Jamaicans abroad upset at sale of Air J

[Tuff Gong]

Re: JAMAICA FOR SALE - CHEAP AND QUICK! HEART TO HEART

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">On the contrary. They do intact 'put their hands to the plough', hence the term 'fourth estate'. ... No revolution r great social etc upheaval has been achieved sans their invaluable input </div></div>

She and other of here ilk is of the <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Fourth Plantation</span> <span style="font-style: italic">(that is what the media is properly called in Jamaica)</span>, they are there to tamp down the revolution with lies, half-truths and more damn lies.

[RichD]

Re: JAMAICA FOR SALE - CHEAP AND QUICK! HEART TO HEART


Caribbean Airlines to be Jamaica's exclusive national carrier
Friday, February 19, 2010

THE Jamaican Government has agreed to ensure that Trinidadian company Caribbean Airlines (CA) is designated the exclusive national carrier of Jamaica under the air services agreements between itself and other territories.

This was stated in the non-binding letter of intent signed on January 22 by the Jamaican Government, Air Jamaica Ltd, Air Jamaica Holdings Ltd and Caribbean Airlines.


Under this agreement, the parties are committed to making best efforts to sign legally binding agreements by March 31.

In this regard, the GOJ and Air Jamaica will take all necessary steps to effect the cessation of operations of Air Jamaica on or before July 1, and as soon thereafter close Air Jamaica.

Caribbean Airlines will commence its Jamaican operations on or before July 1 upon the cessation of operations of Air Jamaica.

Effective as of the consummation of the closing, the Jamaican government has agreed that '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'.

Prior to the cessation of operations, Air Jamaica will '<span style="font-weight: bold">implement revenue management and communication measures as determined by Caribbean Airlines and reasonably acceptable to the Government of Jamaica in order to actively manage market share, enhance passenger loyalty to the national carrier, and help preserve the competitiveness of the launch of the Jamaican operations </span>(of Caribbean Airlines)'.

For some time now Air Jamaica has flown to five destinations on 13 routes. The destinations being the United States, Canada, Cuba, The Bahamas and Curacao. Last year, the airline carried 1.1 million passengers on these routes. Those routes have now been reduced.

In Appendix I, attached to the letter of intent, Caribbean Airlines stated it would start up its Jamaican operations by adding a network of routes to its international network.

Caribbean Airlines will also operate a Kingston-Port of Spain-Georgetown (Guyana) route, one flight/seven days per week, but this route will not form part of the Jamaican operations.

In addition, Caribbean Airlines has indicated that possible intra-island flights between Kingston and Montego Bay are 'to be considered'.

For the initial Jamaican operations, it is estimated that the routes will be operated with 'five to seven aircraft with an estimated number of cockpit and crew, respectively, of 70 to 90 and 140 to 160'.

Caribbean Airlines will honour airline tickets bought on Air Jamaica on routes which will comprise the Jamaican operation and have not yet flown at the time of the closing of Air Jamaica. On or before the closing, 'the Government of Jamaica will pay to Caribbean Airlines an amount equal to 93 per cent of the passenger fare value of the Air Jamaica ticket fares.

[RichD]

Re: JAMAICA FOR SALE - CHEAP AND QUICK! HEART TO HEART

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Prior to the cessation of operations, Air Jamaica will 'implement revenue management and communication measures as determined by Caribbean Airlines and reasonably acceptable to the Government of Jamaica in order to actively manage market share, enhance passenger loyalty to the national carrier, and help preserve the competitiveness of the launch of the Jamaican operations (of Caribbean Airlines)'.</div></div>

what does this mean?


Revenue guarantee?

[R_C]

Re: JAMAICA FOR SALE - CHEAP AND QUICK! HEART TO HEART

...and what does &quot;<span style="font-style: italic">exclusive national carrier of Jamaica</span>&quot; mean ?

(Have you ever noticed how most of the &quot;journalists&quot; in Jamaica simply regurgitate what they are told by politicians and never ask any questions when they are fed this kind of opaque mumbo jumbo ?)

[evanovitch]

compare this latest to wat dem released on the 12th

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Caribbean Airlines to be Jamaica's exclusive national carrier
Friday, February 19, 2010

THE Jamaican Government has agreed to ensure that Trinidadian company Caribbean Airlines (CA) is designated the exclusive national carrier of Jamaica under the air services agreements between itself and other territories.

This was stated in the non-binding letter of intent signed on January 22 by the Jamaican Government, Air Jamaica Ltd, Air Jamaica Holdings Ltd and Caribbean Airlines.


Under this agreement, the parties are committed to making best efforts to sign legally binding agreements by March 31.

In this regard, the GOJ and Air Jamaica will take all necessary steps to effect the cessation of operations of Air Jamaica on or before July 1, and as soon thereafter close Air Jamaica.

Caribbean Airlines will commence its Jamaican operations on or before July 1 upon the cessation of operations of Air Jamaica.

Effective as of the consummation of the closing, the Jamaican government has agreed that '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'.

Prior to the cessation of operations, Air Jamaica will '<span style="font-weight: bold">implement revenue management and communication measures as determined by Caribbean Airlines and reasonably acceptable to the Government of Jamaica in order to actively manage market share, enhance passenger loyalty to the national carrier, and help preserve the competitiveness of the launch of the Jamaican operations </span>(of Caribbean Airlines)'.

For some time now Air Jamaica has flown to five destinations on 13 routes. The destinations being the United States, Canada, Cuba, The Bahamas and Curacao. Last year, the airline carried 1.1 million passengers on these routes. Those routes have now been reduced.

In Appendix I, attached to the letter of intent, Caribbean Airlines stated it would start up its Jamaican operations by adding a network of routes to its international network.

Caribbean Airlines will also operate a Kingston-Port of Spain-Georgetown (Guyana) route, one flight/seven days per week, but this route will not form part of the Jamaican operations.

In addition, Caribbean Airlines has indicated that possible intra-island flights between Kingston and Montego Bay are 'to be considered'.

For the initial Jamaican operations, it is estimated that the routes will be operated with 'five to seven aircraft with an estimated number of cockpit and crew, respectively, of 70 to 90 and 140 to 160'.

Caribbean Airlines will honour airline tickets bought on Air Jamaica on routes which will comprise the Jamaican operation and have not yet flown at the time of the closing of Air Jamaica. On or before the closing, 'the Government of Jamaica will pay to Caribbean Airlines an amount equal to 93 per cent of the passenger fare value of the Air Jamaica ticket fares. </div></div>

(<span style="font-style: italic">mi did post it pon page 9</span>)

<span style="font-weight: bold">Caribbean Airlines is to be designated the national carrier upon takeover of Air Jamaica.</span>

A copy of a non-binding agreement signed between Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines shows that the government must designate the Trinidad-based carrier as Jamaica's National Airline.

A Letter of Intent signed between Caribbean Airlines and the government on January 22 has set out clearly that the government's best efforts are to get Air Jamaica divested by March 31 to the Trinidadians and completely wound up on or before July 1.

But for Jamaicans who are emotional about the national airline, there are some elements which will not go down well.

Chief among them is a stipulation that if Air Jamaica goes to Caribbean Airlines, the Lovebird will have to take steps to get Jamaicans to buy into Caribbean Airlines as the national carrier.

And for the government, that would mean ensuring that Caribbean Airlines is afforded all the privileges of a national carrier including that no steps should be taken to &quot;materially discriminate&quot; against the interests of Caribbean Airlines' Jamaica operations.

Additionally, the government is expected to give the &quot;national airline&quot; status to Caribbean Airlines for as long as a minimum level of service is maintained in the country but there were no clear parameters as to what that minimum level of service is.

For all that, there seems to be very little in the deal for the government.

It is expected to get no less than a 10% stake in Caribbean Airlines, with no indications if capital injections of that proportion would have to be found if needed.

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">Also, no Air Jamaica liability can be transferred to Caribbean Airlines.</span></span>

<span style="font-weight: bold">That must be absorbed by the government as Caribbean Airlines is not to be seen as a successor airline to the Lovebird.</span>

_________________________

[evanovitch]

- PM's faux pas on Air Jamaica

EDITORIAL - PM's faux pas on Air Jamaica
Published: Friday | February 19, 2010

PRIME MINISTER Bruce Golding will claim, with some justification, that he and his government were severely provoked. But provocation notwithstanding, we view as wrong and unfortunate Mr Golding's very public and savage assessment of a bid for an employee buyout of Air Jamaica, led by the airline's pilots.


We, of course, previously agreed with the prime minister that the government's divestment of the loss-making airline could not be based on sentiment. Any would-be purchaser had to be certain of the cash to run the business to assure the Jamaican taxpayers that they would not be called on again to bail out Air Jamaica.

Moreover, we have been concerned at what Mr Roderick Rainford, a Jamaican who served as secretary general of the Caribbean Community, characterised in a letter published yesterday as &quot;the visceral hostility on the part of some to the possibility of Trinidadian/Caribbean Airlines ownership, without regard to any other consideration&quot;.

Sincerely patriotic

&quot;It would be a happy circumstance, indeed, if this admittedly sincerely patriotic outlook (of keeping Air Jamaica in Jamaican hands) coincided with a strategy that is technically, financially and economically optimal for the country,&quot; Mr Rainford observed.

But unlike ourselves and Mr Rainford, perhaps, the prime minister does not, at this time, properly enjoy the luxury of free and unguarded public assessment of the bid by the pilots - a point he noted last week when he commented in broad terms on the history of the divestment process and the late involvement of the pilot/employee group.

Indeed, it is acknowledged, including by Contractor General Greg Christie, that the pilots/employees did not submit an offer within the time set by the administration for tenders and that their bid came when negotiations with other parties were well under way.

Even at that, Mr Golding suggested that their offer had not been summarily rejected. It remained in the queue in the event that the administration cannot close a deal with Caribbean Airlines, a possibility that, however, appears unlikely.

Wrong assumptions

Perhaps peeved at claims by the pilots that they had been misled by the government and that the PM spoke untruths in Parliament, Mr Golding has publicly flayed the quality of the business plan offered by the pilot/employee group.

According to the prime minister, the group made wrong assumptions about redundancy payments due to staff - which have been factored into their projected equity - and have shown no evidence beyond naming private-equity firms through which they planned to source additional capital.

Said Mr Golding: &quot;It is ... a gross exaggeration to suggest that it has identified sources of financing if this means anything more than identifying sources that it hopes will seek to identify sources of financing.&quot;

Any such public analysis of the pilot/employee offer ought properly to come from the Air Jamaica privatisation review group, and only after a breakdown of talks with Caribbean Airlines and after the business plan of the Jamaican group has been fully and unprejudicially reviewed.

As it now stands, the pilots and their supporters can properly claim that their position has been prejudiced by Mr Golding precipitous utterance.

Someone once remarked that ministers don't have the luxury of thinking aloud on policy matters. That goes doubly for prime ministers.


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.

[Tuff Gong]

Re: - PM's faux pas on Air Jamaica

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">EDITORIAL - PM's faux pas on Air Jamaica
Published: Friday | February 19, 2010 </div></div>

Yaaawn..... how long ago did the Gleaner write this crap and as just waiting to publish it?
The <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Fourth Plantation</span> at it again!

[RichD]

Re: - PM's faux pas on Air Jamaica

beg yuh address my question bout wedda dem giving revenue guarantee or not

[evanovitch]

Re: - PM's faux pas on Air Jamaica

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tuff Gong</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">EDITORIAL - PM's faux pas on Air Jamaica
Published: Friday | February 19, 2010 </div></div>

Yaaawn..... how long ago did the Gleaner write this crap and as just waiting to publish it?
The <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Fourth Plantation</span> at it again! </div></div>

so TG u know dat di Observer comment section is bak up again...u been by r wat...

y u no do some guest column writing fi di papers..u know dem tek dem ...

[evanovitch]

Opposition committee to meet JALPA on Monday

Opposition committee to meet JALPA on Monday


The opposition committee which has been established to examine the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association’s proposal to acquire Air Jamaica is to have its first meeting on Monday.

<span style="font-weight: bold">The sub committee was appointed on Tuesday.</span>

Opposition spokesman on Transport, Robert Pickersgill, says the main objective of the group is to determine whether JALPA has enough money to buy and sustain the lovebird.

He says he’s convinced that the pilot’s business plan is worth considering.

Mr. Pickersgill says JALPA has already indicated that it will find all the money needed to takeover the national airline.

<span style="font-style: italic">JALPA has claimed that one of three overseas based equity partners who have expressed interest in financing the operation of the airline is a member of the G7 group of countries. </span>

However, over the past week the government poured cold water on the pilot’s proposal, reiterating that it will only be considered if negotiations with the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines fail.

The Contractor General Greg Christie has said the government would be in violation of its contract award principles if it sets aside the public competitive tendering process to facilitate JALPA’s request.

Source: Gleaner/Power 106 News

[Tuff Gong]

Re: JAMAICA FOR SALE - CHEAP AND QUICK! HEART TO HEART

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Prior to the cessation of operations, Air Jamaica will 'implement revenue management and communication measures as determined by Caribbean Airlines and reasonably acceptable to the Government of Jamaica in order to actively manage market share, enhance passenger loyalty to the national carrier, and help preserve the competitiveness of the launch of the Jamaican operations (of Caribbean Airlines)'.</div></div>

what does this mean?


Revenue guarantee?


</div></div>

Obviously the Jamaican Government has zero options and it just trying to save face. When chit like that happen you pile a ton nonsense on and hope it looks good.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">CAL have zero obligations</span> to honour anything unless of course the GOJ is putting a value on each item and saying here what we do we do charge you for this in lieu of this.

[RichD]

Re: JAMAICA FOR SALE - CHEAP AND QUICK! HEART TO HEART

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tuff Gong</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Prior to the cessation of operations, Air Jamaica will 'implement revenue management and communication measures as determined by Caribbean Airlines and reasonably acceptable to the Government of Jamaica in order to actively manage market share, enhance passenger loyalty to the national carrier, and help preserve the competitiveness of the launch of the Jamaican operations (of Caribbean Airlines)'.</div></div>

what does this mean?


Revenue guarantee?


</div></div>

Obviously the Jamaican Government has zero options and it just trying to save face. When chit like that happen you pile a ton nonsense on and hope it looks good.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">CAL have zero obligations</span> to honour anything unless of course the GOJ is putting a value on each item and saying here what we do we do charge you for this in lieu of this.
</div></div>



so yuh hear any number yet? are they actually getting anything for all this?

[Tuff Gong]

Re: JAMAICA FOR SALE - CHEAP AND QUICK! HEART TO HEART

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: RichD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

so yuh hear any number yet? are they actually getting anything for all this? </div></div>

No numbers, but I am not surprised. that is how negotiations are. Everything we hear might change when is finally shakes out.
We just know one thing Air Jamaica as we know it is dead.

[barosa]

Re: Opposition committee to meet JALPA on Monday

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">However, over the past week the government poured cold water on the pilot’s proposal, reiterating that <span style="font-weight: bold">it will only be considered if negotiations with the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines fail.</span>
</div></div>
It's not likely that the Trinidadians will allow the negotiations to fail... Why would they allow an almost &quot;dead Love Bird to rise again to compete against them?
_____________________________

The Higher monkey climb, the more im battam exposed.

[RichD]

Re: Opposition committee to meet JALPA on Monday

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: barosa</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">However, over the past week the government poured cold water on the pilot’s proposal, reiterating that <span style="font-weight: bold">it will only be considered if negotiations with the Trinidad-based Caribbean Airlines fail.</span>
</div></div>
It's not likely that the Trinidadians will allow the negotiations to fail... Why would they allow an almost &quot;dead Love Bird to rise again to compete against them?
</div></div>

the don't directly compete