There will be no merger or acquisition of Air Jamaica by Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL), says Works Minister Colm Imbert.
The financially-strapped Air Jamaica will be shut down and CAL will take over its profitable routes to ensure Jamaica maintains its tourism lifeline with its major markets in North America and Europe, Imbert said. Speaking at the yesterday's weekly post-Cabinet meeting at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, Imbert said Government will not take over any of Air Jamaica's debts and that CAL will not acquire or merge with Air Jamaica. Quoting from a memo written by Bruce Nobles, president and chief executive officer of Air Jamaica, which stated that Air Jamaica will be closing down on April 12, Imbert said all of its employees will be made redundant on that day. He said CAL has been contracted to take up the slack to service Air Jamaica's routes.
"The tourism industry is the lifeblood of the Jamaican economy, so even though they may be having problems with their airline, they still need to have access to these markets. "We have been involved in the process as they are unwilling to relinquish this control to airlines outside of the region as they may not have the kind of commitment to regional development and the growth of the tourism sector that Caribbean Airlines will have. Profitable routes. "We will be focusing on the profitable routes because our stipulation is that there should be a business emphasis on the deal, so the unprofitable routes will be dropped as neither the Jamaican or T&T Government is able to put more money into airlift. "We are now negotiating the acquisition of the route rights from Air Jamaica. These routes have value and it would cost a lot in marketing, business development, time and other issues if we were to develop them ourselves.
"In addition, the government of Jamaica also has a vision about what they want to achieve and where the emphasis will be placed with the new arrangement. Imbert said acquiring these routes, infrastructure and codes can save T&T a lot of time and money and ensure many jobs at Air Jamaica are saved because CAL will need the support on the ground. From April 12, Air Jamaica will cease to exist and Caribbean Airlines will take over these routes and will provide the airlift that they need to keep their economy going. "It will be a blow to close Air Jamaica down and not replace the airlift and ensure continuity and air transport for their tourism industry. "We are also aware that Air Jamaica has industrial relations issues pertaining to the closing of the airline and the Jamaican government is working on those issues and, hopefully, they will be resolved by the closure date as well," Imbert said.