Cayman Airways board members and staff can receive travel benefits, including free airline tickets excluding taxes, during their tenure and after retirement, according to a government policy made public last week.
Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell released details of travel benefits provided to staff and Cayman Airways board members following a parliamentary question from North Side MLA Ezzard Miller that sought to determine the nature of the policy and how long beneficiaries could receive reduced price tickets.
For CAL board members, who do not receive any monetary compensation from the airline, certain travel privileges are extended during their terms.
Those include coach class travel where space is available for board members, their spouses and children up to age 18. Those free tickets do not include taxes and applicable fees. Business class seats can be made available on a “day of departure” basis, if any open up and are not being used on the flight, Mr. Kirkconnell said.
The travel benefits are allowed only while board members are serving with Cayman Airways. Following their departure, they are eligible to receive those benefits for a period of time equal to the period served on the board. So, if board members served for three years, their travel benefits would extend a further three years beyond the date of departure.
For former board members, the benefits include unlimited coach space travel available on a standby basis, again excluding taxes and applicable fees.
Ex-board members can receive three airline passes per year for themselves, their spouse and children up to age 18.
Mr. Kirkconnell said the benefits are consistent with those available to airline industry employees globally.
Cayman Airways staff members are also offered travel incentives “with a view to minimizing wage expense by offering a no-cost incentive to the staff,” Mr. Kirkconnell said.
Active and retired Cayman Airways staff members [retirees must have 20 years or more service] are given access to airline tickets that would otherwise go unsold.
The following travel benefits are part of the pay and retirement packages provided by CAL to employees and retirees with at least 20 years of service:
Coach class seats are available on standby with priority of seating based on length of service. The employee’s or retiree’s spouse and dependent children can also receive coach class tickets.
Unmarried CAL employees receive between two to six “companion” passes each year for a designated companion, depending on length of service.
Each employee is also entitled to standby passes for their parents if space is available on the flight. Each CAL employee also gets one vacation pass per year that has a higher priority than the normal standby tickets. This vacation pass is subject to strict blackout period and other travel restrictions to ensure CAL does not lose money, Mr. Kirkconnell said.
“Additionally, there are restrictions on availability and usage as determined and enforced by [CAL] revenue management to ensure [there is] no revenue dilution,” Mr. Kirkconnell said. “The travel benefit for active staff is only available outside of probationary periods and is a privilege available to employees in good standing.”
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Pretty much the same as every other airline.
I had many friends who worked for airlines and they and their families would fly free or almost free. But only standby where the seats had not been sold.
Great benefit for employees, no cost to airline.
I see nothing wrong with this. All airlines do the same, beside we must remember the better you treat the persons who work for you, the stronger they stand by you. Nothing is for free.
Sounds fairly balanced on paper but the devil’s in the detail. How often are business class seats routinely given to board members on the day of travel instead of coach. How often are tickets booked in advance of the stand-by seats that staff are entitled to. Why doesn’t Cayman Airways sell those business class seats as an upgrade on the day of travel, got lots free, offer them at 100 extra, got one free, 200 extra. They should always be full…of paying passengers.
The real problem is in the number of employees CAL hires to operate such a small fleet. A major airline can afford these employee travel benefits but it costs us millions in subsidies from CIG and high fares every year to provide free travel to an excessive number of past and present staff.
Gillie.
From my reading of the article the seats are only available on a standby basis.
If this is true no revenue is lost, except the extra fuel cost required to fly the extra weight of the passenger and their baggage.
Maybe a few dollars per passenger.