Caribbean Beat — January/February 2017 (#143)

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As head of corporate communications at Caribbean Airlines, Dionne Ligoure
speaks glowingly about growth and improvement in the services the company
offers. And she singles out the character of the approximately 1,600 people
who work for CAL in the region and beyond. “What I am most proud of is
the support and camaraderie when you call on the employees to support
volunteerism,” she explains.
“When a flight attendant can fly through the night, come off a flight, go
home, bathe, change, and put her uniform back on because she is asked to
go to a school to speak and share her professional experience with students,
and she says, ‘No problem,’ those are the moments I am most proud of. It’s
testimony to the fabric of who we are as an airline,” says Ligoure.
Caribbean Airlines managers were asked to choose employees who best
represent the spirit of the company. Here are six snapshots of the people who
create the CAL experience both in the public eye and behind the scenes.
that I am customer-service-driven, always
showing exemplary attitude and providing our
customers with the highest level of customer
service and giving them the ‘warmth of the
Caribbean’ with my smile,” she explains.
Michelle Highly, the company’s senior supervisor of crew
scheduling and control at Piarco, was a volunteer in the schools
programme Ligoure mentions. The Roving Schools Caravan
went to primary and secondary schools in Trinidad and Tobago
over five months in early 2016 to teach students about the
tourism industry, including the professional opportunities it
offers.
Highly finds time to volunteer despite having eighteen
people under her supervision in Trinidad and Jamaica, and
being responsible for scheduling shifts twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week. She is also serving voluntary stints
on the company’s Job Evaluation and Change Management
committees. “You do not get any time off or anything additional,
other than knowing you are doing something to enhance the
company you love,” Highly says — reason enough for her.
Ian Neil, a customer service agent at JFK International
Airport in New York City, said he’s had so many interesting
experiences over the past decades at Caribbean Airlines and its
predecessor BWIA that he’s often asked why he doesn’t write a
book. He’s worked at several major airports. He’s won multiple
company awards, including the Chairman’s Award for Most
Outstanding Customer Service Agent, and received letters of
commendation from customers. He recalls meeting celebrities,
among them basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and actors
Sinbad and Victoria Rowell.
But he’s putting off the book for now. “During my past
thirty-seven years in the aviation industry, I have not seen
all, nor do I profess to know all — because new experiences,
coupled with the acquisition of ongoing knowledge, continue to
present themselves,” says Neil.
Annette McFarlane, a customer contact and senior
ticketing agent based in Fort Lauderdale, is another employee
of long standing. Her job at CAL is to ensure company policy
and procedures are maintained.
“I am a perfectionist, a dedicated employee, and take
pride in my work,” she says. “One of my greatest strengths is
Andre Smith, a customer service lead agent in
Georgetown, Guyana, is a comparatively new employee,
coming on board in 2010. One of his “greatest memories,” he
said, was having to handle four flights coming in within five
minutes, then having to dispatch three of the flights within
another small window of time. “It was nothing short of a
remarkable effort by all involved,” he says.
“Being naturally service-oriented is a gift I possess, and that
has helped me in my journey thus far,” says Smith. “It gives me
great pleasure knowing that I can assist a first-time traveller who
may be unsure of what is required, or welcome back a returning
guest, whose experience starts with us, the airport team.”
Jenelle Headley came into Caribbean Airlines from BWIA,
and works in the finance department, based in Trinidad. While
with the company, she got her undergraduate and postgraduate
degrees, as well as professional training that she feels
enhanced her life in more ways than one.
“My time with the company has been a learning curve —
not only professionally but personally as well,” Headley says. “I
have had the pleasure of interacting with people not only from
different departments but system-wide, making friends from all
parts of the world.”
Kristy Kanick, legal counsel at Caribbean Airlines since
2012, also speaks of the education and training she received at
the company. She completed four International Air Transport
Association (IATA) law courses and earned an IATA Diploma in
International Air Law with distinction.
“CAL, with its commitment to excellence, continues to be
a dynamic airline to work for,” says Kanick. “The company
comprises teams which are knowledgeable and tireless in their
pursuit of a first-class product. We take pride in our airline and
we acknowledge — individually and as a collective — that we
each play a role which impacts on the customer experience.
Customer satisfaction is indeed what drives us on a daily
basis.”
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