Speaking at a press conference in Curacao on Friday, Challenger explained that while the airline is desirous of addressing this issue there are a number of other factors that are hindering immediate reduction of the fares.

Challenger noted that the issue of high rentals for Liat’s carriers and the high taxes charged by Caribbean governments are partly responsible for the high airfares.

“I agree that the cost of travel in the Caribbean is very expensive, that really reflects the cost for providing the service but to provide the type of service which Liat provides its very costly exercise… Liat spends about US$70,000 to lease an aircraft, and most of our aircrafts are leased. That is the norm internationally, very few airlines actually own aircraft. Pilots are expensive, engineers are expensive, as well as the technology that we use. If you really think about all the personnel involved in getting you onto a flight and taking you off, its a costly exercise. What we do really reflects the cost of the operations, Liat is a publicly owned company in a sense as it is primarily owned by three governments. Its function is not to really make a profit in the sense of providing major returns to its shareholders, but principally to cover its cost including its capital and operational costs. The cost are high but they really reflect the cost of operating in the region,” Challenger said.

Additionally, he noted that the price initially went up in 2006 when an agreement was reached between Liat and Caribbean Star, which had very low airfares, to raise their fares together by about 25 percent.

He noted that cost can be compared to what it was four years ago and to the North American type operations which are the same. There is no way based on basic economics that Liat can provide the type of service like that of the United States and North American carriers.

“I am not trying to give an excuse, we do recognize that the costs are high and we are trying to see what we can do to bring down some of those costs,” the CEO promised.

Meanwhile, on the issue of a recent move by the Guyana government to meet with airlines plying the Georgetown route to discuss airfares, Challenger reported that while he has heard of the move, which he welcomes, his carrier has not been approached by the government of Guyana and remains open for any such discussion.

Liat has been recently plagued by a number of late arrivals and delayed flights and, according to the CEO, there are some instances where this has happened but dismissed allegations that it is a regular occurrence, noting that the airline like any other may have flight problems, particularly at this time when there are some teething problems with pilots, who have been going on strike over contractual matters.

He noted that when it comes to connecting flights, Liat, when it abolished this service in 2006, made it clear that it is not responsible for the delays of other airlines.

Challenger noted that another problem the airline has been facing at destinations where larger carriers are not plying, is excess baggages, which sometimes result in persons receiving their baggage late.

He explained that owing to the fact that from these destinations larger carriers are not operating, Liat and other regional airlines are left to transport the large baggage of passengers flying outside the Caribbean and these airlines do not have the cargo capacity to accommodate excess baggage.

The airline boss has also revealed that talks between Liat and the Barbados government regarding direct flights to Jamaica are hanging in the balance.

“We had some discussion with the tourist board (Barbados) but at this point in time we don’t serve Jamaica and to be honest it probably is not going to happen in the near future. We are not closing the door on it but at this point in time its not something we agree on,” Challenger explained.

The Lait boss is also hoping that all Caribbean governments buy more shares in the airline which he feels can improve its efficiency.