Air Jamaica =91still counting losses=92 Nation News - Monday 16, September-2002 FOLLOWING the events of September 11, 2001, Air Jamaica sustained losses of= =20 approximately US$70 million and may need financial assistance to remain=20 competitive. Speaking at a briefing to update the media on the state of=20 Air Jamaica since the September 11, 2001 attacks on both the Pentagon and=20 the World Trade Centre, Air Jamaica's deputy chairman, Christopher Zacca=20 said: =93A year on from the events we estimate that during that period we=20 have lost US$70 million. It has also cost us an additional US$6 million in= =20 insurance and US$25 million in security. We will now be requiring bridge=20 financing but as yet haven=92t placed a figure on that sum. =93If the= disaster=20 of September 11 last year did not occur, Air Jamaica would have broken even= =20 this year.=94 Air Jamaica=92s chairman, Gordon =93Butch=94 Stewart said the= =20 airline may well need government assistance but that it had not yet sought= =20 that route choosing instead to fight on. He said the question of whether=20 Air Jamaica should go public and thereby raise adequate funds to address=20 its plight, though mooted, was not feasible at this point in time. =93We need to ensure that our balance sheet is healthy and that we are able= =20 to pay a dividend before we can even consider that possibility and we are=20 some way from that.=94 The airline industry has never been through a period of 12 months with so=20 many changes and it all cost money. For example we now are required to have= =20 security doors on the pilot=92s flight cockpit fitted on all our aircrafts= by=20 April of next year. That will cost us US$60 000 per door. In the meantime=20 we will have all the cockpit doors bolted.=94 Stewart went on to say that=20 after the attacks on September 11, 2001 no aircraft flew into the United=20 States for five days which proved most costly for operators in the=20 business. He said that Air Jamaica was the first international airline to=20 put wheels down in Miami and Fort Lauderdale airports. =93I think the=20 [Jamaica] government has been an excellent partner of Air Jamaica. Both the= =20 government and the Opposition party have been right behind us and we are=20 very grateful. The exchange rate would have collapsed and may well be=20 JAM$100 to US$1 today if Air Jamaica was allowed to go under.=94 Since=20 September 11 last year many airlines have cut back on their capacity by as= =20 much as 50 per cent. Air Jamaica choose to move forward and cut back by=20 just 14 per cent initially but by December it was back to full capacity. While other airlines have suffered tremendously as a result of the=20 terrorist attacks as it currently stands Air Jamaica accounts for 63 per=20 cent of all the people who fly out of the United States to Jamaica. It also= =20 accounts for 61 per cent of all traffic coming out of the United Kingdom=20 and that is for both schedule and chartered carriers. =93There isn=92t an= =20 international carrier that didn=92t get taken to the cleaners after=20 9/11/2001. US Air declared bankruptcy and United Airlines is insinuating=20 that it to may have to declare bankruptcy and the list goes on and on. We=20 have not laid off staff in fact we are seeking to improve our service,=94=20 said Stewart. =95 Adapted from the Jamaica Gleaner. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (ReadyMix) http://www.readymix.co.tt/ (ReadyMix Cement Ltd) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************