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Friday, 02 January 2009
The government is putting on a brave face amid mounting prospects that its plan to divest another troublesome national asset could hit a snag this year.
With three months to go before the deadline expires for Air Jamaica to be divested no clear buyer has emerged followings months of searching for likely investors.
The deepening financial woes in the global economy could put a damper on efforts by the Bruce Golding administration to get the loss-making Air Carrier off its books by March 31.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Jamaica, Bruce Nobles told RJR News that while discussions are underway with several interested parties, the impact of the economic crunch could make the sale a difficult one.
Mr. Nobles was however optimistic despite the daunting economic challenges.
"Well certainly is a tough economic time to sell something like an airline but on the other hand it might be a good time because it is better to buy something in bad times than in good times...certainly the economic situation has made it more challenging but we are not persuaded that that is going to change anything at this point," said Mr. Nobles.
And the downturn in the world travel industry is beginning to result in declining business for Air Jamaica.
According to the airline, it has seen a significant fall off in passenger loads despite anticipation for a bumper winter tourist season.
Last year, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Wayne Cummings predicted a 30% fall off in bookings for stop over tourist arrivals this year.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Jamaica Bruce Nobles told RJR News that the airline is taking drastic action to stave off long term negative implication on Air Jamaica's coffers.
"We are clearly seeing a reduction in leisure travelers, Jamaican travelers certainly travelled less during the holiday period but we are looking at a fairly soft first quarter and we have taken action to reduce our capacity.... We are trying to match our costs with our revenues so we are reacting to that situation as best as we can but things are looking a little scary out in the future," said Mr. Nobles.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/14586/26/
The government is putting on a brave face amid mounting prospects that its plan to divest another troublesome national asset could hit a snag this year.
With three months to go before the deadline expires for Air Jamaica to be divested no clear buyer has emerged followings months of searching for likely investors.
The deepening financial woes in the global economy could put a damper on efforts by the Bruce Golding administration to get the loss-making Air Carrier off its books by March 31.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Jamaica, Bruce Nobles told RJR News that while discussions are underway with several interested parties, the impact of the economic crunch could make the sale a difficult one.
Mr. Nobles was however optimistic despite the daunting economic challenges.
"Well certainly is a tough economic time to sell something like an airline but on the other hand it might be a good time because it is better to buy something in bad times than in good times...certainly the economic situation has made it more challenging but we are not persuaded that that is going to change anything at this point," said Mr. Nobles.
And the downturn in the world travel industry is beginning to result in declining business for Air Jamaica.
According to the airline, it has seen a significant fall off in passenger loads despite anticipation for a bumper winter tourist season.
Last year, President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Wayne Cummings predicted a 30% fall off in bookings for stop over tourist arrivals this year.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Jamaica Bruce Nobles told RJR News that the airline is taking drastic action to stave off long term negative implication on Air Jamaica's coffers.
"We are clearly seeing a reduction in leisure travelers, Jamaican travelers certainly travelled less during the holiday period but we are looking at a fairly soft first quarter and we have taken action to reduce our capacity.... We are trying to match our costs with our revenues so we are reacting to that situation as best as we can but things are looking a little scary out in the future," said Mr. Nobles.
http://www.radiojamaica.com/content/view/14586/26/
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