Christopher Gill's Column

Chairs  Don’t Fly

Christopher GillAir Seychelles CEO David Savy recently opened a Pearl Class Lounge (Lounge) at the Seychelles International Airport. The new Lounge replaces the old one which had a couch and two chairs and locked fridge in it. Over the years, the old lounge became a hot topic for travelers to Seychelles. They would ‘blog’ their experience on websites and even take pictures of the tiny lounge that could accommodate 2-3 persons at a time to belittle Seychelles. Air Seychelles made due with the old lounge for a number of years while being bombarded with Travelers critic on the Internet.

 The New Lounge Is HUGE

Whereas the old Lounge was tiny and beyond human, the new Lounge is HUGE. Mr. Savy has changed strategy. Now he has decided that the “Smallest Airline in The World”, will have the “Largest VIP Lounge in the World”. I smell bad business sense in the make. Of course, he will tell us that the new Lounge is necessary with the new renovations of our Boeing 767 Pearl Class Section, which we will return to the Lessee in Two (2) more years, once we receive the 787 Dream liners Fleet. But the Boeing 767 Pearl Class section has only 24 passenger seats, even with the renovations. Although additional leg space will be given to Pearl Passengers, the seating capacity will not change. The new Lounge accommodates 90 persons according to Mr. Savy. That makes for a variance in “Real Required Allocation” (RRA) of 66 seats. This means the Lounge is 3 times larger than what it should be in relation to the capacity of Air Seychelles planes. He has said of course, that Economy Passengers can pay Rupees 200.00 to visit the lounge. For those who like cooking, it’s like making a curry with pork, chicken, beef and fish all in the same pot. Even Joe Albert the man that brought us dust, stones and Cat Cocos had to chuckle when he heard that line as Mr. Savy tried to find a way to justify the huge expenditure, for a huge Lounge.

 Don’t Forget The Kreol Style

Mr. Savy has told us that he wanted a Lounge with distinctive Kreol Style and comfort, making it the best Lounge in the region, out-pacing Qatar’s Lounges, Emirates Airlines Lounges, South African Airway Lounges, with one expenditure blow, setting Air Mauritius in a tailspin. He has done it! Mr. Savy has spent $1Million on a bunch of chairs, raffia, bamboo and a few $50.00 water fountains you can buy in Chinatown-Singapore, opposite Peoples Park. This expenditure has been done in the name of “Kreol Style”. Virtually everything was imported from Asia except for some art pieces selected by Mr. Savy himself. I do not query Mr. Savy’s effort at style. We can live with that and remain silent, possibly in fear, like SBC journalists do. What is offensive is to listen to someone tell us he has just built the premier VIP Lounge in the Region. Of course you have. So what? Chairs do not fly....planes do! Based on $1Million, it works out to over $11,000.00 per lounge chair cost. If Mr. Savy had done say, a 30 chair capacity Lounge, based on his own lavish splurge figures, it would cost us about $330,000.00 for a new Lounge.

 We Need Planes Not Chairs

The money allegedly spent by Mr. Savy on Chairs, raffia and bamboo could have been stretched to bring about greater value to the People of Seychelles. For instance, an Inter Island Route plane cost about $1Million. He could have made a Lounge upgrade for about $100,000.00 to accommodate 24 -30 passengers and spend the remaining $900,000.00 to acquire another plane to reduce the bad service profile that currently exist on the Inter Island Route which Air Seychelles is becoming infamous for. Buying chairs and cheap water fountains when our planes are catching fire in flight between Mahe and Praslin, just does not quite make good business sense. You do not have to be an avid reader of the Economist Magazine or Forbes Magazine to come to that conclusion. You just need to have common sense... in head and a sense for safety for your passengers... at heart.

 Mr. Savy of course, will tell us that you cannot buy chairs and raffia and bamboo with just $100,000.00. I tell Mr. Savy I can. I will show him how if he likes, all the while, retaining our “Seychellois Style”, a much more stylish than your “Kreol” from the One Party State days when some of us were born into a “Seychelles unlimited public spending- family culture”. You do not need a designer from Singapore> for that Mr. Savy. Next thing you will tell us, you need someone from Malaysia to brush your teeth in the morning. For that, you will make the proposals, we the People of Seychelles, will pay the price for the service as usual.

Michel Wants Good Governance

Mr. President has alerted us to the need for Good Governance, a Public Service of Integrity and Honesty in the work place. SPPF supporters should take note and judge him by his actions. Some Ministers were politely moved on recently by Mr. President, for reasons best known to Mr. President himself. In the spirit of Good Governance and Full Disclosure of Public Spending, now that the champagne pouring is over in the new Lounge, Mr. Savy should make public all expenditures for the new Lounge. Then we will know how much raffia and bamboo and chairs make $1 Million.....or perhaps, how much a new helicopter may cost, just for the sake of comparison analysis of course.

 May God Bless All Freedom Loving Seychellois!

July 06, 2007
Copyright 2007: Seychelles Weekly, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles