Jamaicans abroad upset at sale of Air J

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Jamaicans abroad upset at sale of Air J

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: jamaica_dreamin</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I guess my frequent flyer miles are history </div></div>

I would say so.
You can request a receipt and frame it!

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Jamaicans abroad upset at sale of Air J

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">sombody a eat a big food offa dis one </div></div>
I doubt it like I said it makes no sense once it was revealed that Air Clunk was a goner by a certain date to go paying good money for something you can scrape up dung a Pink-An-Black.

Seems both sides think dem win the GOJ get to rid itself of the troublesome legacy workforce and the ole Iron Bird. The Trinis get to run the mini-bus route for a year. Jamaica gets to keep the name and perhaps start up a a likkle ting after the dust settles, with Contract Employees more amenable to work for a smaller, leaner, profit-making business.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">I can see peer, problems down the road, when it time to get it forward</span>.

[Marilyn]

Re: The last days for AJ

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: barosa</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Marylyn, I am so sorry. You missed out BIG TIME!... Air Jam was the talk of the town, especially when they first started out. I missed the fashion shows and the chatter...
_______________________

&quot;At a time of universal deceit,&quot; wrote George Orwell, &quot;telling the truth is a revolutionary act.&quot;
</div></div>

Well you can't catch AJ from nowhere land (Memphis), so I was just about to route myself through ATL so I could have the experience and then the bottom fell out of everything.

[evanovitch]

Air Jamaica Very Bad Move Ahead

Air Jamaica Very Bad Move Ahead
Article Published: Sunday, February 28th, 2010
Jamaica Herald
By LUCIUS C. WHITE

As the Air Jamaica drama unfolds, the picture gets grimmer. There are some of us who saw it coming long ago but the reality remains devastating. <span style="font-weight: bold">By now it is very obvious that Air Jamaica is not being sold. It is being closed</span>. The much-vaunted negotiation with Caribbean Air Lines is not a sale negotiation – it is conditions upon which Caribbean Airlines will operate in Jamaica to fill or attempt to fill the void arising from the Air Jamaica’s closure.

We have been told that the Jamaican government wants 20 per cent of Caribbean Airlines and is asked to give “exclusive national carrier status” to the airline as part of the deal. It is now no secret that Caribbean Airlines will not be taking on any of the liabilities of Air Jamaica. It has been made very clear that it is no way related to Air Jamaica. To date, we have not been told what Caribbean Airlines is worth, neither what is its accumulated debt position. Could we be jumping from frying pan into the fire?

What is known is that since its inception it has been running at a loss except for one year. There are words in the public spaces declaring that the former airline staff is yet to collect the redundancy payments that are due to them. And common business practice suggests that if we become shareholders in Caribbean airlines, we must be entitled to share in its profit as well as its losses. The history of its losses is no secret, so it would seem our negotiators are prepared to close Air Jamaica and promptly enter Jamaica into a shareholding relationship with a loss-making company – Caribbean Airlines.

Can anyone explain why our negotiators are so generous in the giveaways section of their negotiations? Not long ago the profit making Petrojam Ethanol Plant was thrown in as a sweetener to seal the deal with Infinity Bio. The records show that the Jamaica government had to compensate Coinex (our partner in the plant) several million dollars because they ignored Coinex’s existence as a partner in the giveaway effort. Now we are again in the generous mood, this time we are about to give “Exclusive National Carrier Status” as a sweetener again. This generosity, if permitted to go through, will debar any company in Jamaica from starting another airline within the period of exclusivity that is given to Caribbean Airlines. So our brilliant negotiators get no money for what they are giving away, then they want the Jamaican government to partake in another loss-making airline where they will have no control, and cap it all off, they are setting the stage to deny Jamaicans from competing with their chosen partner. The prudence of it all escapes me.

It should be noted that the word divestment has been projected, but the deed have always been a matter of selecting a partner for the government. One would have thought that if the intent was simply to liquidate Air Jamaica much of the charade could have been avoided and an enormous amount of money would have been saved. In the view of many, the exercise has exposed a very embarrassing anti-Jamaican bias. I would not impute motive to the action of the negotiators, nevertheless the decision to offer exclusive carrier status along with its consequences is extremely baffling and when it is considered that with the Open Sky agreements, exclusivity is going to debar interested Jamaicans from entering the industry if they so choose; those who are responsible for the negotiation must explain their action. It is baffling to say the least.

Why is the opposition to JALPA so vehement? If the government is selling, how can they impose conditions on the buyer? If a sale is not on and clearly it is not, what is all this exclusive negotiation all about? At the end of the day, who are the prime beneficiaries? Sugar is known to be costing near $2 million per month for the services of the Aubyn Hill-owned Corporate Strategies. Is this another of those “value for money deals”?

[RichD]

Re: Air Jamaica Very Bad Move Ahead

even though TG assures me that its all above boards....i still cannot help feeling that somebody is doing very well on this deal...wonder if anybody buy that florida mansion from bill clarke.....

[Bizzy]

Re: Air Jamaica Very Bad Move Ahead

jamaica will get a next airline

[RichD]

Re: Air Jamaica Very Bad Move Ahead

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BiziBubbla</div><div class="ubbcode-body">jamaica will get a next airline </div></div> yuh hear di whisper already?..dem should call it Jamaica Air

[evanovitch]

Not so fast

Not so fast
Published: Monday | March 8, 2010 14
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter


<span style="font-weight: bold">Henry says no plan for Caribbean Airlines exclusive licence</span>



CONTRARY TO an apparent agreement in a letter of intent signed in January, the Government has declared it has no plan to grant an exclusive national carrier licence to Caribbean Airlines after Air Jamaica is grounded next month.

Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry told The Gleaner recently that the Government recognised an exclusive licence would have a detrimental effect on the opening up of other airlines with a Jamaican base.

&quot;Although the minister would have the right to designate or to change, the exclusive (licence) would, in itself, have created some problems,&quot; Henry said. &quot;So, in discussions with the prime minister and within the ministerial discussion and (upon) the advice to the negotiating team, we expect that there will not be any ask for exclusivity.&quot;

This should come as good news to organisations such as the Air Jamaica Staff Acquisition Team, headed by the Jamaican Airline Pilots' Association (JALPA), which has already said it might start up a new airline operation if it fails to get the Government to consider its bid for the national airline.

Concern from jalpa

After details of the non-binding letter of intent became public last month, Captain John Eyre, manager - training and standards for Air Jamaica - expressed concern about the apparent decision to grant Caribbean Airlines an exclusive licence.

&quot;If the Government provides Caribbean Airlines or manages to change the laws or manages to change the terms so that they can offer Caribbean Airlines exclusive national carrier, that creates a difficulty for Plan B and, obviously, JALPA will do what is necessary to stop that from happening,&quot; Eyre explained.

The letter of intent, signed by the Government, Air Jamaica Limited, Air Jamaica Holdings Limited and the Trinidad and Tobago-owned Caribbean Airlines, stated that Caribbean Airlines will commence its Jamaican operations on or before July 1 upon the cessation of operations of Air Jamaica.

The letter of intent also states that effective as of the consummation of the closing, the Government has agreed that &quot;Caribbean Airlines shall be the exclusive national carrier of Jamaica and, in this regard, will not request designation of national carrier status for any other air carrier for as long as the Jamaican operations maintain a minimum level of service and meet certain other criteria, which in each case will be set forth in the definitive agreements&quot;.

However, Henry stated that when Air Jamaica is sold &quot;there will be nothing to stop anyone from applying&quot; for a licence to start up an airline here.

Last week, the management of Air Jamaica said the loss-making company will wind up operations on April 12.

The minister of transport and works has been pursuing an open skies policy, and the granting of an exclusive status would run counter to the Government's plans to use Jamaica as a travel and commercial hub.

Trinidad's Transport Minister Colm Imbert has said Caribbean Airlines, while wanting to be the airline for the Caribbean, will only be taking over the profitable routes now being serviced by Air Jamaica.

&quot;We will be focusing on the profitable routes because our stipulation is that there should be a business emphasis on the deal, so the unprofitable routes will be dropped as neither the Jamaican nor T&amp;T Government is able to put more money into airlift,&quot; he said.

Imbert, who noted that his government was cognisant of the importance of tourism to the Jamaican economy, said the Caribbean Airlines deal was meant to assist their struggling neighbour.

&quot;It will be a blow to close Air Jamaica down and not replace the airlift and ensure continuity and air transport for their tourism industry,&quot; he said.

[email protected]

[Yuriatin]

AJ in My Box Today

... am I the only one who got this update by email ... ?

<span style="font-size: 17pt">
<span style="font-weight: bold">
AIR JAMAICA FLIGHTS CONTINUE UNDER CARIBBEAN AIRLINES</span>

Preliminary Targeted Transaction Date of April 12, 2010</span>

MIAMI, FL – March 5, 2010 – A preliminary targeted transaction date of April 12, 2010 has been set by which the operations of Air Jamaica will begin the transition to Caribbean Airlines. This transaction date dovetails with the airline’s major schedule change that was previously announced. <span style="color: #FF0000">However, the transaction date could change as the details of the transition are finalized</span>.


<span style="font-weight: bold">Seamless Operations</span>

The following are important points to note as the changeover is made:
The transition to Caribbean Airlines will be phased over a period of up to one year, in order to ensure that customers will continue to be provided with the best possible travel experience.
Air Jamaica aircraft will continue to be utilized during the transition period.
Current Air Jamaica pilots, flight crews and ground staff will operate the aircraft for the schedule already published.
All customer services, including reservations, website and sales, <span style="color: #FF0000">will continue to operate in much the same way as today, for a period of time</span>.
“We have enjoyed a tremendous relationship with our loyal customers in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean, as well as throughout the Diaspora, and we are pleased to advise that our company is also committed to continuing these relationships, doing everything possible to earn your loyalty and trust,” stated Bruce Nobles, Air Jamaica’s President and CEO.

<span style="font-weight: bold">
Schedule Advantages</span>
As of April 12, the airline offers a superior schedule between Jamaica and its core destinations – namely four daily flights from Fort Lauderdale, three daily flights from New York (JFK) and daily flights from Philadelphia, Baltimore and Toronto.

To book future flights, continue to call your travel agent or Air Jamaica Reservations at 1-800-523-5585 or visit the website at www.AirJamaica.com.

<span style="font-weight: bold">
About Air Jamaica</span>
Celebrating its 40th year as Jamaica’s national carrier, Air Jamaica offers the most nonstop flights between the U.S. and Jamaica. The airline serves 12 destinations with more than 160 weekly flights, including service between Jamaica and Toronto, New York (JFK), Chicago (O’Hare), Baltimore, Philadelphia, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Curacao and Nassau, as well as nonstop service between New York and Grenada. Voted “The Caribbean’s Leading Airline” for 12 consecutive years, Air Jamaica offers one of the industry’s most generous rewards programs, 7th Heaven Rewards, along with award-winning, free in-flight entertainment, the Island Stylee video and SkyWritings, the in-flight magazine. On Air Jamaica passengers experience the legendary Lovebird Hospitality and warm Caribbean smiles on every flight. For more information or to book travel, visit www.AirJamaica.com.





To receive updates from Air Jamaica, sign up at
http://www.airjamaica.com/specials/sign_up.aspx.

[Xavier]

Dudus maybe Caribbean Airlines first customer...

Dudus will have to be on the first Caribbean Airlines flight as the US will probably not approve the deal to make them the official carrier.

I wonder what the 1st customer for CA will get...DWL

[evanovitch]

NWU says Air J in breach of labour laws dwl dwl dwl

NWU says Air J in breach of labour laws
Tuesday, 09 March 2010
Plans by Air Jamaica to make the positions of all employees redundant next month could hit a snag.

Unions representing the airline's workers say they have discovered that the management breached the country's labour laws when it announced last week that staff cuts would be carried out on April 12.



Granville Valentine, NWU Vice President.Granville Valentine, Vice President of the National Workers Union (NWU), said the breaches are blatant.

According to Mr. Valentine, the airline among other things, failed to inform the unions of the redundancy exercise as is required by law.

&quot;They went even further; they're now issuing the workers' records to Caribbean Airlines without the unions' intervention or knowledge and now Caribbean Airlines is carrying out interviews. This is a breach against the airline's own rules and regulations,&quot; Mr. Valentine said.

The unions have already warned that there will be trouble if redundancy benefits are not paid on the date that the staff cuts are carried out.

More Air J route cuts

And on Tuesday, Air Jamaica will further reduce the number of routes on which it flies.

It will cease service to Orlando International Airport in Florida as it does a major network realignment following the reduction of its fleet of aircraft.

Air Jamaica has been flying to Orlando for the past 20 years.

Effective Tuesday, Air Jamaica also will suspend service from New York's JFK Airport to Grenada while service from Jamaica to Chicago, Curacao, Havana, Cuba and Nassau, Bahamas will be halted come April 12.

<span style="font-weight: bold">By the middle of next month, Air Jamaica will operate 161 weekly flights between Jamaica and five cities.</span>

By then the &quot;Lovebird&quot; will operate six aircraft, down from nine.

<span style="font-weight: bold">if Air Jam ceases operations on April 12, how dem a chat bout miggle of nex mont.dont nex mont is April? </span>

[evanovitch]

Cabinet yet to sign off on Air J divestment deal

Cabinet yet to sign off on Air J divestment deal
Tuesday, 09 March 2010
It is unclear when the agreement for the divestment of Air Jamaica will reach Cabinet for final approval.

According to Daryl Vaz, Information Minister, he <span style="font-weight: bold">has not been informed when a submission will be made.</span>
&quot;<span style="font-weight: bold">The final agreement has not reached cabinet yet</span>,&quot; he said.

Come April 12, the positions of all Air Jamaica workers will be made redundant.

Trinidad and Tobago's Caribbean Airlines will then gradual takeover the airline's flight operations during a one year transition period.

<span style="font-weight: bold">BahamasAir doesn't want Air J's Kingston to Nassau route </span>

Meanwhile, the national airline of the Bahamas is backing away from taking over the Nassau-Kingston route which has been dropped by Air Jamaica.

J. Barrie Farrington, Chairman of BahamasAir, says the airline is unsure if the route is viable.

Mr. Farrington says while the airline assessed the route's viability in an initial discussion paper, BahamasAir had to be careful about how it deployed its existing fleet given its ongoing financial challenges.

He explained that the entity did not want to start service and later schedule its planes to other destinations.

Air Jamaica announced last month that it was dropping the Nassau-Kingston route from its itinerary in a bid to cut costs ahead of its divestment.

The airline currently operates three flights per week between the two destinations, but its load factor for the route is only 40 to 50%, compared to the 70%yield it normally achieves in other markets.

[evanovitch]

Air Jamaica must go, give us the full details on sale

Air Jamaica must go, give us the full details on sale
Published: Wednesday | March 10, 2010
Jamaica Gleaner Editorial

This newspaper has for a long time backed the move by the Golding administration to relieve Jamaican taxpayers of the burden of the losses generated by Air Jamaica, the state-owned airline.


Indeed, as Prime Minister Bruce Golding remarked recently, the more than <span style="font-weight: bold">US$1.3-billion deficit accumulated by Air Jamaica during its lifetime - over half of which came when it was under private control </span>- could have fixed many schools and hospitals, thus helping to improve the quality of education and health in the country.

But we are where we are. And that is a place, we believe, of consensus that the state can no longer afford to annually shell out around US$130 million, or over J$11 billion, a year to keep the business afloat. That is perhaps the equivalent to the loss of all other state companies combined.

The move to divest Air Jamaica obviously makes sense. We are concerned, however, that the administration's clumsy handling of the effort is breeding not only uncertainty, but deepening opposition to a deal involving Caribbean Airlines, the carrier owned by the Trinidad and Tobago government. No one is clear, precisely, what is happening.

Lack of clarity worrying

This lack of clarity and transparency is particularly worrying for the Government is well aware of Air Jamaica's iconic status in Jamaica and the sensitivities that were always likely to be aroused by its transference to foreign hands.

Discerning people were, of course, always aware that a straightforward sale of Air Jamaica was unlikely - certainly not in this difficult global economic environment, which is especially bad for the airline industry. No one was about to embrace the company's huge debts. These would have to become a direct liability of the Jamaican state. The Government should have made this pellucid from the start.

Despite public sentiments in favour of the pilot-led employee group that belatedly put in a bid for the carrier, the Government was clearly right not to end negotiations with Caribbean Airlines to accommodate their offer. Not only would this have been a breach of procedure but, as Mr Golding said, they needed to demonstrate that they had the equity finance to run the business. They have not done this to the satisfaction of the Government.

Approach to deal wanting

Yet, the Government's approach to the deal with Caribbean Airlines, at least how it manages information, has been wanting. What it communicated to the public was too murky, when it should have been full and precise that this was not a conventional acquisition of the assets and liabilities of one company by another.

Then there was the public controversy over whether Caribbean Airlines would be designated exclusive national carrier for Jamaica, as was contained in an original letter of intent from which, according to Mike Henry, the administration has now retreated.

Additionally, there is the confusion over when Caribbean Airlines will actually assume its short-term 'management' of the old Air Jamaica, and whether what it is buying are Air Jamaica's profitable routes which, on the face of it, makes economic sense.

It is important for Prime Minister Golding to urgently lay out the facts of the deal, as well as outline Air Jamaica's most recent account, so that people are aware of the issues at hand. The confusing dribble of information is causing more harm than good.


<span style="font-style: italic">The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: [email protected] or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published</span>

[sistactry]

Re: Air Jamaica Very Bad Move Ahead

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BiziBubbla</div><div class="ubbcode-body">jamaica will get a next airline </div></div>

owned by JALPA I hope~

[evanovitch]

Bartlett 'pained' by pending demise of Air J, but...

Bartlett 'pained' by pending demise of Air J, but...

CMC

Friday, March 12, 2010


BERLIN, Germany (CMC) -- Tourism Minister Ed Bartlett yesterday described the pending demise of Air Jamaica as a truly painstaking decision, but said the Bruce Golding administration had been left with no choice but to wind down its costly operations.

&quot;We know we had to take a tough, hard decision. Believe me, it is a nerve-wracking and emotionally draining exercise, even politically it is difficult, but there are times, as it is said, when 'a man's got to do what a man's got to do',&quot; he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) in an interview on the fringes of the ITB Berlin, Trade &amp; Consumer Exhibition, taking place here from March 10 to 14.


The loss-making carrier, which is said to have accumulated a US$1.3-billion deficit over the course of its more than 40-year history, has been regarded as a national institution of Jamaica.

But the operations of the national flag carrier have proven far too costly, especially for the Jamaica Government, which is dealing with other economic challenges that, together with Air Jamaica's heavy load, amount to a significant strain on the public purse and have all but sealed the fate of the stuttering airline.

Though &quot;pained&quot; by the situation, Bartlett said it was not a question of feeling any regret.

&quot;The hardcore facts are, we can't afford it,&quot; he told CMC.

&quot;I am pained by having to do it but when you have to make business decisions that will inure to the wider good, regrets cannot be the term you use, it has to be that it is a difficult choice, it is painful yes, but you have got to do what you have got to do,&quot; he said.

However, Bartlett said he felt comforted by plans by the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines to take over Air Jamaica's profitable routes and to service Jamaica's immediate demands for airlift in the deal between the two regional carriers, expected to be finalised by April 12.

He explained that, essentially, Air Jamaica had already shed its unprofitable routes, leaving five key routes in service.

&quot;Those are the routes that Caribbean Airlines will be taking over,&quot; said Bartlett.

&quot;We feel comfortable with the airlift arrangements that we have now for most of the routes. Caribbean Airlines, I think, will pick up much of, if not perhaps 70 per cent. We think that the existing carriers can have capacity for another 15 per cent and after 85 per cent we don't worry.

&quot;I think that, on balance, we should be in good shape but we still have to watch and see and make sure that we are there and being proactive because the one thing that we cannot afford is to lose capacity out of the US market,&quot; the Jamaican tourism minister added.

He contended that &quot;all is not lost&quot;, adding that somewhere in the future the national flag carrier of Jamaica may fly again, but for now, he said, &quot;I think we have to take the decision that is the best option that we have at this time&quot;.