Tweet
Aaaaaaah Lazie?! Nuh yuh same great Butch dis?
granted he will benefit...but on this one I am in lock-step with him!!!!
------------------
Use Air J to save Ja, says 'Butch'
Stewart says Air J is Jamaica's single biggest asset
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
GORDON 'Butch' Stewart, who angrily gave back Air Jamaica to the previous Government four years ago, has suggested that the airline could be used to "rescue Jamaica" from the impending crisis triggered by record high oil prices.
Stewart made the comment in his first public address on Air Jamaica since he handed over the airline to the Government a day before Christmas Eve 2004, saying he could no longer deal with the political shenanigans of the time.
"Air Jamaica is a phenomenal piece of asset that could be used to rescue Jamaica at a time when we are facing unprecedented levels of oil prices that are punishing the Jamaican economy," Stewart told an internal retreat of top executives of Unique Vacations, worldwide representatives of his Sandals/Beaches hotel chain.
He argued that the overall benefit to the economy of Air Jamaica had surpassed by far the cost to keep the airline afloat, pointing to the findings of a study by the Ivy League Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States which quantified
such benefits.
The MIT research found that between 1995 and 2004 - the period when the Stewart-led Air Jamaica Acquisition Group (AJAG) operated the airline - Air Jamaica contributed US$5.5 billion to the economy, US$1.8 billion of which was in direct incremental benefits and US$3.6 billion in indirect incremental benefits. That compared with losses by the airline of US$650 million over the same period.
"Show me a country with a strong economy and I will show you a country with its own airline," Stewart said. "Air Jamaica is the single biggest asset that Jamaica has now, and we need to harness it in every way possible."
Stewart's AJAG, backed by the National Commercial Bank, bought majority ownership in Air Jamaica, the national airline, known as the 'Love Bird', when it was in dire straits and in imminent danger of crashing out of existence, after several other bids had failed.
He quickly re-imaged the airline, introduced unprecedented innovations such as on-time no-line schedules, champagne flights and a flying chef; bought new state-of-the-art planes and rekindled the pride of the nation in "the little piece of Jamaica that flies".
But since giving back the airline, he has refrained from making public addresses on Air Jamaica, mostly making private comments to friends who unsuccessfully prodded him to get back into the business, or to journalists who raised the matter in interviews.
At the week-long retreat held in the north coast resort town of Ocho Rios, Stewart pointed to the loss of air seats to the Caribbean and noted that the region was learning that "we have to pay to play". "If we want airlift, we are going to have to pay for it. Look what it has come to when passengers are being asked to pay for
their luggage."
He said it would be wise for the Government to revitalise the Air Jamaica hub in Montego Bay, St James, now a mere shadow of its former self, as it could reap benefits similar to the Atlanta Airport, the biggest airline hub in the world and home to Delta Airlines.
Stewart said Atlanta Airport, in order to help Delta stay in the skies as oil prices put the squeeze on air travel, significantly reduced all charges and fees, because it appreciated the importance of Delta to the economy of the city and state.
"It means that our Government cannot afford to fleece the airline. They can't nickle and dime it at this time. They will need to give it all the support they possibly can,"
said Stewart.
He suggested that Air Jamaica currently had one of the most fuel-efficient fleets of aircraft, which puts it way ahead of many world airlines, given the high cost of fuel. It was a shame, he said, that an A340 aircraft was lying idle when it could be working
for Jamaica.
"We have to think on our feet, we have to think on our backs, we have to think our way through this, in order to keep Air Jamaica on its feet," he told the marketers and
sales executives.
Stewart said he was convinced that Jamaica had "the intellectual capacity and creativity to find the answer to keeping the airline in the skies and to emerge from this dilemma that we face".
granted he will benefit...but on this one I am in lock-step with him!!!!
------------------
Use Air J to save Ja, says 'Butch'
Stewart says Air J is Jamaica's single biggest asset
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
GORDON 'Butch' Stewart, who angrily gave back Air Jamaica to the previous Government four years ago, has suggested that the airline could be used to "rescue Jamaica" from the impending crisis triggered by record high oil prices.
Stewart made the comment in his first public address on Air Jamaica since he handed over the airline to the Government a day before Christmas Eve 2004, saying he could no longer deal with the political shenanigans of the time.
"Air Jamaica is a phenomenal piece of asset that could be used to rescue Jamaica at a time when we are facing unprecedented levels of oil prices that are punishing the Jamaican economy," Stewart told an internal retreat of top executives of Unique Vacations, worldwide representatives of his Sandals/Beaches hotel chain.
He argued that the overall benefit to the economy of Air Jamaica had surpassed by far the cost to keep the airline afloat, pointing to the findings of a study by the Ivy League Massachussetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States which quantified
such benefits.
The MIT research found that between 1995 and 2004 - the period when the Stewart-led Air Jamaica Acquisition Group (AJAG) operated the airline - Air Jamaica contributed US$5.5 billion to the economy, US$1.8 billion of which was in direct incremental benefits and US$3.6 billion in indirect incremental benefits. That compared with losses by the airline of US$650 million over the same period.
"Show me a country with a strong economy and I will show you a country with its own airline," Stewart said. "Air Jamaica is the single biggest asset that Jamaica has now, and we need to harness it in every way possible."
Stewart's AJAG, backed by the National Commercial Bank, bought majority ownership in Air Jamaica, the national airline, known as the 'Love Bird', when it was in dire straits and in imminent danger of crashing out of existence, after several other bids had failed.
He quickly re-imaged the airline, introduced unprecedented innovations such as on-time no-line schedules, champagne flights and a flying chef; bought new state-of-the-art planes and rekindled the pride of the nation in "the little piece of Jamaica that flies".
But since giving back the airline, he has refrained from making public addresses on Air Jamaica, mostly making private comments to friends who unsuccessfully prodded him to get back into the business, or to journalists who raised the matter in interviews.
At the week-long retreat held in the north coast resort town of Ocho Rios, Stewart pointed to the loss of air seats to the Caribbean and noted that the region was learning that "we have to pay to play". "If we want airlift, we are going to have to pay for it. Look what it has come to when passengers are being asked to pay for
their luggage."
He said it would be wise for the Government to revitalise the Air Jamaica hub in Montego Bay, St James, now a mere shadow of its former self, as it could reap benefits similar to the Atlanta Airport, the biggest airline hub in the world and home to Delta Airlines.
Stewart said Atlanta Airport, in order to help Delta stay in the skies as oil prices put the squeeze on air travel, significantly reduced all charges and fees, because it appreciated the importance of Delta to the economy of the city and state.
"It means that our Government cannot afford to fleece the airline. They can't nickle and dime it at this time. They will need to give it all the support they possibly can,"
said Stewart.
He suggested that Air Jamaica currently had one of the most fuel-efficient fleets of aircraft, which puts it way ahead of many world airlines, given the high cost of fuel. It was a shame, he said, that an A340 aircraft was lying idle when it could be working
for Jamaica.
"We have to think on our feet, we have to think on our backs, we have to think our way through this, in order to keep Air Jamaica on its feet," he told the marketers and
sales executives.
Stewart said he was convinced that Jamaica had "the intellectual capacity and creativity to find the answer to keeping the airline in the skies and to emerge from this dilemma that we face".
Comment