Defunct national airline of Jamaica (1968?2015)
Air Jamaica
was the national airline of
Jamaica
. It was owned and operated by
Caribbean Airlines
from May 2011 until the cessation of operations in 2015. Caribbean Airlines Limited, headquartered in
Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago
, had administrative offices for Air Jamaica located at
Norman Manley International Airport
in
Kingston, Jamaica
.
The Jamaican government was formerly the owner of Air Jamaica. It sold the airline to Caribbean Airlines in 2011, which resulted in the Jamaican government owning 16% of Caribbean Airlines.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
According to
R.E.G. Davies
in his
Airlines of Latin America Since 1919
, the first incarnation of Air Jamaica was founded on August 27, 1963, after the government of Jamaica decided not to invest in
British West Indian Airways
(BWIA). Dubbed
Jamaica Air Service Ltd.
, its shareholders were the government of Jamaica (51 percent), the
British Overseas Airways Corporation
(
BOAC
), and BWIA (16 percent). BWIA's employees in Jamaica were transferred to the new airline. Service to Miami and New York began on May 1, 1966.
BOAC, Britain's major international airline at the time, and BWIA had continued to maintain the leased aircraft (this operating arrangement would not expire until the end of May 1969). The Jamaican government preferred a more independent approach and eventually prepared to establish a new company, Air Jamaica (1968) Ltd.
Air Jamaica was established in October 1968, and started operations on April 1, 1969, connecting
Kingston
(KIN) and
Montego Bay
(MBJ), with
New York
(JFK) and
Miami
(MIA).
[3]
At that time the Jamaican government owned a substantial part of the airline, with
Air Canada
owning a minority share (40 percent) and providing aircraft (one
Douglas DC-8-61
and three
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30
jetliners), pilots, technical, maintenance and logistical help.
[
citation needed
]
During the 1970s, Air Jamaica expanded rapidly. Flights were added to
Toronto
(YYZ) and
Montreal
(YUL) in Canada, to
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport
(SJU) in
San Juan, Puerto Rico
, to
Philadelphia
(PHL) and many other destinations, especially across the Caribbean. Long-haul services to Europe were started on 1 April 1974. Air Jamaica used a Douglas DC-8 and three DC-9s for a large part of the 1970s, but the
Boeing 727-200
became part of the fleet toward the end of the decade when the government bought out
Air Canada
's share. Growth slowed during the 1980s. New routes were opened to
Baltimore
(BWI) and
Atlanta
(ATL).
[
citation needed
]
In 1983, Air Jamaica was operating nonstop
Boeing 747-100
jumbo jet service between Kingston and
London
Heathrow Airport
(LHR) with this flight continuing on from London to
Frankfurt, Germany
(FRA) and was also flying nonstop
Airbus A300
service between Kingston and
John F. Kennedy International Airport
(JFK) in
New York City
.
[4]
In 1989, the Jamaican government announced plans for the privatization of the airline, which had been fully state owned since Air Canada divested its 40 percent shareholding in 1980. However, it was not until May 1994 that a partial selloff was announced when a group of Jamaican and Canadian investors known as the Air Jamaica Acquisition Group (AJAG) agreed to acquire a 70 percent share of the carrier for $26.5 million. Another five percent share was earmarked for employees. The government retained responsibility for liabilities, which were considerable.
[
citation needed
]
A merger of Air Jamaica with other Caribbean airlines was already being proposed, with British Airways invited to take a 25 percent holding in the venture. In the first stage, Air Jamaica was to have merged its operations with those of Trinidad and Tobago Airways, parent of BWIA.
Guyana Airways Corporation
and
Leeward Islands Air Transport
were to later join the venture.
During the 1990s, Air Jamaica continued to expand. The airline took over the Kingston -
Nassau, Bahamas
(NAS) route, which had been left by
British Airways
, began a code sharing agreement with
Delta Air Lines
and opened a route to
Phoenix
(PHX, which was later dropped), and to
Frankfurt
(FRA),
London
(LHR),
Manchester
(MAN),
Santo Domingo
(SDQ) and
Ft. Lauderdale
(FLL). The route to Phoenix was opened because Air Jamaica was looking to expand in the American west beyond its route to
Los Angeles
(
LAX
). In 1994 the company was partially privatized, the private investors were led by hotelier
Gordon "Butch" Stewart
with the government retaining 25 percent of the company and giving five percent to the airline's employees. It continued operating
Airbus
jetliners, including the wide-body
Airbus A340
, and began a feeder service, a frequent flyer program (7th Heaven), and an inflight magazine, named
SkyWritings
. In 1996, the airline was flying nonstop service between Kingston and London
Heathrow Airport
with an
Airbus A310
jetliner.
[5]
In 1999, Air Jamaica was operating nonstop service between Montego Bay and Los Angeles with
Airbus A320
aircraft.
[6]
In December 2004, after financial losses, the government of Jamaica resumed full ownership of Air Jamaica. It employed 2,522 people as of March 2007.
[3]
By March 2010, Air Jamaica had net losses in 40 of its 42 years of existence, and an accumulated deficit of approximately $1.54 billion.
[7]
In 2007, the new
Jamaican government
began to consider privatization of Air Jamaica, seeking to remove an unsustainable venture from its balance sheet.
[7]
[8]
In October 2007, Bruce Nobles, President and Chief Operational Officer of Air Jamaica from May 2002 to June 2003, was asked to return. He replaced William Rogers, who was interim President and CEO of the airline since the October 2007 resignation of CEO Michael Conway.
On 4 July 2009,
The Jamaica Gleaner
reported that U.S.-based
Spirit Airlines
had reached an agreement with the Jamaican government to acquire the national airline.
[9]
On 17 December 2009, it was reported that the Prime Minister of Jamaica had recently approached the
government of Trinidad and Tobago
regarding a possible merger or acquisition by
Caribbean Airlines
.
[10]
It was decided that Air Jamaica would cease to operate under Jamaican ownership and be primarily run by Caribbean Airlines until the transitional process was complete. Caribbean Airlines acquired the airline's fleet and route rights on 1 May 2010, and opened a new hub at Kingston's
Norman Manley International Airport
. The acquisition made Caribbean Airlines the largest airline in the Caribbean. On 27 May 2011, Jamaican Finance Minister
Audley Shaw
and Trinidadian Finance Minister
Winston Dookeran
signed the shareholding agreement, making Caribbean Airlines the national airline of Jamaica with access to all routes operated by the former Air Jamaica.
[11]
On 1 July 2011, all Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines's flights began operating under Caribbean Airlines's "BW" IATA code.
[12]
The airline operated scheduled services from Kingston and Montego Bay to seven destinations in the Caribbean, Canada and the United States. The airline's acquisition by Caribbean Airlines of
Trinidad and Tobago
was implemented on May 1, 2010. However the current owners intended to keep the name Air Jamaica for as long as they were in possession of the company.
[13]
The airline officially reopened operations on May 1, 2010, upon acquisition by
Caribbean Airlines Limited
. The new airline was owned by
Caribbean Airlines Limited
of which the government of Jamaica held 16 percent of shares.
[2]
The acquisition by
Caribbean Airlines
also gave the company exclusive rights to the
Air Jamaica
name for one year, with options for annual renewal.
[14]
On January 14, 2011, the Air Jamaica brand was relaunched at the
Norman Manley International Airport
with the unveiling of a new livery. The
Boeing 737-800
aircraft, registered in Trinidad and Tobago, bore elements of Air Jamaica's original livery along with alterations to align the corporate identity with Caribbean Airlines. Each aircraft will bear a sticker of Caribbean Airlines logo along with both
Jamaican
and
Trinbagonian
national flags.
[15]
Air Jamaica ceased all operations during 2015.
[16]
Destinations
[
edit
]
Destinations in 1980
[
edit
]
According to the November 1, 1980 Air Jamaica system timetable, the airline was serving the following destinations:
[17]
- North America
- Europe
The above referenced Air Jamaica system timetable states the airline was operating
Boeing 727-200
,
Douglas DC-8
(both the standard DC-8 as well as the stretched Super DC-8) and
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30
jetliners at this time with all transatlantic flights being operated with DC-8 aircraft.
Destinations in 1999
[
edit
]
According to the October 1999 Air Jamaica route map,
[18]
in the U.S. the airline had added
Atlanta
(ATL),
Baltimore
(BWI),
Fort Lauderdale
(FLL),
Los Angeles
(
LAX
),
Newark
(EWR) and
Orlando
(MCO) to its route network and was still serving Chicago (ORD), Miami (MIA), New York City (JFK) and Philadelphia (PHL) but had discontinued service to Dallas (DFW) and Houston (IAH). This Air Jamaica route map also indicates the airline had discontinued service to Frankfurt (FRA) and Zurich (ZRH) in Europe but was still serving London Heathrow Airport (LHR). In Canada,
Air Canada
was operating
code sharing
flights on behalf of Air Jamaica on the Toronto (YYZ) routes. In the Caribbean, Air Jamaica had added service to
Barbados
(BGI),
Bonaire
(BON),
Grenada
(GND),
Havana
(HAV) and
St. Lucia
(UVF) and was continuing to serve Grand Cayman (GCM). This Air Jamaica route map also indicates the airline was operating a hub at Montego Bay (MBJ) in addition to its Kingston (KIN) service.
Fleet
[
edit
]
As of September 2011, the Air Jamaica fleet consisted of the following aircraft with an average age of 7.4 years:
[19]
Air Jamaica fleet
Aircraft
|
In
service
|
Orders
|
Passengers
|
Notes
|
B
|
E
|
Total
|
Boeing 737-800
|
3
|
—
|
16
|
138
|
154
|
|
Total
|
3
|
—
|
|
Historic fleet
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002).
North American Airlines Handbook
(3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International.
ISBN
0-9653993-8-9
. Archived from
the original
on 2016-11-28
. Retrieved
2018-10-05
.
- ^
a
b
2014 Investment Climate Statement: Jamaica
, United States Department of State (June 2014), p. 11.
- ^
a
b
Flight International
27 March 2007
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, July 1, 1983 Official Airline Guides (OAGs), London Heathrow-Kingston and Frankfurt flight schedules & New York JFK-Kingston flight schedules
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, Oct. 1, 1996 Official Airline Guide (OAG), London Heathrow-Kingston flight schedules
- ^
http://www.departedflights.com
, June 1, 1999 Official Airline Guide (OAG), Los Angeles-Montego Bay flight schedules
- ^
a
b
Public-Private Partnership Stories: Jamaica: Air Jamaica
,
International Finance Corporation
.
- ^
"Houses of Parliament"
(PDF)
.
www.japarliament.gov.jm
.
- ^
"Report: Spirit Airlines buys Air Jamaica"
.
USA Today
. 2009-07-06
. Retrieved
2013-01-06
.
- ^
"Jamaica PM flies in for Air Jamaica /CAL talks"
. Guardian.co.tt. 2012-05-26
. Retrieved
2013-01-06
.
- ^
"
Air Jamaica on course for possible April 12 takeover
." Caribbean 360. 4 March 2010. Retrieved on 5 March 2010.
- ^
Karp, Aaron (2011-07-01).
"Air Jamaica, Caribbean Airlines further integration"
. ATWOnline
. Retrieved
2013-01-06
.
- ^
Daraine Luton (29 April 2010).
"Caribbean Airlines to re-hire 1,000 workers"
.
Jamaica Gleaner
.
- ^
"Jamaica Gleaner News - Jamaica leases Air Jamaica trademarks for US$5/year - Wednesday | July 21, 2010"
. Mobile.jamaica-gleaner.com. 2010-07-21
. Retrieved
2013-01-06
.
- ^
"Caribbean Airlines reaffirms commitment to Air J"
. JamaicaObserver.com. Archived from
the original
on 2014-02-02
. Retrieved
2013-01-06
.
- ^
Finlay, Mark (October 16, 2022).
"What Happened To Air Jamaica?"
.
Simple Flying
.
- ^
http://www.timetableimages.com
, Nov. 1, 1980 Air Jamaica system timetable
- ^
"Air Jamaica October 1999 Route Map"
.
www.departedflights.com
.
- ^
"Air jamaica fleet list at"
. Planespotters.net. Archived from
the original
on 2012-06-12
. Retrieved
2013-01-06
.
- ^
"Air Jamaica fleet"
.
aerobernie.bplaced.net
. Retrieved
February 20,
2021
.
External links
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Main airline
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Wholly owned subsidiary airlines
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Destinations
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History
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Defunct airlines
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Shareholdings
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Other services
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Present airlines
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Defunct airlines
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