Air Jamaica Dilemma
I did not realized that I would have felt so sadden by the news that the Government had decided to sell our airline to Trinidad. I have been fallowing this back and forth in the gleaner regarding Air Jamaica but I didn’t realized that this decision would affect me that much.
I felt lost as if someone had ripped away part of my being one may say it is a mere business transaction and because the Airline is in such economic turmoil then we must sell.
What about the psychological impact that this will have on Jamaicans and its visitors. We are not about to rationalized no economic reasoning by the Jamaica Government or the IMF. This will take away from the norm of what our Jamaica vacation used to be. No more are the days when we would be greeted by the beautiful colors of our aircraft instead we are greeted by a depressing blank state which does not lift the excitement that ignites when we see the love birds as it stands out in any crowd with its bright gold and orange accentuated by that blue.
Many may say what is the big deal its just an aircraft that is painted with some bright colors but you see that’s just not it the experience is a complete package.
Thoughts started running through my in regard to the safety of the Caribbean airline. Yes I have never heard of the airline crashing but that does not abate my concerns because I know for sure the sense of protection and security that I felt when traveling on Air Jamaica. What will happen to the many wonderful staff that are with Air Jamaica especially the pilots who have kept us secure and safe for all these years.
These are some of my concerns and I am sure that many Jamaicans are feeling a sense of great loss by a decision made by the Government of Jamaica.
Francis Buchanan
Filed under: Current Affairs
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Loading ...
As a native of Jamaica and a transplant to the US in 1972 I can say for certain that I have mixed views about the sale of Air Jamaica. On one hand we are certainly losing a great Jamaican icon and heritage and on the other hand let’s look at why the airline has come under such financial struggle. It would not matter to me how many years I have spent in the US. While I am a US citizen I am still JAMAICAN born and my soul and spirit are that of a culture steeped in pride and in excellence. But there is a significant difference between excellence and arrogance. Some times we we have know that we are the fore runner and that people have few choices, our demeanor tends to change to a level of complacency that is unaccceptable at best and foolish at worst. As a university professor in the areas of brand and business development including entrepreneurship and marketing I teach my stduents about the interconnectivity between the service one receives and the person offering the service. In essence they are connected. So if someone is just serving you a plate of airline food because that is what is done at that juncture of your flight, but they have had a horrible, condescending, arrogant disposition from the onset of you flight, you will not remember thaÞ you were so hungry you even ate the dry roll. What you remember is that person serving you. You can forgive the roll being dry if the person serving you provided the “buttering” up to make you feel like you matter. What I mean by this is, Air Jamaica enjoyed market leadership for years. But over the years it forgot that the PEOPLE are who keep the business running. And this is true on both sides of the equation. No amount of champagne can have you forgiving poor customer service, elevated interpersonal commuication skills and excellent product marketing from the people on the front like; the desk personnel and the flight attendants. On several locations we have (as a family) attempted to take pride in our country and fly the native bird home and on as equal amount of times we have been gravely dissapointed with the level and quality of customer service received. It’s as if the ticket has already been bought and paid for so now we can treat ýou any kind of way and YOU the CUSTOMER have nothing to say about it. When will industries that dependon front line customers train their staff to understand the connection between that CUSTOMER and their GROCERIES at home, that CUSTOMER and the RENT/MORTGAGE being paid, that customer and the NEW CLOTHES, SHOES, FOOD, whatever. That link has beeb broken while who should be leaders sit is glass towers forgetting that the CUSTOMER is what matters first and foremost. Now peoplehave choices. There are numerous airlines that fly to Jamaica with a much greater level of customer care and value. They get it. Air Jamaica has slowly gotten out of touch with the very thing that got them to be in the top rankings in the first place. So does this make me sad? Absolutely! We already know that Jamaicans can carry an aire of sophistication that can readily and sometimes rightfully so, be misinterpreted as arrogance and indifference! We need to wake up and as a “unified people” smell the Blue Mountain coffee! We need to operater from a place of true excellence where ALL people matter and put the LOVE back in the LOVE BIRD. These days you have to work for every customer you get. But getting and keeping them are two different business models. Most everyone who goes to Jamaica wants to go back but what’s the value if they go back on another airline. There are numerous US airlines who have weathered the global financial downturn. Air Jamaica is not unique. But what is unique about Air Jamaica is that it did not grow and evolve with its changing market. It assumed that just flying people back and forth was enough and clearly its not. So indeed I’m saddened, I’m heartbroken that we fly so close to the suin but can’t see the light. I’m stunned that from a tiny rock known for such magnificence that we would opt to sell out! That’s NOT in our character and NOT what we should do! If we want to be superstars then we have to behave as such and start reflecting the truth of who we are into the lives of everyone we encounter. Even if that means telling them kindly to fasten their seatbelt!