I'd rather swim next time (Air Jamaica)

Member Name: kingseany

Product:	Air Jamaica
Date:	29/12/05 (2931 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You end up in Jamaica, hopefully

Disadvantages: Poor customer services, poor organization, bad communication

We flew Air Jamaica mid November this year, and returned in December. We also had an additional unexpected short trip with them, so you could say we've flown with them 3 times.

After an uneventful 2 hour trip from Stockholm to Heathrow, we had several hours to kill before stepping abord the 350 seater A340 Airbus to take us to Montego Bay. Check-in opened four hours before the departure time, to allow for the often time consuming baggage handling - Jamaicans have a habit of travelling anything but light. After a 20 minute wait or so, we were checked in.

We were quite taken aback when it came to boarding, and everything seemed on time. We were greeted by cabin crew, pointed in the direction of our seats, and not long after, in the air. The plane and staff were tidy, and we were given free headphones, pillows, blankets and a bathroom pack.

Flight time should be in the region of 10 hours or so.

I suffer from extreme back pain when sitting for long periods, so was up and down whenever I could. The seats though were comfortable enough. In flight entertainment was the usual radio channels, about 15 or so playing reggae to rap. They did tend to repeat after a while though. There were three up to date films, although I must admit didn't really get into any of them. It's difficult if you are not sitting right next to a monitor as there are people walking around constantly. In between films, there were monitors displaying our position, ETA, outside temp etc, which when you are flying over the Atlantic, isn't particularly interesting.

The bar service started within the first hour of flight, along with a first meal - chicken or fish, and it was ok as airline food goes. Air Jamaica makes a big thing of their Champagne flights, and no matter what class you are in, it's available. I preferred to stick to Appleton Rum, possible the best Jamaican rum there is. Wine, beers and a full range of spirits are also available as well as soft drinks and hot beverages. It's all included in the price of seat. Not long after, a second bar service round was made, but just as it got to our seat, the fasten seatbelt signs came on, and the cabin crew vanished. A while later we noticed people seemingly carrying their own drinks from somewhere, so I made a trip to the back of the plane, where they were serving like a traditional bar! Perhaps this was a locals secret, as no announcements were made. Later in the journey, the trolley rounds were made again as normal.

Due to the amount of free flowing alcohol, some of the less educated passengers became a little rowdy. Several congregations of passengers built up, and people were taking absolutely no notice of fasten seatbelt notices. One passenger decided to light up in the toilets. The staff didn't seem to be in control, so I'd mark them down on potential safety issues.

A second meal was served later on in the flight.

One of the passengers then became ill, it became apparent quite seriously. The captain announced that we would need to make an unscheduled landing in Bermuda, a small island in the Atlantic. Now, I've always wanted to go to Bermuda, but not in this situation. Passengers were obviously upset, but if it was an emergency, of course it was fine. The flight path changed, and after a failed landing, a second one touched down on a rainswept and windy island. We remained seated on the plane while the passenger was taken off, then luggage, and the necessary paperwork was done. We then took off again, and ETA to Montego Bay was 3 hours - I think we all thought it a lot closer.

Nearing Jamaica, there was another announcement. We would now be landing in Kingston, the capital due to ground staff not being available - we were now too late to be processed. Kingston is only a further 20 minutes by plane, but absolutely no where near Montego Bay by road transport, plus we were due to travel on to Negril, another 90 minutes from Mo Bay. We actually wanted to see Kingston, but not the airport at the dead of night. There was no apology from Air Jamaica, but they said arrangements would be made at the airport. It was the early hours of the morning when we arrived at Kingston, and after a painstaking queue at passport/immigration we were ready to sleep anywhere. We were directed to Air Jamaica reps who had arranged for us to stay at the Hilton in Kingston for the night, with a flight to Mo Bay the following afternoon. We were told the Hilton was of equal standard as the one we had booked in Negril. Transport was provided, and we arrived wearily at the Hilton. I'm not going to comment on the hotel here, suffice to say, it wasn't very good.

The following morning (actually the same morning), we had breakfast but had heard nothing from Air Jamaica about our flight. We found out that some of the guests had decided against the flight, and taken 5 hour coach rides across the country. Eventually we had information that we would be picked up at midday, for a 15.30 flight. When we arrived at the airport, it was chaotic. Angry passengers were at breaking point, as there seemed absolutely no organization from Air Jamaica. Tickets had been printed for all those concerned, and a rep shouted out names, and we clambered to get them. My first name was completely wrong, and my girlfriends was mis-spelt - when I told them they said - "doesn't matter you are only flying to Mo Bay". Then we were told to leave our luggage in one place, queue up to check in. Once we got to checkin, we were told to get our luggage. We got our boarding pass eventually and a meal voucher for lunch, equal to around £3 each. Attempting to get through security into departures - of course we were stopped - names don't match your passports. They sent us back to check-in. At this point I started to get mad, and after much discussion between staff members, we were escorted through security personally, jumping any more queues.

Our flight was then called, and we took an uneventful 20 minute flight to Montego Bay, and connected up for our onward trip to Negril. We arrived at our correct hotel almost 24 hours late.

The holiday was great though, more about that in a seperate review. During the 2 weeks, we didn't hear anything from Air Jamaica, not one word. An apology would have been nice. We didn't look forward to the journey home with Air Jamaica either, although being a night flight, was uneventful and thankfully on schedule. The plane did seem very empty though, it could not have been profitable to run.

OK, so Air Jamaica wasn't to blame for someone being sick, granted. What annoyed us though was that they didn't seem to care that we lost a day of our holiday, and suffered horrendous times going through the airports. Customer service was poor and no apologies were made. In addition they told us various lies. On this basis, I cannot recommend flying with them, and if you have an alternative, I suggest you take it.

You can read more about Air Jamaica at http://www.airjamaica.com/

Summary: Not a pleasant flight