GA's 757 touches down
Guyana Airways 2000's Boeing 757 aircraft made its first commercial flight to Guyana yesterday, landing at exactly 15:00 hrs with approximately 120 passengers from New York. The Boeing 757 replaces the much larger A300 airbus which was previously in operation. GA 2000 Chairman Yesu Persaud told reporters at the Cheddi Jagan International airport yesterday that an agreement had been concluded between the company and Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services to wet lease the Boeing 757 for a minimum of six months in anticipation of converting the agreement to a dry lease. He said the airline was already in the process of identifying pilots for the dry-lease arrangements. The old Guyana Airways Corporation used to operate a Boeing 757 which was piloted by a number of Guyanese captains. Persaud noted that these pilots would have to be retrained and would have to sit an exam before being allowed to fly the aircraft. The airline would continue to provide non-stop, direct flights to New York and Toronto. Starting on June 29, GA 2000 would return to a schedule of five flights to New York and two to Toronto. Persaud said the smaller Boeing 757 was much better suited to their operations and sufficiently large to satisfy current passenger demand. The GA 2000 Chairman said seating arrangements had been reconfigured so that passengers' leg room and comfort would be improved. The reconfiguration of the aircraft has reduced its original 228 seats to 195. There are three compartments: business, premium and economy. Persaud said the aircraft had been issued with Airworthiness Certificates from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the United States government and Civil Aviation and Safety Administration (CASA) of Australia. However, as a result of the fact that this was a smaller aircraft than the airbus, passengers' baggage allowance of 140 pounds had been reduced to 120 pounds for New York, and in the case of Toronto, 100 pounds if the flight was full. Persaud said this was to ensure that passengers arrived along with their baggage. He said the entire cabin crew had been retrained by Ansett for the 757, including two training flights. The crew passed a final exam with flying colours. The Chairman said discussions were continuing with Ansett and other carriers for the provision of a second aircraft and/or the prompt deployment of a stand-by aircraft in the case of unscheduled maintenance. He also disclosed that the company was closer to employing a permanent General Manager. According to Persaud, the search had been narrowed down to three candidates, and an announcement would be made shortly. Most passengers coming off the aircraft said they had enjoyed the flight.
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