Air Jamaica will return to the Eastern Caribbean on April 16 with six weekly flights to Grenada and Barbados from Kingston and New York.
Flight JM094 will operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from New York to Grenada, Barbados and Kingston. On the reverse, Flight JM095 will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays from Kingston to Barbados, Grenada and New York. JM095/094 will be the only non- stop services between Kingston and Barbados.
Connections from Grenada and Barbados can be made to New York and Los Angeles through Jamaica on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Initially, an Airbus A320 with 138 economy and 12 top class seats will operate the flight but the capacity will be increased shortly with the use of an A321 aircraft, which has an additional 38 seats.
Executive Chairman, Dr. Vincent Lawrence says with the availability of aircraft still restricted and after carefully reviewing the route structure, competition and economics, the suspension of flights to St. Lucia will continue at this time. “In recent months, St. Lucia has benefited from increased non-stop service by other airlines and we believe that the continued suspension should not seriously affect traffic to St. Lucia,” Dr. Lawrence says.
All the relevant Government and Tourism Officials have been advised of the airline’s decision. Dr. Lawrence expressed his appreciation for the support and cooperation of the Government and people of St. Lucia and for their understanding of the continued suspension of service during this difficult period for the airline.
In the meantime, Air Jamaica is negotiating with other carriers to provide passengers with connections from Barbados and Grenada to the rest of the Caribbean.
On March 18, Air Jamaica suspended flights to the Eastern Caribbean due to the accelerated maintenance schedule required by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA). The authority had insisted that the airline immediately reduce its maintenance cycle from eighteen to fifteen months. As a result the number of aircraft available was significantly reduced causing a shortage of equipment to operate the EC routes.
