#galleryyuhself/aviation in the Caribbean

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LIAT - A history of aviation in the Caribbean - compiled by Darrel Lou-Hing

1950 SIR FRANK HENRY SAPENNE DELISLE

The founder of Leeward Islands Air Transport Ltd. LIAT

A bit of history

Frank Sapenne Delisle O.B.E.

Managing Director, Leeward Islands Air Transport Ltd.

Director, Montserrat Co. Ltd.

Born: St Kitts Dec. 5, 1918.

Educ: St Kitts Grammar school and St Mary's College Halifax Nova Scotia.

Dept of Agriculture, St Kitts 1936-46;

Married March 4, 1941, Valentine May, daughter of Dr. W.A. Slack Medical Officer of St Kitts. 3 daughters, Marie Yvonne (Mrs Randolph) Jeanne Marie, Marie Therese.

Joined Montserrat, Co. Ltd. as Estate Man'gr., 1945; Man'gr.

1948; served as member executive council, Mont.,

1952; Member Montserrat Cotton Growers' Assoc. Fruit and Veg. Prod. Adv'y Bd.

Represented Montserrat at W.I. Sea Is. Cotton Conf St Vincent 1952 and at Livestock course in Br. Guiana. Club: New. Sport: Tennis.

Founded L.I.A.T. Airline, 1956.

Member Airline Operations Committee. Recreation Swimming Address Hodges Bay Antigua.

Prime Ministers laud Kittitian founder of LIAT airline

Fifty-five years after the establishment of LIAT (1974) Ltd by Mr. Frank Delisle, a national of St. Kitts and Nevis, in October 1956, with a single Piper Apache aircraft, the airline continues to advance the goal of Sir Frank to provide safe and reliable air transport to the islands and peoples of the eastern Caribbean.

Shareholder Prime Ministers Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines; Dr. the Hon. Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda and the Hon. Freundel Stuart of Barbados in a joint statement noted that from such humble beginnings, today’s LIAT now represents the primary mover of people within the Caribbean region

Sir Frank Henry Sapenne Delisle, was born on the island of St. Kitts on the 5th Dec 1918, the Son of Harry Delisle and May (Stephens) Delisle. Frank received his early education in Halifax, Canada then went to neighbouring Anguilla as a young man to work in the Agriculture Department.

Frank Delisle, got the aviation bug after some unofficial trips on US Marine Corps anti-submarine patrols from Anguilla during the Second World War.

He then migrated to Montserrat where he was employed with the Montserrat Company Ltd. as a manager of a fruit plantation in Montserrat, he took time out to take flying lessons and began flying a two-seat Aeronca from Montserrat in the early 1950s. It was there that his love and interest in aviation developed.

A former airline captain, Frank S. Delisle, is one of the most engaging and resourceful characters one could wish to meet on one's Caribbean.

Sir Frank played a tremendous role in bringing aviation to the Caribbean region.

Sir Frank DeLisle was the founder of the Leeward Islands Air Transport (better known Caribbean-wide as LIAT), the oldest airline in the sub-Caribbean region.

With a vision of transforming air transportation in the region, Delisle started the Leeward Islands Air Transport Service Ltd. on 20 October 1956, on the island of Montserrat the year of the opening of Blackburne Airport.

This was preceded by operating from small landing strip he built on his plantation in Olveston in 1953. The strip was only 800 ft long and had a six degree incline. All take-offs were down hill and often down wind. Landings were made against the incline.

In those days LIAT was a privately owned one-man operation with a fleet of one aircraft and a non-scheduled service between Montserrat and Antigua a sector distance of just 35-miles, blue water passage, using a Twin engine Piper Apache. His available payload was just three passengers and/or some freight which could amount to little more than an arm full of parcels.

Nevertheless the service was popular among the islanders and the next year, the airlines schedule was widened to include St. Kitts, St. Eustatius, and St. Marteen.

Soon the Apache was reinforced with a twin engine Beechcraft Bonanza that could carry six passengers.

Gradually each island in the chain carved out miniature airports so that they can become aerially linked.

LIAT was incorporated in the Colony of Antigua, British West Indies, in 1956. At the time of its incorporation, its immediate purpose was to was to conduct a local inter-island operation with small aircraft within the British Caribbean area.

With the support of the late V.C. Bird, former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, DeLisle’s vision grew and LIAT moved its headquarters from Montserrat to Antigua and their Hanger, a 60ft x 60ft structure, was erected to accommodate the Herons. Alongside the first Hanger was the fuselage of another Heron which was modified to become an office of the accounting department.

The airline continued to grow and develop with the co-operation of other regional leaders.

In 1957 shortly after its incorporation, control of LIAT through purchase of 75% of its issued and outstanding stock was acquired by British West Indian Airways (BWIA). LIAT became a subsidiary of BWIA.

It was considered that control of LIAT by BWIA would be mutually advantageous in that BWIA would participate through LIAT in providing local inter-island service with small aircraft and that LIAT would receive financial and other assistance in the conduct and expansion of its local service operations.

LIAT maintained a home base at Coolidge Airport Antigua, equipped for routine maintenance and for training of personnel, its fleet consisted of four six passenger Twin Bonanza aircraft recently augmented by two 48 passenger AVRO-748 aircraft, there were over 90 employees, including 14 pilots; its capital structure consisted of 1,500 common shares of $100 par value, of which 805 shares were issued and outstanding of which 75% of such outstanding shares were owned by BWIA; not withstanding the a measure of autonomy LIAT was financially and administratively dependant on an integrated with BWIA.

By 1960 LIAT had six aircraft four Bonanzas, a pair of de Havilland Herons and was flying as far as Trinidad.

By now the airline was flying scheduled services in a 1,400 mile arc in one direction to Puerto Rico(via St. Thomas) and to Trinidad via Guadeloupe, Dominica, Barbados and St. Vincent in the other.

In 1965 Delisle obtained his first turbo prop, an Avro 748, registered VP-LIK, and a second one a year later in 1966 due to the airline's decision to phase out the Herons, the Airlines Headquarters moving to Coolidge Airport to allow the Avro 748 to be operated.

In 1968, LIAT was operating some flights via an agreement with Eastern Air Lines to provide passenger feed at this U.S. based air carrier's hub located in San Juan, Puerto Rico and was flying "Eastern Partner" service between San Juan and Antigua, St. Kitts and St. Maarten

For the first time LIAT operated two 19 seat Twin Otters, which were replaced by 1970 by five Britten Norman Islanders.

Every winter from 1967 onwards, LIAT leased a single 748 from Autair and later from Court.

In October 1971 Court Line acquired a 75% interest in LIAT from British West Indian Airways, BWIA the National Airline of Trinidad & Tobago and the remaining 25% on the 1st October 1972 for the total cost of £790,000, at that time LIAT’s liabilities exceeded the book value of tangable assets by £1,461,000 so the total cost of LIAT’s goodwill was £2,251,000.

LIAT consistently made losses up to the time of the takeover. The purchase agreement required BWIA to convert US$ 2,500,000current account with LIAT into a long term loan.

In 1972 (Sir) Frank Delisle founded Carib Aviation with a single twin-prop aircraft.

Carib Aviation provided charter and scheduled flights throughout the Caribbean from its main base in Antigua.

At its peak the company employed 63 personnel, including some 15 pilots and 22 engineering staff.

The office facilities were at VC Bird International Airport, accommodating administration, accounts, operations and traffic departments.

An additional terminal office facility was located at Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Carib Aviation also operated the DOMINICA AIR TAXI service between Antigua, Saint Lucia and Canefield Airport as well as a local feeder for LIAT.

On Tuesday 30 September 2008, Bruce Kaufman, new owner and CEO of the airline, announced that he was forced to cancel all flights the very same day because of no flight crews available.

He accused LIAT to have hired 7 of his Twin Otter pilots within a few days, breaking an agreement between the two airlines signed earlier in 2008 and leaving him with no choice to stop all operations.

Sir Frank DeLisle also founded Radio Montserrat, the first radio station in the sub-region, which is still operational today.

Frank Sapenne Delisle died at age 83 on Friday, November 1st, 2002.

It was the same day that he was honoured with a knighthood for his outstanding contribution to the aviation industry in Antigua and Barbuda and the Caribbean as a whole.

Frank is buried in St John's Public Cemetery, Antigua and Barbuda.