is the national
Airline of
Jamaica based in
Kingston, Jamaica , operating scheduled services from Kingston and
Montego Bay to 23 destinations in the
Caribbean ,
Canada , the
USA and the
United Kingdom . Its main base is
Norman Manley International Airport , Kingston with a hub at
Sangster International Airport , Montego Bay
Flight International 27 March 2007.
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-8 s 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 .
During the 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 full ownership of Air Jamaica. It employs 2,522 staff (at March
2007 ).
Air Jamaica operates the following services (at May
2006 ):
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Baltimore (Baltimore/Washington), Maryland
- Chicago, Illinois ( O'Hare International Airport )
- Fort Lauderdale (Hollywood), Florida
- Los Angeles, California
- Miami, Florida
- Newark (Liberty), New Jersey
- New York City, New York ( John F. Kennedy International Airport )
- Orlando, Florida
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Air Jamaica fleet consists of the following aircraft (as at May 2007) :
As of November 2006, Air Jamaica is considering replacing their Airbus fleet with
Boeing 737 s and
Boeing 757 s for economic reasons. Pilots have objected to this move.
Jamaica Observer Jamaica Observer Jamaica Gleaner
Air Jamaica will be replacing their six A321s with six Boeing 757-200s before the end of 2007.
Jamaica Gleaner
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 .
PlaneSpotters.net
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.
