The Editor, Sir:

The recent media dialogue on Air Jamaica has been somewhat of a comical paradox. For me, it positively demonstrates that our people are engaged in the process with ideas that could be considered by the Government.

On the other hand, there are those heaping praise for acts and omissions that created the airline's woes in the first place.

The Sunday Gleaner's article, 'Air Jamaica management gets high marks for new business plan', reinforces how gullible we sometimes are as Jamaicans. Triumph of the Jamaican spirit is much more powerful than this.

Mismanagement of yesteryear

By now, everyone must know that Aloha Airlines went out of business in March 2008 after earlier coming out of bankruptcy. In the height of its Atlanta frequency (with two flights per day), Air Jamaica's business benefited from 'points beyond' in a relationship with Delta Airlines as a feeder operation filling Air Jamaica's capacity to Jamaica.

Notwithstanding that Delta was allowed to encroach on Air Jamaica's business, Harbour Street's myopic strategies became its own undoing.

Management decisions of yesteryear reduced many of Air Jamaica's routes, like Atlanta and Miami to 'mostly origin' destinations when they should have developed into code-share opportunities with other airlines.

Short-sightedness having diminished the Air Jamaica's route structure, some routes are now reported as unprofitable.

Inadequate strategic fleet planning of yesteryear having driven aircraft operating lease costs out of control, the Government is now spending millions of benevolent US dollars in telling our owners (the people of Jamaica) that the aircraft fleet should be reduced by nearly 50 per cent.

In contrast, kudos to the upper sixth formers from St Catherine High School in their Gleaner letter, titled 'Issue: Offer Air Jamaica Shares to the Public' published on January 31. It is as obvious as it is profound, and such an idea demonstrates that our people are engaged.

Possible IPO/ESOP

In a four-page letter to Senator Don Wehby in February 2008, copied to the prime minister and Minister Mike Henry, (shortly after I resigned from Air Jamaica) I wrote, inter alia, about an IPO/ESOP:

"Air Jamaica's unit costs per available seat mile [CASM] compared to legacy US carriers are identifiable and controllable. It may be timely for the Government to offer an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) or Initial Public Offering (IPO) to the diaspora ahead of, or in conjunction with divestment, considering the global airline industry has historically depended on and these methods, along with creative aircraft asset management to achieve profitability. If the foregoing can be executed correctly, Air Jamaica can also be successful with its unique brand and Jamaican customer loyalty.

"An IPO may provide an innovative and objective approach to governance of Air Jamaica rather than relinquishing control, believing that the new owners will retain the same passion for the piece of Jamaica that flies. There must be a shift in the paradigm about the root cause of the airlines' woes, that only overseas interests can manage the airline and that expertise must be imported. Unfortunately, the public has been negatively conditioned through misinformation about Air Jamaica and its journey to a US$1.1 billion deficit and continued losses.

"Air Jamaica has been severely undercapitalised with its business unduly mortgaged, leveraged and securitised with little to entice potential airline investors, excepting brand recognition. (The real value of the brand 'Air Jamaica' is to Jamaicans all over the world). Without a Jamaican IPO, it compromises the airline to again be leveraged for other business avenues into Jamaica, without guaranteed benefit to the thousands of Jamaicans who could be directly or indirectly impacted by the cessation (or mutilation) of the Air Jamaica operations by an outside entity. The MIT study of 2005 documents the hundreds of millions of US dollars of economic impact annually to the Jamaican economy. [US$5.491 billion between 1995 and 2004] .."

Travesty continues

Much of the message in that letter, of a year ago, is now coming to fruition as many feed on the remains of the 'Lovebird' when it should really have developed into the pride of a people.

But the paradoxical debate about a national travesty continues.

I am,etc.,

DAVID WELLER

dmwone57@yahoo.com