Julie Reifer-Jones appointed new acting CEO of LIAT

The Board of Directors of LIAT (1974) Limited has appointed Julie Reifer-Jones to act as Chief Executive Officer, following the resignation of Ian Brunton.{{more}}

A release from LIAT said the Board of Directors has accepted Brunton’s resignation effective October 1, 2013.

In the release, the Board thanked Brunton for his service and wished him “ every success in his future endeavours”. Brunton submitted his resignation on September 11, and according to Chairman of LIAT shareholders Dr Ralph Gonsalves, in his resignation letter, Brunton gave the three months notice specified by his contract.

Over the three months prior to Brunton’s resignation, LIAT had been plagued by flight delays and cancellations, which Brunton had said were caused by a combination of factors, including an increase in unscheduled maintenance, crew shortages, bad weather, airport limitations and delays in obtaining licenses for operating their new ATR aircraft in some territories.

Brunton had been leading a US $100 million re-fleeting process, from ageing Dash-8 aircraft to ATR’s, which is designed to help move the airline back into profit by lowering maintenance and fuel costs.

The company received the fourth of 12 new ATR 600 series aircraft last week. The exercise is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

Brunton, a former chief executive of Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL), was appointed CEO of LIAT on August 1, 2012.