Bahamasair's 'five year high' in complaints blamed on U.S. authorities

Thu, Dec 5th 2013, 12:38 PM

The most recently released annual report for Bahamasair indicates that the airline suffered a rise in customer complaints to a "five year high" of 950 in the 2011/2012 fiscal year - a rise which Bahamasair said could be attributed "mostly" to the actions of the United States Customs and Border Patrol facilities at the airport.
Meanwhile, the airlines most recently released annual report also revealed that Bahamasair was on time 66 percent of the time during the year, with domestic services seeing on-time performance of around 75 percent, while international flights remained on schedule just 50 percent of the time.
The report, tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, said that management is "sensitive" to the timing issue, and it was committed to addressing "controllable" delays.
The report is somewhat dated, and it is not clear where these figures stand today; however, it points to significant concerns regarding the service provided by the airline and its perception among the general traveling public which observers suggest continue to plague the airline today.
Providing a financial overview of the airline's performance for the year, Chief Financial Officer Eloise Rolle noted that Bahamasair's net loss of $26.6 million was $5 million, or 23.4 percent, more than the previous year.
Operating income increased by 1.9 percent to $67.45 million, as did passenger revenue, by $0.749 million, however, operating expenses of $93.96 million also saw an increase of 7.2 percent compared with the previous year.
The company also purchased two Boeing 737-500 jet aircraft for $1.2 million, while paying just under a million dollars in "retroactive salary" payments for three years, which were due under union contracts, noted Rolle.
Thirty-two percent of operating income was spent on covering the cost of fuel, compared with 29 percent in the previous year, with the price rising to an average of $3.56 per gallon, or 16 percent more than a year prior.
Bahamasair remained "highly dependent" on cash injections from the government, noted Rolle, receiving $23.47 million in funding of which $5 million was used to settle "inter-government receivables and payables".
Valentine Grimes, chairman of Bahamasair, has drawn much attention to the portion of costs borne by Bahamasair which relate to staffing. The 2011/2012 report indicates that staff costs rose to 43 percent of operating expenses in 2012, from 41 percent in 2011.
Aircraft fuel made up the second largest operating cost component.
The annual report indicates that Bahamasair transported 787,155 passengers in 2011/2012. Passenger revenue growth was focused on international routes, as performance in the domestic routes remained flat.
This international revenue growth came despite a fall in the international load factor from 71 percent to 64 percent in the year, indicating a 15,800 decline in international passenger numbers to 483,600.
Bahamasair has recently announced plans to focus on expanding its international services as a strategic goal.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

 Sponsored Ads