MarionCK

Someone posted today, under a Sandals question, that Air Jamaica may be going out of business ?

Does anyone have any current, reliable information ?

I am booked to depart two weeks from tomorrow.

Many thanks !

Marion

Michaelpl

It's not closing down, you'll be fine.
Depending on where you're flying out of, you could possibly experience a change in your flight schedule. Check with your TA. Our flight home to Chicago in two weeks for example is suppose to leave about 4 hrs earlier than originally planned for. (though I'll believe that when we're in the air) Granted Air Jamaica has some got some big financial challenges ahead of it. But I'm not worried in the short run. I think we can relax.

tivertonhouse

Na vex yuhself, Marion. Don't be concerned about AJ for your trip -- but DO reconfirm your flights on both ends, something rarely done. ALL airlines are not exactly out-of-the-woods these days. But since Butch Stewart of Sandals sold it back to the government -- with record losses during his tenure -- AJ has gone from 20 to 10 planes, dropped routes (Texas and St.Lucia recently), and has pricepoints that are considerably higher than its competitors (altho it DOES flight direct non-stop from East Coast to MoBay unlike competition). Both airports, now sold under IMF (International Monetary Fund, the usual boogeyman) mandate to Canada/Canadian concerns( did anyone notice the l-o-n-g waits on incoming customs this past season?). With the usual suspects now longer in the running for P.M., and no potent contender apparent, signs are not good.
But Jamaica, regardless, will persevere, and she's worth whatever it takes to get there. Sorry I'll just miss you on island by about a week....

MarionCK

Thank you Michael and Tiv !

My type A personality seems to have gotten the better of me these last few months.
I've done the booking myself...no TA..see type A personality !

Boston to MBJ is a profitable route for them.

Thanks again for the reassurance !

Marion

tivertonhouse

Marion:Fruit/veg/flower seeds, now out in the markets, would make great little thank-you extras to your staffers at Goat Hill -- braata, along with a tip.
Look for no-bolt-in-hot-weather seeds like sweet peppers, peas, cukes, tomatoes, zinnias, nasturtium, morning glory,basil,dill,mint. Have a great trip!

MarionCK

Hi Tiv,

What a great idea !

Thanks so much for all your helpful suggestions.

I just can't wait to get out of HERE ;-) !

Marion

ejcrowe

Marion, is this your Bluefields Villa trip? If so, I hope you get plenty of R&R to rejuvenate yourself before heading home to your daily life. Can't wait to hear about the place!

MarionCK

Hi EJ,

Bluefields did not have availability.

I have booked Goat Hill through Linda Smith and will be there for almost three weeks ! Hopefully the darn snow will be gone by the time I return.

Thanks for your kind wishes and I promise one of my rambling reports when I return ;-) !

Marion

golf_guy

Marion,

I'm green with envy!!!!

We've just booked Tradewinds at Tryall for 2 weeks in November for the 6th annual Jamaica Cup Invitational Couples Golf Tournament. It's probably too soon to begin packing, you think?

Tiv, thanks for those tips on what to bring. We've been taking crayons, coloring books, and such for the children of our staff, but I like the idea of taking something useful for the whole family.

But, Tiv, what's going on at customs that's making the lines so long? We've always gone through "Nothing to Declare" and barely had to slow down as we passed. Are more bags being searched? We've usually frozen steaks and lamb chops and put them in insulated bags in the middle of our suitcases to bring in to our villa -- 2 meals worth of each, certainly not enough that we would be mistaken for importing for sale. Are we likely to have an unpleasant session at the customs gate in the future?

tivertonhouse

Golf guy -- Fresh/frozen meat is something customs agents look for -- with a certain glee in their eyes. Technically, it's illegal to import
anything but canned/jarred goods and I've seen Tryall-headed guests begrudgingly 'bequeath' filet mignons to a beside-herself agent. You can TRY siddle through the nothing-to-declare side of customs and smuggle in but be aware that you might get these goods confiscated.

nanorran

What I read is that Air Jamaica is temporarily banned from flying into St Lucia for at least 1 month. US Airways and Delta are trying to increase flight to offset this difference. Air Jamaica has about 12 flights per week from States to St Lucia. Apparently the St Lucia Gov't banned them as they require planes to have certain maintainance every 15 mths and Air Jamaica does it every 18 months. So again all I read was that one location stopped for Air Jamaica.

cdt

My information is that the US requires the more frequent maintenance schedule and Air Jamaica decided to go to the more frequent intervals for its entire fleet. This meant some planes would be temporarily unavailable so the airline suspended flights to St. Lucia, Barbados and Grenada for a 4-week period. It had already eliminated service to Antigua.