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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		17
Destinations		26
Headquarters		Kingston, Jamaica
Key people		O.K. Melhado (Chairman Of The Board) ? (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, 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^[1].

Contents 1 History 2 Destinations 3 Direct destinations 3.1 Code Share 4 Fleet 4.1 Previously operated 5 Air Jamaica cargo 6 References 7 External links

Air Jamaica was established in October 1968 and started operations on 1 April 1969, connecting Kingston and Montego Bay, with New York and Miami^[1]. 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 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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)^[1].

In September 2007, the new Jamaican gevernment began to consider privatisation of Air Jamaica.^[2]

^{[citation needed]}

Air Jamaica operates the following services (at October 2007):

Jamaica

• Kingston (Norman Manley International Airport)
• Montego Bay (Donald Sangster International Airport)

USA

• 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

Canada

• Toronto, Ontario (Lester B. Pearson International Airport)

Caribbean

• Bonaire (Netherland Antilles) (service ends March 8th, 2008)
• Willemstad-Hato, Curaçao (Netherland Antilles)
• Georgetown, Grand Cayman
• Grenada
• Havana, Cuba
• Nassau, Bahamas
• St. Lucia

• Air Canada

In addition to their own services JM also code share with AC to Toronto.

• Caribbean Star Airlines

In addition to their own servcies JM also code share to St. Lucia and these destinations Anguilla, Antigua, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent, Tortola, Trinidad and Tobago.

• Virgin Atlantic Airways

All services to London.

The Air Jamaica fleet consists of the following aircraft (as at May 2007)^[1] :

• 9 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

As of June 2007, Air Jamaica is considering replacing their A321s with Boeing 757s for economic reasons. Pilots have objected to this move.^[3][4][5]

Air Jamaica will be replacing their six A321s with six Boeing 757-200s before the end of 2007. The Boeing 757s are slated to arrive by the end of October 2007. Air Jamaica Acquisition group has now decided to go with a mix fleet configuration of 6 Boeing 757-200 and 9 Airbus A319-100 Aircraft. 2 Airbus A319-100 Aircraft will be used for intra-island service to replace the now defunct Air Jamaica Express service between Kingston's Norman Manley Airport and Sangsters International Airport in Montego Bay.[1]^[6] [2]

Air Jamaica has operated the Airbus A300, Airbus A310, Boeing 727-200, Douglas DC-8, McDonnell Douglas DC-9, McDonnell Douglas MD-83, and McDonnell Douglas MD-88.^[7]

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.

• Air Jamaica
• Fleet Detail

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