FLY Jamaica, the new Jamaican air carrier led by Guyanese Captain Ronald Reece, was unable to take off on its inaugural flight — for the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York from the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica, WI, — as planned on Friday last.
In a message to customers on its Facebook page last week, Fly Jamaica said: “Unfortunately, the plan to have our inaugural flight on Friday January 25, has been disrupted.”
It explained: “The operation of this flight was contingent on the bookings made on our website, but regrettably, a test run of the site revealed some technical problems that threatened the scheduled launch of the site; the effect of which resulted in persons being unable to complete bookings.”
The statement continued: “You will be duly informed of the new scheduled date. In the interim, feel free to contact us at 1-855-4flyjm. We look forward to taking your calls and addressing your queries.”
The new airline stated: “We give you assurance that every effort is being made to rectify these glitches, and we thank you for your patience.”
Fly Jamaica Airways was launched at Devonshire, in Kingston, Jamaica on January 16th last, during which it was announced that the inaugural flight was scheduled for New York on January 25.
On the same day, the airline had acknowledged that it was having problems with its website, and those problems were causing some anxiety among potential customers.
In a Facebook message on January 16th, the airline had said: “We know that you are anxious about the website, and we will have news about it soon. We sincerely appreciate your patience and support. Thank you.”
Fly Jamaica Airways received its air operating certificate, to operate as an airline, from the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority in September 2012. It received permission from the United States Department of Transport to fly to and from America on December 18th last.
Fly Jamaica Airways is a partnership venture between Guyanese Captain Ronald Reece and three Jamaican shareholders — Captain Lloyd Tai; and Manager of In-flight Services, Christine Steele; both former senior officials of Air Jamaica, the former Jamaica carrier.
The collaboration between the Guyanese and the Jamaicans has been hailed as the first in the history of aviation in the Caribbean, and Guyanese Captain Ronald Reece, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, has been hailed as the first person to certify a large airline in the Caribbean, and to have done it in record time.
The airline’s chief operating officer, Captain Lloyd Tai, has said that flights would be made to the JFK Airport in New York, but plans are in the pipeline also to fly to Toronto and also to Guyana.
