Air Jamaica

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Air Jamaica

IATA JM	ICAO AJM	Callsign Jamaica
Founded		1968
Hubs		Sangster International Airport Norman Manley International Airport Hewanorra International Airport
Frequent flyer program		7th Heaven
Fleet size		16
Destinations		26
Headquarters		Kingston, Jamaica
Key people		O.K. Melhado (Chairman Of The Board) Mike Conway (President and CEO)
Website: http://www.airjamaica.com

Air Jamaica is the national airline of Jamaica based in Kingston, Jamaica, operating scheduled services from Kingston and Montego Bay to 23 destinations in the Caribbean, the USA, Canada and United Kingdom. The airline's main bases are Norman Manley International Airport (KIN), Kingston and Sangster International Airport (MBJ), Montego Bay,and has just a hub at Hewanorra International Airport.

1 History
2 Services
3 Fleet
- 3.1 Previously operated
4 Air Jamaica cargo
5 External links
6 References

[edit] History

Air Jamaica was established in October 1968 and started operations on 1 April 1969, connecting Kingston and Montego Bay, with New York and Miami. At that time the Jamaican government owned a substantial part of the airline, with Air Canada owning a minor share and providing technical, maintenance and logistical help.

During the 1970s, Air Jamaica expanded rapidly. Flights were added to Toronto and Montreal in Canada, to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico, to Philadelphia and many other destinations, especially across the Caribbean. Long-haul services to Europe were started on 1 April 1974. Air Jamaica used Douglas DC-8s for a large part of the 1970s, but the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar and Boeing 727 jets became a part of the fleet towards the end of the decade when the government bought over Air Canada's small share. During the 1980s, growth slowed. Nevertheless, new routes were still opened, to Baltimore and Atlanta.

Air Jamaica Airbus A340

During the 1990s Air Jamaica continued to expand: the airline took over the Kingston-Nassau, Bahamas route, which had been left by British Airways, began a code sharing agreement with Delta Air Lines and opened routes to Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix (which was later dropped), and to Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Santo Domingo and Ft. Lauderdale. The route to Phoenix was opened because Air Jamaica was looking for expansion in the American West, beyond its route to Los Angeles. In 1994 the company was partially privatized, with the government retaining 25% of the company and giving 5% of it to the airline's employees. It began buying Airbus equipment, including the Airbus A340, and began a feeder service, a frequent flyer program (7th Heaven), and an inflight magazine, named SkyWritings. The airline also underwent a livery change during that decade. Air Jamaica has now opened a large operations base in Saint Lucia.

In December 2004, after massive financial losses, the Government of Jamaica took back 100% control of Air Jamaica. It employs 3000 staff.

[edit] Services

Air Jamaica Airbus A340

Air Jamaica operates the following services (at May 2006):

Direct Domestic Scheduled Destinations: Kingston, Montego Bay and Ocho Rios.

Direct International Scheduled Destinations: Atlanta, Baltimore, Bridgetown, Barbados, Boston, Bonaire, Chicago, Willemstad-Hato, Curaçao, Fort Lauderdale, Georgetown, Cayman Isl., Grenada, Havana, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Nassau, Newark, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, St. Lucia, and Toronto.

Indirect (codeshare) International Destinations:
- Delta Air Lines: Phoenix, Memphis, Nashville, Cincinnati.
- Air Canada: Montréal.
- Caribbean Star Airlines: Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Tortola, Trinidad and Tobago.

[edit] Fleet

The Air Jamaica fleet consists of the following aircraft (as at August 2006) ^[1].

7 Airbus A320-200 with an average fleet age of 8.6 years
6 Airbus A321-200 with an average fleet age of 5.3 years
2 Airbus A340-300 with an average fleet age of 7.8 years

The fleet has an average age of 7.3 years.

As of November 2006, Air Jamaica is considering replacing their Airbus fleet with Boeing 737s and 757s for economic reasons. Pilots have objected to this move. [[1]][[2]] [[3]]

[edit] Previously operated

Air Jamaica has operated the Airbus A300, Airbus A310, Boeing 727-200, Boeing 747-100, Douglas DC-8, Douglas DC-9, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, and McDonnell Douglas MD-88.

[edit] Air Jamaica cargo

Air Jamaica Cargo's Head Office is located at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica. Air Jamaica Cargo has 70% of the airfreight market between Jamaica and the rest of the world.