I just had a pleasant and timely experience with LIAT! Yes, I really am quite amazed to be writing with such enthusiasm about LIAT since most of us have had issues with the airline for too long. I was booked on the 6:10 a.m. flight from Antigua to Dominica and was pleasantly surprised by the ticket agent assigning me a seat number! This had never happened in the last 10 years of travelling with LIAT.
The flight was on time and when we approached the plane on the tarmac I noticed it looked newer, shinier, and cleaner upon entering. I was very pleasantly greeted by a smiling stewardess. She explained where to look to find the seat numbers. I had a smaller roller bag and one carry-on. I was excited to find the aisle was wide enough to accommodate my roller bag moving on its wheels. I perceived brand new seats covered in soft white and blue with paper head rest sheets hanging down.
The cabin was brightly lighted and smelled good. Another stewardess escorted me to the proper seat and gladly helped me put my heavier roller bag in the over head bin. The bin was larger, deeper and more accommodating than other LIAT planes.
Once we were seated, a precise and pleasant recording was played while the stewardesses demonstrated the safety features. I noticed I had more leg room and a wider and more comfortable seat. I began to smile gleefully! I noticed the cleanliness, organization and colors were much improved. Once we were in the air I asked the stewardess if these new planes would replace the older models to which she replied “yes”.
When we landed on time the stewardess again helped me take down my roller bag and as I deplaned I commented to the other stewardess what a lovely experience I had. LIAT, you have done yourself well! Keep up the positive momentum and we Caribbean travelers can become your best advertizments!
Dr. Janet Taylor
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Dr. Janet Talyor’s pleasant experience is surely not unusual of the care that is given by the LIAT Hostesses, kudos to them and for the new planes which I happened to have travelled on four week ago on my visit Barbados to St.Vincent.
Unfortunately, my experience on returning from St.Vincent having being in-transit in Barbados to Toronto is still under scrutiny with my baggage having strayed somewhere and is still 13 days later awaiting the status. I will update you of the results on this matter.
This has got to be a joke… Who wrote this letter Leesa Paris-Rudder?
Dr Janet Taylor, kudos to you for speaking out on behalf of LIAT!
Make no mistake about it, LIAT still has a far way to go regarding complete customer satisfaction, but as a people, we are much too anxious to quickly blame, pull-down, and bad-talk our own.
LIAT has its problems — that is beyond dispute, but which airline has a spotless record?
Look back at the history of the airline business in the Caribbean and tell me how many established airlines you remember which are still flying our friendly skies? Anyone remember, Air Jamaica, Guyana Air, Eastern Airlines, BOAC, BWIA, RED JET, TWA, etc? And these were all much larger, well-financed airlines, to boot!
The airline business is tough!
Of course, there are tons of genuine complaints against LIAT, but the truth of the matter is that most of those making the most noise are simply political opportunists.
Yes, LIAT has messed-up time after time, and this will continue in future, but we have to understand that what is important is not being PERFECT, (since no one is perfect) but doing a little better day by day..
When a child is being beaten everyday, there comes a time when that child either becomes hostile or is afraid – LIAT’s customers are being shot down more than 90% of the time – LIAT’s check-in counters (especially in Barbados) don’t realise that customers/employees alike are doing service to each other. If we have to appeal to LIAT’s higher powers, well, that’s a joke.
I am very happy that someone in the person of Dr. Janet Taylor can report something positive – keep them coming and people will be excited to travel (our airlines) LIAT.
Props to LIAT’s PROs, they are the best in the business (serious), they made sure Air Jamaica, Guyana Air, Eastern Airlines, BOAC, BWIA, RED JET, TWA, etc? couldn’t pose any threat to LIAT and in the end had to put their tails between their legs and ship out.
“My Pleasant Experience (with Liat)”
What did you pay for?
I spent several days on the internet and counted 735,000 complaints against LIAT, as part of a research project.
I would hope that like most new brooms that sweep clean, a new aircraft with newly trained flight and cabin crew would perform better, at least initially anyway.
I did notice that Doctor Janice posted this same article in several different places, I just wondered how as a professional lady she found time to do that. Is it normal to blow your horn so far and wide, unless she has had so many previous dreadful experiences with LIAT
http://www.antiguachronicle.net/news/item/664-doctor-pens-pleasant-experience-letter-to-liat
JOHN ALEXANDER, “but doing a little better day by day” you are of course joking with us, they have never been worse, they are deteriorating by the minute.
The fact that someone thinks this “pleasant experience” is worth noticing shows how inefficient the airline is. LIAT is not to be praised for coming on time; that is what they are supposed to do. This published piece is a joke; there is nothing here out of the ordinary. LIAT never goes above and beyond;it always misses the mark. This is just one normal experience amid a chorus of inefficiency. Meanwhile, I’m still waiting on my luggage.What LIAT needs is a class action lawsuit and as soon as I get over my fatigue (after traveling with them for two days and being stranded) I am getting my lawyers on this case.
JASON, you could well be right for the first time in your life, where did you read that?
When you travel with liat the norm is to be taken from A to G via Z ,P E and D being stranded at B for a half day or more without any information whatsoever finally you are taken to B , when you finally get to B so tired ,hungry and mad you feel happy that you can only collect your luggage on the way back to A two weeks later , anything other than that has to be a very pleasant experience when flying Liat ,this should not surprise anyone anymore after all its the norm .