The dusts from the doomed inaugural flight have still not settled, and once again a  Liberian group has begun publicizing yet another chartered flight to Liberia.  This time the flight is being promoted under the banner of ‘attending a health conference’ and is being advertised for $2,300.00. 

 

Liberians doomed from the inaugural flight are still awaiting a refund of their money while organizers Rufus Berry, Adelaide Gardner and Alex St. James Cisco continue to point accusing fingers at one another.

 

It is not fair to assume that each group of Liberians who attempt to organize flights do so with the intent of deceiving others and crooking them out of their hard earned money.  In fact it is reasonable to assume that none of these Liberians do. 

However Liberians need to be aware that the lack of knowledge in this area by these Liberians who attempt to organize these trips, and more important, the lack of commitment by the carriers, make this a risky endeavor regardless of the intent - noble or evil .

It is not a difficult endeavor to charter a flight.  Most airlines would be willing the take a charter.  Once the negotiations are made for the size of the aircraft and the number of passengers, the airline quotes a price.  If the organizers are in the position to pay the airline this agreed upon price,  the flight is guaranteed. 

The aircraft will be available for travel on the designated date.  The airline has been paid and they do not care whether there is one person on the flight or a full load.  The unfortunate stance with Liberian groups attempting to organize such charters is that they do not have the required funds to pay the airline and get the commitment. Hence they try to sell tickets for a flight without having the commitment of the airline since their negotiations are contingent upon selling a specified number of tickets.  Do these groups expect people to always give them money, make vacation plans and cancel other commitments only to be told in the end that there is no flight because the organizers did not sell the required number of tickets?

 

Hence, perhaps, having learned from the bitter experience of the 'inaugural flight', the organizers of this flight need to clarify whether they have a signed and guaranteed contract that the flight will be available to leave on the date scheduled. In other words, have they paid the airline in full?  Or, are they once again collecting money and speculating that they can sell enough tickets?

 

Hopefully this group can get it right – but if they have not yet paid-in-full perhaps interested travelers should be booking their flights elsewhere………………less you fall victim to a doomed 'health convention flight........

About the Author: 

The author is a Liberian Sr. Computer Programmer with Intellicon and lives with his family in Newport News, Virginia, U.S.A.