Mujhtabah Mohammed, managing director of CWIA and Constellation Travel Service, spoke recentely about his new airline, in which he is the sole shareholder.

"Constellation has been in business, in the travel agency business for 23 years. For the better part of those 23 years, we have been involved in charter operations where we operate like a middle airline something between a travel agent and a airline. We charter airlines, buy seats in large quantities from schedule carriers and then we market those seats to the public and/or other travel agencies," Mohammed said.

He explained, "It is therefore a natural step now, looking at the maturity of the agency and the position that we have reached to look at being our own provider of that commodity we sell. So it is in that spirit and that thinking that we have taken that decision to move towards the airline side of the business".

Mohammed said the company already has been registered in Trinidad and Tobago and that the airline is now going through the necessary procedures to get operations started and getting certified to fly.

The company has not yet begun its recruitment process, however industry sources have indicated that former-BWIA workers soon will be lining up to get positions at the new airline.

"It so happens that the pool available locally is comprised of people who have worked with the only national carrier in Trinidad, which was BWIA. So naturally we are looking at people from that pool. The only two people at present that are fully involved in the airline are in fact two ex-BWIA people. One is Kemchand Rampaul, he is going to be our maintenance director and Joanne Edwards who is involved in strategic planning" he said.

The issue of staff has not yet been finalized, but the airline's routes have been decided, and the routes actually have been serviced by Constellation Travel Service for some time now.

"This whole venture is going to be linked with our travel agency venture. Our travel agency side of the business currently operates in eight locations in four countries.

We have four locations here in Trinidad, one in Guyana, one in Fort Lauderdale, one in New York and one in Toronto. Naturally, when the airline comes into being we will be using that airline to continue to provide products to travel agencies on those routes, which is, routes that we currently fly," Mohammed said.

"The aircraft type that we have decided on moving forward with the Boeing 757 which is the type of aircraft we are currently using on the routes that we fly. So when we start looking for aircraft of our own that is the aircraft type that we will be looking for," Mohammed said.

He said that CWIA should begin with one or two 757 aircraft but a smaller aircraft may be added when the Caribbean routes come on stream.

With operations expected to commence in mere months Mohammed said there is really no real need to start an intense marketing campaign for the airline yet.

"We are not starting any marketing campaign currently because we are already selling these routes and these seats. When we start the airline operation, phase one is merely to put Constellation instead of Primaris and concurrent with that we will then be going out at looking at selling Constellation West Indian Airways on its own strength to travel agents and retail businesses," Mohammed said.

Very soon we will have two national airlines.

Mohammed however does not think that the presence of CWIA will greatly affect the way Caribbean Airlines does its business because CWIA already has its market and its clientele.

"In the aviation industry nowadays you can't just look at the local environment. Caribbean Airlines has been "surviving" with an influx of US carriers it is the way of the world today. You have to be able to manage your costs manage your expenses and be able to operate within a competitive environment. We don't see ourselves as going to be a challenge for Caribbean Airlines and vice versa," Mohammed said.

He added, "The way I see it is our focus and our market is a market that we have serviced for the past 15 to 20 years. So whether these passengers travel right now on Primaris Airlines or Constellation West Indian Airways it is not that we are taking business from anyone. It is our own business that we are just moving under a different name".

Mohammed said Constellation will make its way in the industry by "continue doing what we have been doing right for the last 23 years which is to provide a reasonably priced product and giving our passengers what they expect to get," Mohammed added.