Air Jamaica´s Chairman Confident the Airline Will Rebound

Air Jamaica´s Chairman, Vin Lawrence, has given assurance that with the government assistance, appointment of the new board of directors, the dedicated staff and of the support of its loyal passengers, the airline would survive and will return to its once glory days.

Speaking in New York to travel agents, Caribbean diplomats and Caribbean-American community leaders, Mr Lawrence said that recent changes with the troubled airline should not give cause for fear, and urged his audience to continue supporting the airline that has sustained losses of more than US$50 million over the past four years due mainly to increasing fuel prices.

In giving assurances that Air Jamaica was not going out of business and would rebound, Mr Lawrence indicated that seeking bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11, as many other airlines have done, was not an option for the airline, saying Jamaica does not have such protection laws.

Mr Lawrence said that as a result of the recent crises the airline now has to comply with the revised and stringent maintenance check regulations of United States Federal Airline Administration (FAA). The company now has carry out a 15-month maintenance check compared to the 20-month check recommended by the manufacturer.

The obligation to meet the stringent FAA regulations to avoid the imposition of severe fines has forced the airline to temporarily cancel flights from Jamaica to Eastern Caribbean destinations and form the U.S. to the Caribbean nations.

For instance, Air Jamaica suspended its flights from New York to Barbados, Grenada and St. Lucia and will resume the services on April 16.

However, Air Jamaica will continue to operate flights to its nine remaining Caribbean destinations -- Jamaica (Kingston and Montego Bay), the Bahamas, Bonaire, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, and Turks and Caicos -- as well as its 13 gateways in North America and Europe.

However, the temporary cancellation of flights will cause the airline further losses, as well as a loss in passengers, who will choose other carriers for their trips.