Tourism heads happy with 'rebirth of Air Jamaica'
Published:Monday | January 17, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) is hailing the resumption of direct service by the island's flagship carrier, Air Jamaica, as instant branding for the island, guaranteeing that healthy competition remains in the market.
Trinidad's Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL), owners of Air Jamaica, has announced that the carrier will operate as one of two brands under the CAL umbrella, allaying fears that the country's iconic brand would be abandoned.
Under this new dispensation, Air Jamaica will return to its London, Heathrow, route as of July 2011, operating three times per week, CAL Chairman George Nicholas III told a large gathering during an event tagged 'Rebirth of Air Jamaica' held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston last Friday night.
"It is no secret that the JHTA was very upset, along with many other Jamaicans, about the giving up and sale of Air Jamaica's Heathrow route, as this was a strategic position of connectivity from the UK and even more important from the difficult to-connect-to mainland Europe," JHTA president Wayne Cummings argued yesterday at the start of Caribbean Marketplace in Montego Bay, St James.
Seriousness
He, however, warned that this move must not be taken lightly, as seriousness was pivotal and must be placed behind the operational and marketing capacity of the London gateway by both CAL and the Jamaica Tourist Board.
In the same breath, the JHTA president warmed to the airline's plan to re-establish a presence in Montego Bay to capitalise on the potential of the tourism market.
He noted: "While the local market is key, it is well known that Jamaica's bread and butter is the tourism sector. The decision to downsize at the expense of Montego Bay must have hurt them quite badly, particularly now that they have confirmed that the Air Jamaica name and operations will continue."
He added: "The JHTA welcomes this move, as the loyalty to Air Jamaica by our visitors is well known."
In the meantime, the country's 'chief salesman', Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, says the Heathrow gateway in London is critical to the higher end of the Jamaican market.
"While we are happy with the operation of the Gatwick gateway and the role it plays in ensuring that our arrival figures out of England and across Europe remain strong, we welcome the return of Air Jamaica to the Heathrow gateway."
He suggested that Air Jamaica will continue to be a major factor in Jamaica's quest to attract five million stopover visitors to the country by 2013, which will result in earnings of US$5 billion.
Air Jamaica vacated the Heathrow International Airport in May 2007 and, since then, Virgin Atlantic has been operating flights from there into both the Sangster and Norman Manley international airports.