Air Jamaica was established in October 1968 and started operations on 1 April 1969, connecting Kingston and Montego Bay, with New York and Miami[2]. At that time the Jamaican government owned a substantial part of the airline, with Air Canada owning a minor share and providing technical, maintenance and logistical help.
During the 1970s, Air Jamaica expanded rapidly. Flights were added to Toronto andMontreal in Canada, to Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico, toPhiladelphia and many other destinations, especially across the Caribbean. Long-haul services to Europe were started on 1 April 1974. Air Jamaica used Douglas DC-8s for a large part of the 1970s, but the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 727 jets became a part of the fleet towards the end of the decade when the government bought over Air Canada's small share. During the 1980s, growth slowed. Nevertheless, new routes were still opened, to Baltimore and Atlanta.
During the 1990s Air Jamaica continued to expand: the airline took over the Kingston-Nassau, Bahamasroute, which had been left by British Airways, began a code sharing agreement with Delta Air Lines and opened routes to Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix (which was later dropped), and to Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Santo Domingo and Ft. Lauderdale. The route to Phoenix was opened because Air Jamaica was looking for expansion in the American West, beyond its route to Los Angeles. In 1994 the company was partially privatized, with the government retaining 25% of the company and giving 5% of it to the airline's employees. It began buying Airbus equipment, including the Airbus A340, and began a feeder service, a frequent flyer program (7th Heaven), and an inflight magazine, named SkyWritings.
In December 2004, after financial losses, the Government of Jamaica took back full ownership of Air Jamaica. It employed 2,522 as of March 2007.[2] The last private owner was Gordon Stewart, chairman and founder of Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts.[3]
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