Air Jamaica Has Plans for All-Boeing 757 Fleet

Air Jamaica’s front office presented its new five-year business plan to the Jamaican Cabinet earlier this week and included swapping its current fleet of 15 Airbus aircraft for an all-Boeing 757 fleet beginning later this year.

The plan, which was approved by the Cabinet Jan. 30, is aimed at resuscitating the cash-strapped national airline and making it more a more cost-efficient operation, according to Paul Pennicook, senior vice president of marketing and sales.

The carrier, which was taken over by the island’s government in December 2004, has been operating at a deficit for several years, although Pennicook declined to give the amount.

He said the government had requested a plan from Air Jamaica that would make the carrier more viable and eliminate financial losses.

The initial stages of implementation will incur costs, “somewhere in the area of $125 million over a three- to five-year period, but in the long run we will reduce our debt and our costs,” Pennicook said.

The aircraft swapping will take place on a staggered basis over an 18- to 24-month period, beginning in the second half of this year.