Jamaica, Belize air services deal on hold

KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 2, 2009 - Implementation of the a bilateral air services agreement signed by Jamaica and Brazil has been put on hold pending, among other things, the divestment of the national carrier, Air Jamaica.

The agreement was inked in December 2007, by Transport and Works Minister, Michael Henry, and then Brazilian Ambassador to Jamaica, Cezar Augusto De Souza Lima, signaling the culmination of negotiations on a draft, which was reached in 2006. It establishes the regulatory framework, which will, among other things, facilitate scheduled commercial passenger and cargo flights between the South American country and Jamaica.

However, while confirming that the agreement remains intact, Communications Consultant with the Ministry of Transport and Works Reginald Allen said that little else has taken place since the signing, which, primarily, paves the way for further discussions involving representatives of Air Jamaica, or any other local carrier, and their Brazilian counterparts in mapping out the attendant logistics.

Air Jamaica's Senior Director for Government and Community Affairs, William Rodgers, said the airline is yet to engage any Brazilian counterpart in dialogue on the matter. This, he points out, is against the background of Air Jamaica's impending divestment, and to see how best the fortunes of the state-run entity, which has been operating at a loss for several years, can be reversed.

"We are going through that divestment process, which, I am sure, once we know where we are going, then discussions could be explored for the for the future expansion of the airline. So the door is open (for talks)," he said.

"Right now, we have been consolidating and dropping unprofitable routes. With the sort of losses that Air Jamaica has been incurring, we have been a bit reluctant to explore new routes. We need to know where we are going as a carrier before such discussions could take place," the airline executive added.

Last year, Prime Minister, Bruce Golding announced a March 31 date for the proposed divestment, which is being led by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Don Wehby.

In addition to the divestment, Rodgers, who was a member of the Air Policy Committee which spearheaded the negotiated agreement, pointed out that there still needed to undertake route and economic surveys to assess the viability of the service, in order to effect implementation of the provisions.

"So, even though the agreement is in place, there are on the ground logistics that have to be undertaken to determine the feasibility of having that service in place. Also, (it) would centre around us having the right equipment to fly long distances into these areas, and the sort of frequency that would be necessary to maintain a viable route," he explains, adding that no service will commence until there is further dialogue among stakeholders.

In addition to commercial passenger and cargo services, the agreement seeks to facilitate code sharing among the designated stakeholder airlines, and a chance for the exploration of Jamaica as an alternative gateway for connecting flights between North and South America. It further seeks to encourage the promotion of fair play among all interests, while discouraging discrimination and abuse of dominant positions.


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