The CEO of the Barbados-based discount airline REDjet has said the airline is seeking approval for a Jamaican airline.
Ian Burns is quoted in the Jamaica Observer newspaper as saying that the airline hopes to get the green light from the Jamaican government in 2012.
"We had our difficulty before because of the divestment of Air Jamaica,” Burns told the paper.
“Air Jamaica is no longer around and so we believe those barriers have been taken down and we should be approved, hopefully sometime next year, and we can start operations out of Jamaica. That should bring somewhere in the region of six to seven hundred jobs to Jamaica," he added.
Air Jamaica is now owned by the Trinidad and Tobago national carrier, Caribbean Airlines. Jamaica has retained a 16 per cent stake in Air Jamaica.
Burns said the new airline would trade as REDjet but it will be owned mostly by Jamaicans.
"All our cabin crew, pilots, all our engineers, flight dispatch officers, all our ground handling services, all those services will be provided from Jamaica, by Jamaicans," he said.
"Our plan will be to build our fleet here, specifically in Jamaica, from five to 10 aircraft. That will be built on a solid business foundation and we will grow as the demand is there for our service," he added.
REDjet currently serves selected destinations in the region, inlcuding a service through Trinidad. It hopes to begin serving six destinations in late November.
"We had our difficulty before because of the divestment of Air Jamaica,” Burns told the paper.
“Air Jamaica is no longer around and so we believe those barriers have been taken down and we should be approved, hopefully sometime next year, and we can start operations out of Jamaica. That should bring somewhere in the region of six to seven hundred jobs to Jamaica," he added.
Air Jamaica is now owned by the Trinidad and Tobago national carrier, Caribbean Airlines. Jamaica has retained a 16 per cent stake in Air Jamaica.
Burns said the new airline would trade as REDjet but it will be owned mostly by Jamaicans.
"All our cabin crew, pilots, all our engineers, flight dispatch officers, all our ground handling services, all those services will be provided from Jamaica, by Jamaicans," he said.
"Our plan will be to build our fleet here, specifically in Jamaica, from five to 10 aircraft. That will be built on a solid business foundation and we will grow as the demand is there for our service," he added.
REDjet currently serves selected destinations in the region, inlcuding a service through Trinidad. It hopes to begin serving six destinations in late November.
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