As of Thursday, Air Jamaica officially cancelled flight routes to Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, Barbados, Grenada and Grand Cayman.
The flight cuts have resulted in the loss of several jobs but Bruce Noble, chief executive of the debt-ridden national airline of Jamaica did not give an actual number. He insisted, however, that the cuts are necessary since the routes are unprofitable and the carrier urgently needs to reduce costs.
The move, he has said in the past, is part of Air Jamaica’s new business plan for 2009, which has already been approved by the Jamaican government.
Jamaica`s Prime Minister, Bruce Golding, has said Air Jamaica was losing US$141 million a year and the country was looking to divest the carrier in coming months.
The move comes as the JLP government last year gave American Airlines a US$4.5 million guarantee to encourage flights to the island.
Source: caribworldnews.com