Stay up-to-date with all that's new at My-Island-Jamaica, Click Here to subscribe for my updates and don't miss a thing!

Have a QUESTION?

Print This Page

Air Jamaica Airlines
History Of Jamaica's Former Lovebird

Sharing Is Caring! Share this awesome content with your friends now.

Don't Risk your vacation! Use a trusted and dependable tour guide!

Custom Search

Air Jamaica Airlines, contributed by Tracie Blake

Air Jamaica started on May 1, 1966 as a joint airline with British West Indies Airways, British Airways and the Jamaican Government.

New! See the real Jamaica in VIDEOS

Click Here to watch my latest videos on my fun YouTube channel - you'll love it!

On April 1, 1969 they branched out on their own becoming the first national airline of Jamaica.

They started with a fleet of only two airplanes namely a DC8 and a DC9, doing non-stop flights from Kingston and Montego Bay to New York and Miami.

Over the years they expanded their fleet to include a fleet of A320, an A321 and an A340 planes.

This resulted in Air Jamaica hosting over 300 flights per week! With 37 years of excellent service, this company decided to focus on making sure their clients’ in-flight experience is above all.

They embarked upon ensuring every flyer got treated with welcome drinks, smoke-free flights, audio headphones for movies and music, magazines, assistance with booking vacation packages and fully trained attentive flight attendant staff members who not only take care of our needs but also put on fashion shows wearing the couture of local designers.

Air Jamaica was privatized when it was purchased by Gordon "Butch" Stewart with the government having minority shares. During this phase, it changed direction by creating the slogan "Soaring to New Heights".

To enhance this slogan, a new fleet of planes were purchased, More training was done to improve service, new agreements were looked into to garner flying to new destinations, amenities were given out, meal services were enhanced to include a flying chef, aerobics were offered on UK flights and a red carpet entrance welcomed every flyer.

Air Jamaica further gained for itself the accolade of being the first international airline to operate from Fort Lauderdale International Airport. As a result of the problems that were facing the airline, the new Government of Jamaica took full control of the airline.

Some restructuring was done, removing profit-less routes, reducing in-flight services, improving maintenance procedures and closely managing fuel usage. In addition, Air Cargo Services was added as an expansion for large shipments.

Air Jamaica later joined forces with Delta Airlines for marketing services for both organizations. This assisted in increasing accessibility to allow them to operate from over 150 cities in North America.

This level of service and commitment has led to awards such as Best Airline in the Caribbean, Best Honeymoon Airline, Five Star Diamond Airline, Prettiest Planes in the Sky, Best In-Flight Video in the World and Airline of the Year for Best Regional Scheduled Cargo Airline.

But Air Jamaica continued to had financial challenges so the then government of Jamaica decided to divest it.

On March 27, 2011, then finance minister, Audley Shaw and his Trinidadian counterpart Winston Dookeran signed the shareholder agreement representing the formal merger of Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines (CAL).

The signing of the agreement gave the Government of Jamaica a 16 per cent of the shares of Caribbean Airlines and also represented the formal transfer of Air Jamaica’s routes to Caribbean Airlines and elevates CAL as the national carrier of Jamaica.

For travel routes, schedules, flight status, reservation and careers, visit their website at www.airjamaica.com

If you found this page useful, please consider subscribing to my weekly newsletter, My Island Jamaica Digest here. It tells you each week about the new information that I have added, including new developments and great stories from lovers of Jamaica!

Back To The Top Of This Page

New! Talk To Me
Was the information helpful? Something needs changing? I welcome your feedback here.

New! Comments

Have your say about what you just read! Leave me a comment in the box below.

Recommended For You ...

P.S. Didn't find exactly what you were looking for? Still need help?

Click Here to try our dependable and effective Site Search tool. It works!

Or, simply click here and here, to browse my library of over 500 questions and answers! Chances are someone already asked (and got an answer to) your question.

About The Author

A patriotic Jamaican who adores his culture, Wellesley has been using this medium to share what he calls 'the uniqueness of Jamaica with the world' since April 2007.

To date, he serves over 9,300 unique readers / viewers per day.

His efforts have earned him featured positions in local publications, including the Jamaica Gleaner's Hospitality Jamaica, Carlong Publishers, as well as recognition from numerous prestigious international agencies and universities. Read more about him here.

He invites you to join his friends list and stay updated on all the latest. You are also invited to join his exclusive patron community.