Graham Warwick/MONTEGO BAY
AIRJAMAICA has inaugurated a Caribbean hub at Montego Bay, and signed a co-operation agreement with Delta Air Lines, in a bid to challenge American Airlines' dominance in the region.
The Montego Bay hub, which was officially inaugurated on 30 July, links flights from nine US gateways with services to six Caribbean islands. The airline plans additional services to North and South America and Europe, and to Cuba and other Caribbean destinations. Chairman Butch Stewart says that the letter of intent signed with Delta should lead to a marketing agreement by September "-which will put feed behind the gateways".
Speaking at the inauguration of the hub on 30 June, in a thinly disguised reference to American, the prime minister of Barbados said that the Caribbean "-has come to rely too heavily on one extra-regional carrier". Barbados has designated Air Jamaica as its ßag carrier and is seeking an equity stake in the airline, which could come from the Jamaican Government's remaining 25% share.
Air Jamaica recently concluded an operating agreement with BWIA International Airways, and the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, where BWIA is based, says that he is pushing for greater integration of the two carriers, following the resignation of BWIA chairman Ken Gordon, who was appointed earlier this year.
Air Jamaica president Albert Chappell says that the operating agreement, which covers five areas, including joint ground handling and fuel purchasing. Air Jamaica has taken on BWIA Airbus A321 crews after the aircraft were subleased to Turkey's Air Alfa.
Since privatisation in 1994, Air Jamaica has taken delivery of six Airbus A310s, four A320s and two McDonnell Douglas MD-83s. The airline is seeking two Airbus A330s or Boeing 767s to replace the A310s on routes to Europe.
The Montego Bay hub operation is needed to increase utilisation of Air Jamaica's fleet to offset $52 million in debt accumulated as a result of operational restrictions imposed in 1995 after Jamaica's safety oversight was judged inadequate by the US Federal Aviation Administration.
The Category 2 rating forced Air Jamaica to wet-lease aircraft to begin new services to the USA. It is now being allowed to replace these with its own aircraft, and Jamaica is hopeful of being re-rated Category 1 - fully compliant with international safety-oversight standards - in August.
Source: Flight International
