EZjet GT Inc has filed an application with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to be allowed to become a regular air carrier between the US and Guyana, even while its owner battles allegations of misappropriation and presently faces a civil suit from his former employers.
A Notice of Application for Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity and Foreign Air Carrier Permits was filed with the DOT on September 6, 2012, according to Federal Register volume 77 No. 190, dated October 1, 2012.
In its description of the application, the Federal Register stated that the airline is requesting a foreign carrier air permit to engage in scheduled foreign air transportation of persons, property and mail between any point or points in Guyana any point or points in the United States “and to the extent necessary EZjet further requests exemption authority to provide the services described above pending issuance of a foreign air carrier permit.”
EZjet now operates a chartered service which began operating in December 2011 with direct flights to New York. Subsequently the airline added Trinidad to its roster and more recently Toronto.
EZjet founder Sonny Ramdeo on Thursday announced that he stepped down from his post as Chief Executive Officer to remove any doubt about the “viability” of the airline in the wake of a lawsuit by his former employer accusing him of embezzlement.
The disclosures about the civil suit on Ramdeo came out after the application would have been made to the US DOT.
He is facing a civil suit in the United States that his former employers filed, accusing him of devising a “sophisticated scheme of fraud and deception” to embezzle some US$5.4 million from them.
Reports out of the US state that Promise Healthcare and 11 of its hospitals brought the suit against Ramdeo, their former payroll manager who they hired eight years ago to manage the payroll for 3,500 employees in hospitals nationwide.
Named along with Ramdeo as plaintiffs in the suit are EZjet GT and PayServ Tax, a company that Ramdeo allegedly set up to commit the fraud.
Acting CEO Rosalinda Rasul had told this newspaper that the Board of EZjet had been concerned about the investment in the airline being affected by Ramdeo’s stepping aside.
She said his decision to stand down while he seeks to clear his name was to protect the image and brand of the airline.
She said that Ramdeo considers the matter a personal one for him and that he will endeavour to redeem his good name.
She assured that the lawsuit would not affect the operations of the airline nor the investment in it and remarked that while the decision to step down was Ramdeo’s, it concurred with their thinking on the matter.
“It was his decision, and he communicated it to everyone and it was respected. We all had the same goal of protecting the brand,” she said. “We were happy with the decision because it was a very good decision on his part and we do appreciate him doing that.
You would realise that as a founder owner, you would want to be involved in your own business. That he has stepped aside is a very good sign that he has concerns about the airline and its operation,” Rasul said last week.
EZjet flies to Toronto once a week on Tuesdays and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to Trinidad. It goes to New York on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. She said that the airline is booked solid for Christmas and noted that Swift Air – EZjet’s carrier – has assured that they will honour all their obligations to EZjet.
“We are continuing as per schedule. We are doing our promotions and we will honour all that we have to honour in terms of our commitments to different people. There is no disruption in service for now or for Christmas so there should not be any fear,” Rasul said last week.
She noted then that EZjet is expecting a second Boeing 767 for Christmas and two or three smaller aircraft to come in for the regional flights.
