Air Jamaica, Great Marketing, Average Airline.
Written: Dec 28 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: On time arrival. Newer airplanes.
Cons: Very average service and meals.
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| onequest's Full Review: Air Jamaica |
A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I visited Jamaica for the third time. We are addicted to visiting Sandals resorts, Butch Stewart's all-inclusive, luxury resorts. Normally, we take American Airlines, but since we enjoyed Butch Stewart's resorts so much, we decided to try his airline, Air Jamaica.
Background: Air Jamaica was originally a government run airline. A couple of years back during deregulation, the airline was sold to Butch Stewart, owner of the Sandals resorts. Prior to his purchase, the airline had a reputation for late arrivals. Mr. Stewart used his marketing savvy and no nonsense operations experience to revive the airline.
Planes: He now has the newest airplanes in the Caribbean - Airbuses: A-321, MD-83 A-310, A-320 Lovebirds and new Atlantic Limousine the A-340. While the planes were new, we found that the seats were even smaller than American domestic flight seats. Beware any woman over a size 12 or any man taller than 5'11. On the way from Los Angeles, the flight was almost full and on the way back is was about 80% full.
Check In: We found the front desk agents to be friendly and helpful. The airline ticket was the same price as a ticket on American Airlines. Their marketing materials call their quality of service "Red Carpet Service." This may be over delivering the actual service. On their website, they say, "Rest assured that you can rely on Air Jamaica to be on-time and have no long lines at the check-in counter." In Los Angeles this was true, but in Montego Bay, we waited for about an hour in line prior to our flight. No red carpet service there.
Food: On their website they say, " Finest Meals in the Skies: Our delicious new meal service is being praised as the finest in the skies. And it's no wonder. With the recent addition of Chef Louis Bailey, each and every meal is prepared and served with perfection in mind. In fact it's not unusual to see Chef Bailey in the galley putting the finishing touches on a Jamaican dish, or walking up and down the aisle asking passengers if they've enjoyed their in-flight meal." This description is false. The food was disappointing. We did not see the chef walking down the aisles, or putting finishing touches on the food. Maybe if the marketing materials hadn't overdone it, the food wouldn't have been disappointing. We had small portions - American traditional chicken or fish entrees on the way back and a broccoli/cheese stuffed pastry on the way there. Nothing was uniquely Jamaican or special.
Flight Attendants: Overall, the flight attendants were efficient. They were what you would expect on a domestic flight, but not up to Sandals quality. Frankly, we were hoping for the "Sandals" quality of service: plenty of smiles, friendly banter, and impeccable service.
Compared to American Airlines and Delta, the only other carriers that fly to Montego Bay, Jamaica, Air Jamaica runs neck and neck with the other carriers. They are no better and no worse. Hopefully, the operations side of the business will be able to catch up with the Marketing side of the business.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
onequest
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Member: Monique Littlejohn
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Reviews written: 45
Trusted by: 19 members
About Me:
My journals are on my travel adventures and on products that I have tested.
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