry E. Rohlsen International Airport)

★
★ St. Thomas (Cyril E. King Airport)

★ St. Lucia

★
★ (George F. L. Charles Airport)

★ St Vincent

★
★ (E.T. Joshua Airport)

Fleet

The LIAT fleet includes the following aircraft (at March 2007):

★ 2 Bombardier Dash 8 102

★
★ Registrations: V2-LDP, V2-LDQ

★ 1 Bombardier Dash 8 102A

★
★ Registration: V2-LDU

★ 1 Bombardier Dash 8 103

★
★ Registration: V2-LEF

★ 6 Bombardier Dash 8 311

★
★ Registrations: V2-LES, V2-LET, V2-LEU, V2-LFV, V2-LFW, V2-LFX

★ 2 Bombardier Dash 8 Q311

★
★ Registrations: V2-LGG, V2-LGI

★ 1 Bombardier Dash 8 Q311(SCD)

★
★ Registration: V2-LGH
The Caribbean Star fleet includes the following aircraft (at March 2007):

★ 9 Bombardier Dash 8 311

★
★ Registrations: V2-LGA, V2-LGB, V2-LGC, V2-LGD, V2-LGK, V2-LGL, V2-LFF, V2-LFM, V2-LFU

★ 1 Bombardier Dash 8 315

★
★ Registrations: V2-LGJ

Previously operated

The LIAT retired fleet includes the following aircraft:

★ BAC 111-518FG One-Eleven

★ Britten-Norman Islander BN2

★ De Havilland Canada Dash 6-310 Twin Otter

★ Hawker Siddeley HS-748

Humor

Like many airlines, Liat has been the subject of a number of humorous anecdotes relating to its name. However, the airline's spotty punctuality record lends a certain resonance to them.

★ Lost In-between Antigua and Trinidad

★ Leave Island Any Time

★ Late If At All

★ Luggage In Any Terminal

★ Luggage Is Always Tardy

★ Late In Arrival Time

★ Lateness Is A Tradition

External links

★ LIAT

★ LIAT Caribbean Star Merger Article

★ Another LIAT website

★ Current fleet information

References

1. Directory: World Airlines
2. Directory: World Airlines

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