Arthur Hicks’ Complaint Letter To Caribbean Airline LIAT Goes Viral

Arthur Hicks penned a hilarious complaint letter to the Caribbean Airline LIAT after a less than stellar experience traveling aboard their plane(s).

Hicks’ letter initially appeared in the British Virgin Islands newspaper the BVI Beacon in late June without drawing too much notice. But the Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson saw it and decided to share it with his 3 million+ Twitter followers. "How to write a complaint letter – read this hilarious note from a frustrated airline passenger,” Branson wrote, along with a link to the open letter included in full below.

Dear LIAT,

May I say how considerate it is of you to enable your passengers such an in-depth and thorough tour of the Caribbean.

Most other airlines I have travelled on would simply wish to take me from point A to B in rather a hurry. I was intrigued that we were allowed to stop at not a lowly one or two but a magnificent six airports yesterday. And who wants to fly on the same airplane the entire time? We got to change and refuel every step of the way!
I particularly enjoyed sampling the security scanners at each and every airport. I find it preposterous that people imagine them all to be the same. And as for being patted down by a variety of islanders, well, I feel as if I’ve been hugged by most of the Caribbean already.

I also found it unique that this was all done on “island time,” because I do like to have time to absorb the atmosphere of the various departure lounges. As for our arrival, well, who wants to have to take a ferry at the end of all that flying anyway? I’m glad the boat was long gone by the time we arrived into Tortola last night — and that all those noisy bars and restaurants were closed.
So thank you, LIAT. I now truly understand why you are “The Caribbean Airline.”

P.S. Keep the bag. I never liked it anyway.

LIAT is accustomed to hearing of customer dissatisfaction. Their acronym – which officially stands for Leeward Islands Air Transport – has been attributed to a variety of other less than flattering names. "Luggage In A Nother Terminal,” Leaving Island Any Time,” and “Lousy In All Things” are just a few examples.

Branson, likewise, is no stranger to the more artful open letter method of airing grievances about a flight. Back in 2009, a passenger on one of his Virgin Atlantic Airways flights called the experience a “culinary journey of hell.” Describing the mashed potatoes served, the passenger wrote, “The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird. Once it was regurgitated it was clearly then blended and mixed with a bit of mustard.”

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