Caribbean Airlines recruiting brand-new exec team - Business - Jamaica Gleaner - Friday | October 11, 2013
Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL), owned by the governments of Trinidad and minority partner Jamaica, is headhunting a new executive team alongside plans to "transform the organisation and rebrand the company both internally and externally".
The airline is recruiting a chief executive officer, a chief financial officer, a vice-president of commercial and customer experience, who is expected, the recruitment notice says, to transform the Caribbean Airlines service delivery model.
The new team would also have to transition the airline from a fuel-subsidy dependent entity with the announcement last month that the Trinidad and Tobago government plans to end the US$40 million of fuel concessions to the airline in 2015.
Incorporated in 2007, Caribbean Airlines acquired routes operated by Air Jamaica in May 2011, and currently employs 1,124 employees with the Air Jamaica headcount at 650, according to the CAL website.
Jamaica owns 16 per cent of the airline company.
CAL is creating a new team amid reports that its facing another US$70 million of losses. The airline was said to have used up its cash in the purchase of planes and has suffered from a loss-making London route.
More recent reports have pointed to the uncovering of a credit-card scam that last year cost the carrier US$1.7 million.
Recruiting contact Diana Mahabir-Wyatt had not responded to queries about the recruitment drive up to press time.
Both the prospective CEO and commercial manager are expected to have at least 10 years experience at senior management level in the airline industry.
Other personnel being sought, as advertised on the airlines website, include a human resources manager, an internal auditor, a fraud analyst and a sales executive. All positions will be based in Trinidad, except the sales executive who will be based in New York.
Caribbean Airlines currently operates flights between Jamaica and New York, Ft Lauderdale and Orlando in the United States, as well as Toronto in Canada and Nassau in The Bahamas. The other gateways from Jamaica include Antigua, St Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados.
CAL serves 16 markets in the Caribbean, South America and North America, operating a core schedule of 530 weekly departures with a fleet of 21 aircraft, according to its website.
The airline has seen several changes at the top within the last 18 months.
CEO Captain Ian Brunton demitted office in 2012. Vice-president of Commercial and Customer Experience Robert Corbie acted in the post, but resigned in June of this year.
Captain Jagmohan Singh was then tapped in July to run the day-to-day operations of the airline. An interim board appointed in May was given three months to review the airline's finances and make recommendations on how to generate more revenue.
Finance Minister Larry Howai later announced the end of the airline's fuel subsidy.