{"id":471,"date":"2008-03-18T22:53:30","date_gmt":"2008-03-19T02:53:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/?p=471"},"modified":"2008-03-19T22:06:07","modified_gmt":"2008-03-20T02:06:07","slug":"jet-deal-crashes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/?p=471","title":{"rendered":"Manning’s TT$400 Million Jet Dream Crashes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Patrick<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

A ploy that did not fly<\/b><\/big><\/p>\n

March 19th 2008
\ntrinidadexpress.com<\/i><\/p>\n

Caribbean Airlines (CAL) will want the citizenry to believe that its decision to stall the plan to acquire an executive jet was based on the high principle of being determined not to go ahead with the transaction unless the contract included a watertight or, perhaps, more accurately in the context, an airtight anti-corruption clause.
\n
\nBut more citizens will be inclined to take the view, eagerly expressed by Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, that the State airline’s retreat was a “victory for the people”, meaning those who made known their opposition to what was seen to be another example of the spendthrift ways of a revenue-rich administration whose leader, rather than set an example of fiscal restraint to the nation, was seen to be encouraging its traditional spendthrift ways fuelled, as he continues to be, by the grandiose delusions that often afflict prime ministers and presidents of so-called developing nations.
\nFull Article : trinidadexpress.com<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

No jet for Manning<\/b><\/big><\/p>\n

By Andre Bagoo
\nWednesday, March 19 2008<\/i><\/p>\n

THE BID by the Prime Minister Patrick Manning-led Government to acquire an executive jet yesterday crash landed as Caribbean Airlines (CA) announced that it will not go forward with a proposed multi-million dollar luxury jet acquisition with Bombardier.<\/p>\n

But there was no sign yesterday that this will be the last Trinidad and Tobago will hear of a jet for the Government as Marianno Browne, the Minister in the Ministry of Finance, and CA defended the faltered deal\u2019s viability and signalled the possibility that if another jet becomes available the Government will support CA in its plans to offer an executive jet service. <\/p>\n

\u201cCA…will not be proceeding with the purchase of an executive jet at the present time,\u201d read a release faxed to the media yesterday afternoon.
\nFull Article : newsday.co.tt<\/a><\/strong> <\/p>\n

Jet deal crashes
\nUS$65m purchase ‘downed’ by corruption clause<\/b><\/big><\/p>\n

By Gail Alexander
\nMarch 19, 2008<\/i> <\/p>\n

Caribbean Airlines\u2019 proposed executive jet initiative has \u201ccrashed\u201d after CA confirmed yesterday it will not be proceeding with the purchase of the controversial jet \u201cat this time.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, CA\u2014as company chairman Arthur Lok Jack did last week\u2014made it clear it will continue to explore opportunities to establish the executive jet service. <\/p>\n

A six-paragraph press release from CA yesterday confirmed the permanent grounding of the US$65 million deal to acquire a luxury Global XRS ultra-long range jet from the Canadian firm of Bombardier . <\/p>\n

The main clients for the service were to have been Government Ministers, including the Prime Minister, plus corporate clients and regional leaders. <\/p>\n

Both Government\u2014which supported the investment with Cabinet approval three weeks ago\u2014and CA have suffered severe flak from various quarters concerning the idea. <\/p>\n

Yesterday, Works and Transport Minister Colm Imbert confirmed talks between CA and Bombardier failed to lift off from the negotiating table and were eventually \u201cdowned\u201d by the anti-corruption clause which Government wanted in the agreement.
\nFull Article : guardian.co.tt<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Panday credits people for decision<\/b><\/big> <\/p>\n

The public must take credit for forcing the government and Caribbean Airlines to abort the \u201cobscene plan to purchase an executive jet\u201d for the use of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday said yesterday. <\/p>\n

Responding on Caribbean Airlines decision not to acquire the jet \u201cat this time,\u201d Panday said: <\/p>\n

\u201cThe government has been forced to back down from this lavish purchase because they could not convince the public that the deal was clean, the purchase necessary and that it was justified, given the prevailing social conditions.\u201d <\/p>\n

Panday said the public needed to know the specific details of the anti-corruption clause that CAL and Bombardier could not agree to. <\/p>\n

He added: \u201cIt is vulgar in its own right that the government, through its agents in Caribbean Airlines, sought to purchase this $300 million jet while citizens cannot afford to buy food, hospitals have no beds and violence takes over our schools.\u201d
\nFull Article : guardian.co.tt<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Jet Deal Off…For Now<\/a><\/b>
\nThe TT$400 million Bombardier jet deal is dead. The executive jet idea is, however, still alive and will return in a different form, probably involving a leasing arrangement. <\/p>\n

Mark: UNC-A ‘connecting the dots’<\/a><\/b>
\nOpposition Senator Wade Mark says now that Caribbean Airlines Ltd’s (CAL) attempted private jet deal has crash landed, the United National Congress Alliance’s (UNC-A) investigation into the matter has only now begun. <\/p>\n

…Lok Jack ‘should be fired’ for comments<\/a><\/b>
\nOpposition Senator Wade Mark says Caribbean Airlines Ltd chairman, Arthur Lok Jack, should be fired for saying that if the money for the carrier’s now failed jet acquisition were returned, this would not mean the immediate acquisition of more hospital beds. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A ploy that did not fly March 19th 2008 trinidadexpress.com Caribbean Airlines (CAL) will want the citizenry to believe that its decision to stall the plan to acquire an executive jet was based on the high principle of being determined not to go ahead with the transaction unless the contract included a watertight or, perhaps, … Continue reading Manning’s TT$400 Million Jet Dream Crashes<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1,7,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-complaints","category-general-tt","category-politics","category-word-on-the-street"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.trinidadandtobagonews.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}