You may recall I wrote to you in August about the appalling service given by Liat on return journeys between Piarco and St Lucia. Despite five months of pressure on Liat for compensation, the airline has refused to take responsibility for their incompetence and inaction. This is the story of flight LI 384 on July 19th. Leeward Islands Airline is nothing but a farce, we're stuck at Piarco. We couldn't buy our duty frees at Tee Wee liquor store, because the flight departed within one hour more. So just before Security the purchases were made, then off to boarding gate three–and that's where we all stayed. We scheduled for 8.40, but soon we sang the blues, "Your flight's delayed till ten o'clock," as Liat broke the news.
An hour went by and then we heard the plane was later yet, "It won't leave till eleven!"–How much later could it get? And as the minutes ticked away we began to fear the worst, till finally the truth was known, what they should have said at first. The plane was in Grenada, would soon be on its way, but flight deck crew were out of hours, it's surely not our day! Then luncheon vouchers issued –fifty dollars each allowed, a 3.30 departure time didn't please the angry crowd. We left our duty free bags in Liat's tender care, but ground staff had then changed their shift by the time we got back there. They refused to hand them over, ignored my fair request and dealt with other customers while I came second best.
Eventually I raised my voice and made my point quite clear, reluctantly they did agree, they were wrong to interfere. So KFC and Church's became our airport lunch, at least to kill the hours we had something to munch. We'd all been up since five o'clock,–St Lucia then by ten? Then LIAT V2–LFU. LI 384, at last sprang into action–you could hear the engines roar! But passengers became concerned, almost thirty minutes passed, it soon became apparent we were going nowhere fast! Propellers stopped and then the call–everybody out! We feared the worst, this flight is cursed, of that there was no doubt.
Back to Piarco campsite, where we had been all day, you now can just imagine what the customers had to say. Liat kept procrastinating, then an alternator fault, was deemed to be the problem, at least that's what they thought. The anger now was rising as an engine test took place, but this was inconclusive with Liat in disgrace. As time wore on the restive crowd was ready to explode; they then said that the generator was in overload. The Dash 8 dashed to make amends and landed ten hours late, by even Liat standards –a performance less than great. And then I learned the secret of Liat's name sublime–the letters really stand for "LEAVE ISLANDS ANY TIME!"
Alan Fitzgerald,
Via e-mail