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Air J to enter code share agreement with Chinese, Japanese carriers
BY INGRID BROWN Observer staff reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
THE national airline - Air Jamaica - is soon to begin a code share agreement with a number of Chinese and Japanese airlines to facilitate airlift out of these two Asian countries in anticipation of a boom in tourist arrivals from that region.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who returns to the island today after a working visit to China, Japan and Dubai, said he would be providing a full report on the airlift agreement at the Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) to be held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel from April 25 to 27.
According to Bartlett, an agreement was being worked out and would be signed soon between Jamaica, China and Japan to have some of their airlines having code share relations with Air Jamaica.
"It will come into effect soon because Air Jamaica started an evening flight from New York and that is the flight that is supposed to be connecting with the Los Angeles flights coming from China and Japan," Bartlett told the Observer yesterday while en route from Dubai to Jamaica.
Bartlett said the parties were in an advanced stage of discussions with the airlines, however, he declined to name the carriers involved, except for Japanese airline Ana.
In addition, the minister said they were working to have an e-ticket arrangement in place, which will allow for the smooth transfer of passengers.
Yesterday, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Wayne Cummings, said if organised airlift can be arranged out of China, Jamaica's hoteliers won't have enough rooms to put tourists in.
As such, he said his group was anxiously awaiting the direct airlift issues to be sorted out so that the industry could begin benefiting from having organised groups of tourists coming out of China.
He, however, expressed concerns that despite Jamaica having received improved destination status for three years now not enough work has been done before now to tap into that market place.
"I think Minister Bartlett should be given some credit as he was very decisive in making sure that the delegation that went with him on this visit is a working one, which is not only looking at China but at Japan, a market which Jamaica's tourism product used to do reasonably well in," Cummings said.
He admitted that the sector does not know enough about the Chinese culture and it was something which must be addressed if Jamaica would be pursuing that market.
"It is one thing to update the market, but if we don't understand what are the special requirements of the Chinese we are going to have challenges," Cummings told the Observer.
He said he was particularly pleased that Heinz Simonitch, director of JAMVAC, was part of the delegation, since he had a lot to do with developing the Japanese market in the last decade or so.
"He will be finding out what the hotels need to do in terms of bedrooms, food, entertainment and he will be taking back this message to the JHTA so that we can inform our members," he said.
BY INGRID BROWN Observer staff reporter browni@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
THE national airline - Air Jamaica - is soon to begin a code share agreement with a number of Chinese and Japanese airlines to facilitate airlift out of these two Asian countries in anticipation of a boom in tourist arrivals from that region.
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, who returns to the island today after a working visit to China, Japan and Dubai, said he would be providing a full report on the airlift agreement at the Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) to be held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel from April 25 to 27.
According to Bartlett, an agreement was being worked out and would be signed soon between Jamaica, China and Japan to have some of their airlines having code share relations with Air Jamaica.
"It will come into effect soon because Air Jamaica started an evening flight from New York and that is the flight that is supposed to be connecting with the Los Angeles flights coming from China and Japan," Bartlett told the Observer yesterday while en route from Dubai to Jamaica.
Bartlett said the parties were in an advanced stage of discussions with the airlines, however, he declined to name the carriers involved, except for Japanese airline Ana.
In addition, the minister said they were working to have an e-ticket arrangement in place, which will allow for the smooth transfer of passengers.
Yesterday, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Wayne Cummings, said if organised airlift can be arranged out of China, Jamaica's hoteliers won't have enough rooms to put tourists in.
As such, he said his group was anxiously awaiting the direct airlift issues to be sorted out so that the industry could begin benefiting from having organised groups of tourists coming out of China.
He, however, expressed concerns that despite Jamaica having received improved destination status for three years now not enough work has been done before now to tap into that market place.
"I think Minister Bartlett should be given some credit as he was very decisive in making sure that the delegation that went with him on this visit is a working one, which is not only looking at China but at Japan, a market which Jamaica's tourism product used to do reasonably well in," Cummings said.
He admitted that the sector does not know enough about the Chinese culture and it was something which must be addressed if Jamaica would be pursuing that market.
"It is one thing to update the market, but if we don't understand what are the special requirements of the Chinese we are going to have challenges," Cummings told the Observer.
He said he was particularly pleased that Heinz Simonitch, director of JAMVAC, was part of the delegation, since he had a lot to do with developing the Japanese market in the last decade or so.
"He will be finding out what the hotels need to do in terms of bedrooms, food, entertainment and he will be taking back this message to the JHTA so that we can inform our members," he said.
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