History of Air Jamaica

Air Jamaica began its operations in April,1969, with nonstop flights from Kingston and Montego Bay to New York and Miami. At that time, the airline was owned by the Government of Jamaica, with a minority interest held by Air Canada, which provided the equipment, technology, training, pilots and some top management. Through a "buy-back" agreement, the Jamaican government acquired the airline by the end of the following decade.

Through the years, Air Jamaica has expanded its routes, services and flight schedules. In 1970 and 1971, new gateways were established in Toronto and Philadelphia. Later, flights to Europe and other Caribbean destinations were introduced. In February 1982, service to Baltimore/Washington was inaugurated and the following year, the Atlanta-Jamaica route opened. In 1991, Air Jamaica established twice-weekly service from Jamaica to Nassau in the Bahamas to fill the gap left by the modified British Airways service to the region. In 1992, Air Jamaica began the first scheduled nonstop service from Orlando to Jamaica.

In November of 1994, after lengthy talks and negotiations, Air Jamaica was privatized. At present, 70% of the airline is owned by the Air Jamaica Acquisition Group, comprised of Jamaican business men, the government holds 25% with 5% of the stock reserved for employee investment. The agreement between the Government of Jamaica and the investor group provide that the airline maintain national carrier status.

The Air Jamaica Fleet consists of four widebody Airbus A-310's, ten ultra-efficient A-320's, three colorful Airbus A-321's, and three multi-Class A-340's for the Trans-Atlantic runs to the U.K and New York, with a total daily lift of over 9,000 seats. The A-310's will be phased out between now and 2004, and replaced with the more economical and efficient A-320 and A-321 equipment.