Bahamasair executives are preparing a business plan expected to help trim the airline's fat further, confirmed the minister responsible for Bahamasair, with the company laying off 25 people in the last year. "We can't go on the way we are," Minister of Public Works and Transport Neko Grant told Guardian Business yesterday.  "The director is preparing a business plan that will outline the direction in which Bahamasair will go, but I will give more detail on that later. "We are operating above industry standards [in terms of staff] and we are dealing with an aging fleet." The plan will likely outline a strategy as to how to deal with the problems going forward. In the 2011/2012 budget debate, Grant said Bahamasair's workforce continues to be reduced through attrition, with staff levels declining from 667 employees in April 2010 to 642 in April, 2011. "Bearing in mind the significant impact that the global economic downturn has had on the aviation industry, the staff of Bahamasair along with union executives should be aware that the airline is struggling to survive," he added. It comes as no surprise that Bahamasair has been a burden on the Public Treasury for years, reporting a loss of $23.6 million in the 2009/2010 fiscal year. The line has incurred an accumulated deficit of $473 million since it was incorporated in 1973, according to Bahamasair's annual report for the 2009/2010 fiscal year. In fact, it's been reported that Bahamasair has not had a profitable year since its beginning. In the 2011/2012 budget, the government has increased Bahamasair's subsidy by $2.6 million to $18.6 million. The subsidy increase will likely be used to keep operating expenses such as employee benefits current, as well as to keep the company's fleet of aircraft operating, said Bahamasair's chairman, J. Barrie Farrington in an earlier interview. He added that Bahamasair's overtime and employee costs often consume 40 percent of the airline's revenue.  Despite that, he said the airline has also seen a rise in revenue despite rising fuel costs because of increased bookings. "We have seen some improvement in revenue and our loads have been better than anticipated," Farrington said then.  "Unfortunately the cost of fuel is higher than last year but lower than what we have budgeted for.  Given the general volatility of the oil markets, it's so hard to appreciate and determine what our exposure is going to be."

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