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Air J sending Letter of Intent to Caribbean Airlines
Thursday, 21 January 2010
RJR News has obtained a copy of a memo to Air Jamaica staff giving them the clearest indication yet that a deal is soon to be signed with Caribbean Airlines for the take over of the national carrier.
The memo from President and Chief Executive Oficer Bruce Nobles states that he is updating the staff on the developments in the Air Jamaica divestment process.
Mr. Nobles outlined to his staff that after more than 18 months, the bidders to acquire Air Jamaica were narrowed to two finalists.
One was Indigo Partners, owners of several airlines including Spirit Airlines and the other, Caribbean Airlines, owned by Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr. Nobles said the initial recommendation by the Air Jamaica Divestment Committee was Indigo Partners.
ImageHowever, after several months of negotiations, they were unable to reach an agreement and therefore the Government turned to Caribbean Airlines.
He said a Letter of Intent is now required and this is being finalized with Caribbean Airlines.
The letter is non-binding and requires that Caribbean Airlines undertake the necessary due diligence before final documents are completed and approved.
This approval process is likely to take several weeks.
Mr. Nobles claims that press reports suggesting a specific deadline are incorrect.
Seamless transition for Air J - Nobles
He said the proposal with Caribbean Airlines is to create a larger, stronger more robust airline serving the region by combining the routes of Caribbean Airlines with the key routes of Air Jamaica.
The President and CEO sought to assure his staff that the new Caribbean Airlines will be better able to withstand the economic and competitive challenges facing the region.
According to Mr. Nobles the consolidation will be good for Jamaica.
He said the proposed strategy would be to create a "seamless" transition for Air Jamaica passengers and there will be no disruption to operations.
The staff was also told that as with any consolidation, there will be efficiencies gained in operation, resulting in some job reductions.
However, Mr. Nobles said that at this time there are no estimates of personnel going forward since major decisions about fleet, schedules, administration and other issues are still to be determined.
The deal will reportedly cost the Jamaican government $27 billion.
PM & Gov't have no respect for Air J workers - NWU
In the meantime, the National Workers Union (NWU) which represents some categories of employees at Air Jamaica is still seeking to have a meeting with Prime Minister Bruce Golding to get an update on the sale of the airline.
NWU Vice President Granville Valentine says the union is upset as Mr. Golding did not show up for a promised meeting, neither has he made any arrangement for another.
"We believe that it's a little disrespectful that the Prime Minister has still not contacted the unions to try and get that meeting off. The workers are very distraught at this time and feel that the government has (no) respected (for) them," Mr. Valentine said.
He is however still hopeful that the government will make an about turn and seriously look into the bid put forward by the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association to purchase Air Jamaica.
"We're taking about 10,000 people overall in and out of Air Jamaica directly who will lose their jobs," he said.
... gwaan Drivah! Doan tap atall ..Toot! Toot!Air J sending Letter of Intent to Caribbean Airlines
Thursday, 21 January 2010
RJR News has obtained a copy of a memo to Air Jamaica staff giving them the clearest indication yet that a deal is soon to be signed with Caribbean Airlines for the take over of the national carrier.
The memo from President and Chief Executive Oficer Bruce Nobles states that he is updating the staff on the developments in the Air Jamaica divestment process.
Mr. Nobles outlined to his staff that after more than 18 months, the bidders to acquire Air Jamaica were narrowed to two finalists.
One was Indigo Partners, owners of several airlines including Spirit Airlines and the other, Caribbean Airlines, owned by Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Mr. Nobles said the initial recommendation by the Air Jamaica Divestment Committee was Indigo Partners.
ImageHowever, after several months of negotiations, they were unable to reach an agreement and therefore the Government turned to Caribbean Airlines.
He said a Letter of Intent is now required and this is being finalized with Caribbean Airlines.
The letter is non-binding and requires that Caribbean Airlines undertake the necessary due diligence before final documents are completed and approved.
This approval process is likely to take several weeks.
Mr. Nobles claims that press reports suggesting a specific deadline are incorrect.
Seamless transition for Air J - Nobles
He said the proposal with Caribbean Airlines is to create a larger, stronger more robust airline serving the region by combining the routes of Caribbean Airlines with the key routes of Air Jamaica.
The President and CEO sought to assure his staff that the new Caribbean Airlines will be better able to withstand the economic and competitive challenges facing the region.
According to Mr. Nobles the consolidation will be good for Jamaica.
He said the proposed strategy would be to create a "seamless" transition for Air Jamaica passengers and there will be no disruption to operations.
The staff was also told that as with any consolidation, there will be efficiencies gained in operation, resulting in some job reductions.
However, Mr. Nobles said that at this time there are no estimates of personnel going forward since major decisions about fleet, schedules, administration and other issues are still to be determined.
The deal will reportedly cost the Jamaican government $27 billion.
PM & Gov't have no respect for Air J workers - NWU
In the meantime, the National Workers Union (NWU) which represents some categories of employees at Air Jamaica is still seeking to have a meeting with Prime Minister Bruce Golding to get an update on the sale of the airline.
NWU Vice President Granville Valentine says the union is upset as Mr. Golding did not show up for a promised meeting, neither has he made any arrangement for another.
"We believe that it's a little disrespectful that the Prime Minister has still not contacted the unions to try and get that meeting off. The workers are very distraught at this time and feel that the government has (no) respected (for) them," Mr. Valentine said.
He is however still hopeful that the government will make an about turn and seriously look into the bid put forward by the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association to purchase Air Jamaica.
"We're taking about 10,000 people overall in and out of Air Jamaica directly who will lose their jobs," he said.
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