Sun Sentinel - 3/13/05


By Niala Boodhoo, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Mar. 13--Air Jamaica has been completely taken over by the government, laid off more than 100 workers and recently had to ground half its fleet after a dispute with U.S. air safety regulators over its maintenance schedule.

The airline is struggling, saddled with the same problems that have plagued its American counterparts, including high fuel prices and fare wars that have chewed into profitability. Its most recent competitor is Arlington, Va.-based US Airways, which last month began flights to the island from Fort Lauderdale.

But it would be wrong to bet against Air Jamaica. It is government-backed, and the airline has managed to engender a fierce loyalty in an age when fliers often hate -- or at best, feel indifferent about -- the carriers that ferry them from city to city. While many airlines see food or even pillows as an amenity, Air Jamaica's flights offer free champagne or Red Stripe beer in addition to a meal.

Jamaicans in South Florida say service like that makes them ever-faithful to their national airline, which has also carefully woven itself into the fabric of the community.

"They are love and comfort," said Rose White, a Fort Lauderdale resident who left Jamaica about 16 years ago. One of her favorite things, she said, is that the airline always serves a tasty, hot meal, regardless of the time of day. "With the other airlines, you could die for hunger."

Many Jamaicans say they just feel more comfortable flying Air Jamaica. "If you say you're from Kingston, they'll probably ask you from where," said Errol Christian, a manager with the family-run Caribbean travel agency E.C. Travel.

It's not just a national connection, but a cultural one, he added. The airline's name is a common sight among Caribbean communities outside of Jamaica. The carrier often gives away tickets as prizes or provides free flights for musicians for local events, such as this weekend's Unite-A-Fest in Lauderhill.

"In this community, Air Jamaica is called upon to support many, many causes," said Dahlia Walker-Huntington, a Miramar lawyer who also sits on the Jamaica Diaspora Advisory Board, a government-sponsored group.

She said the local rumor mill about the airline and its woes is "working overtime." As many as 400,000 Jamaicans live in the tri-county area, according to the Jamaican consulate, concentrated in Broward communities like Lauderhill and Miramar.

The airline began operations in 1966, run by the Jamaican government, British West Indies Airlines and British Airways. It carries tourists on vacation with flights directly into Montego Bay, as well as Jamaicans or businessmen who are going to the capital city of Kingston.

But Air Jamaica was badly hurt, like other carriers, by the drop in business after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Last year the entire Caribbean had finally recovered from those attacks only to face an onslaught of hurricanes, especially Ivan. More recently, fuel costs have skyrocketed, with the airline spending $30 million more than planned last year on fuel.

The airline was until the end of December run by Gordon "Butch" Stewart, the Sandals and Beaches hotel magnate who acquired a majority stake in the carrier when it was privatized in 1994. Unaudited results for 2004 show the airline lost $83 million in U.S. dollars, leaving a total deficit of U.S. $847 million.

Its new management team, led by Executive Chairman Vincent Lawrence, is restructuring the carrier, including working with aircraft lessors and other creditors to renegotiate debt and lease payments. The Jamaican government is also considering canceling U.S. $398 million of debt.

Lawrence has said the company may eventually lay off up to 10 percent of its staff of 3,000. More than 170 employees in Jamaica have already been laid off, and management is determining where other cuts will be made. The airline employs about 300 people in South Florida.

"The team I lead is committed to work hard in an effort to ensure the fortunes of this national treasure are turned around and the airline returned to viability," Lawrence said last month at a press briefing in Jamaica.

In the meantime, the airline also faces competition from American carriers. Besides US Airways, whose flights to Kingston began Feb. 19, low-cost carriers JetBlue Airways and Miramar-based Spirit Airlines are in the process of beginning flights to Jamaica.

But Air Jamaica will not be allowed to go under, predicted aviation industry analyst Stuart Klaskin, a partner with KKC Consulting in Coral Gables.

"I don't think anybody that is involved in the Jamaican government has the political will or, frankly, the intestinal fortitude to allow Air Jamaica to fail," Klaskin said. "If you look at Air Jamaica as a stand-alone business, it's not so great. If you look at Air Jamaica as a terrific ambassador for the community, as a clear demonstration of national pride and as a vehicle that largely enables its huge tourism industry, it's a net positive for everyone involved."

So far, despite the airline's woes, Jamaicans are still remaining loyal to their carrier. E.C. Travel's Christian said bookings for Air Jamaica have remained steady. He said US Airways flights, though a little cheaper, haven't been enough of a lure.

Christian thinks Air Jamaica has kept customers away from American Airlines partly because it flies out of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which is closer than the Miami airport to where many Jamaicans live. Air Jamaica has two daily flights, one to Montego Bay and one to Kingston, from both Fort Lauderdale and Miami. American flies to Jamaica only from Miami.

Trina Stephens, who has lived in the United States for five years and goes home every year, said she will stick with Air Jamaica. She has tried other carriers, but doesn't like them.

"Maybe it's because I'm Jamaican," she said, as she worked behind the counter of Hammond's Bakery in Lauderhill. "But they make the customers happy. They make sure you are happy."

Walker-Huntington adds that not everything about the airline is rosy, recalling an unpleasant experience flying home one Christmas years ago. Despite that, she says she would not fly another carrier to Jamaica.

"It's part of my culture, part of my history," she said. "It's way past being an airline."

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