Fly Jamaica airlines has new owners and they have promised to address ticket refunds and the company’s current debt among other issues, even as plans are on stream to resume operations in Jamaica from September, the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) reported yesterday.
“The new owners, led by Yann LeProvost of the French-based company W&Y SAS, took over the (reins) on Friday from Guyanese operators [Ronald] and Roxanne Reece, and promised to address issues affecting the carrier, including the payment of salaries, ticket refunds and the payment of outstanding debt,” the CMC report said.
Contacted by Stabroek News yesterday, Ronald Reece would not admit or deny the sale, saying only, “I can’t make any comments now. We will get back to you.”
The airline had shuttered operations and laid off its local staff in March as it had no aircraft and was struggling with issues including the fallout from a November 9th 2018 incident, where six people were injured when the airline’s Toronto-bound Boeing 757-200, with 118 passengers and eight crew members aboard, made an emergency landing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri.
The crash put further strain on the company as its other aircraft was reportedly undergoing unscheduled maintenance and this resulted in numerous flights being delayed before eventually being cancelled. The Kingston, Jamaica-based airline was also slapped with two class action lawsuits for injuries and losses sustained in the crash landing on behalf of passengers in Canada.
Guyana’s Competition and Consumer Affairs Commission (CCAC), in May of this year, had said that it had received complaints and held discussions with the airline. The CCAC revealed that it had been in receipt of 46 complaints with an estimated value of $8,316,504.
It is unclear if Guyana will continue to be a destination for the carrier as Head of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) Egbert Field said that his agency has not been notified of the sale or plans for the Guyana market.
“The last we heard on Fly Jamaica was about three weeks ago when the owner came to us. He said that he was talking with some investors but didn’t give any details or say anything about operations here,” Field told Stabroek News yesterday.
He said that since they are a Jamaican company, they would have to inform the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority and not the GCAA.
The CMC report said that the team of investors includes Jamaican aviation veteran Glenn Logan.
Following the May meeting between the CCAC and Fly Jamaica, the CCAC issued a release informing that the airline had committed to working with the CCAC to process refunds for consumers by July 1 this year. The release also reported Ronald Reece as saying that he regretted the situation and looks forward to bringing closure to the matter. “Refunds to consumers is at the top of the company’s agenda,” he was quoted as saying.