AIR JAMAICA review : 15 May 2009 : by T Potter
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
During a recent trip to Negril Jamaica we had a major medical problem and had to delay for one
day. The reservations clerk told us it would be $150 each to reschedule - then the clerk
said no, this is a one way (it was our original booking) it will be $280 for each, a total of
$560. This is a rip-off pure and simple. A terrible airline and I will never fly it again.
AIR JAMAICA review : 13 January 2009 : by D Dunn
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Original plan to fly JFK to Grenada. Air Jamaica with short notice cancelled the return
flight and replaced it 1 day later. We were lucky to have a room available for the extra day
during our hotel's busy season. I tried to contact customer service to express my complaint
and was told to send e-mail. After several messages stating that e-mail could not be
delivered I finally got one to go through but no one responded. I tried to pre-register on-
line within the 4-24 hours prior to the flight but I was unable to. We were told to arrive
three hours prior to our departure time of 0630 but the ticket counter was not staffed until
0500. They started to board the plane which had been at the gate all night and then had to
stop due to a maintenance issue. After the three hour delay we boarded and taxied to the
runway but was then told one of the generators would not start and had to return to the gate.
It took 2.5 hours to make the repairs during which time many passengers became edgy and the
pilot was slow in keeping the passengers informed of the progress. Finally we were off and
arrived 6 hours later than scheduled (total of 7.5 hours on the plane). I again tried to
pre-register on-line within the 4-24 hours prior to the return flight but I was unable to.
On our return flight which was stated as nonstop, some but not all of the passengers were
informed that we needed to stop in Kingston Jamaica to refuel the plane which had just
arrived from Montego Bay. This made a nonstop flight of 5 hours last an additional 2 hours
for a total of 7 hours on the plane which is not great when you have back pain as I do. AJ
makes this flight several times per week so they should have known that refueling would be
necessary and should not advertise the flight as nonstop which is the main reason for
selecting them. It would appear more logical to refuel the plane while it was at Montego Bay
or while it was in Grenada but maybe there is a difference in the fuel cost. It seems that
Air Jamaica has a reputation of being late, I will not use them again.
AIR JAMAICA review : 22 December 2008 : by C Charles
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Customer Rating : 4/5 |  |
I fly with Air Jamaica twice annually from Grenada to New York aboard the Airbus 320/321. Their food
is above average for airline food, they offer movies for the inflight entertainment. Flight
Attendants are courteous, friendly and cooperative. They offer champagne inflight which is
complimentary. The obstacle hindering them is their punctuality, they just cant seem to have one
week of operation without delays.
AIR JAMAICA review : 1 December 2008 : by Paul Shindelus
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Customer Rating : 2/5 |  |
While it wasn't the worst flight experience I've ever had, it left a poor first impression and I
will think twice before flying them again. The first leg, LAX to Montego Bay left 45 minutes late
because the crew was so slow cleaning the cabin. It was almost comical: they announced 30 minutes
before the scheduled departure time that they were about to begin boarding, and by departure time we
were all still standing there waiting to board and listening to our third or fourth "We're sorry for
the delay but the crew is still in the process of cleaning the cabin" announcement. Naturally the
flight arrived late to Jamaica as a consequence. The onboard service was below average: the flight
attendants were not rude, but seemed indifferent to the passengers and unenthused about their jobs.
Two of them even got into a minor argument in the middle of the aisle because one didn't think the
other was being aggressive enough in telling people to raise their seatbacks before landing. So
while the flight to MBJ wasn't without problems, it wasn't anything I couldn't forgive. However,
the flight back to LAX was a nightmare and likely sealed my fate as a "one-and-done" Air Jamaica
customer. We arrived at the airport 3 hours early, and it's a good thing, because we spent a
ridiculous 1 hour, 45 minutes in the ticket line! I don't know if they didn't have enough check-in
people or the ones they had were too slow, but if we'd arrived 2 hours early as the airline industry
recommends for international flights, we'd likely have missed our flight. We had the same problem
with late boarding that we'd incurred at LAX, they announced they were about to begin boarding and
then it took 20 minutes to actually begin. Then we get on the plane and they told us our non-stop
flight had been changed to include a stop in Miami. The reasons they gave were the direct MBJ-LAX
route was experiencing turbulence (although the MIA/LAX route we ended up taking turned out to be
awfully turbulent); and (2) with a full flight and headwinds, the plane would not make it all the
way to LAX. Honestly, what kind of airline schedules a non-stop flight that can't make it to its
destination non-stop? Full flights and headwinds can and should be anticipated when airline
schedules are being made. So we flew to Miami, spent more than an hour on the tarmac getting
refueled, and continued on to LAX. Once again we had an indifferent, unenthusiastic flight crew
that provided service that was average at best. We arrived about an hour-and-a-half late because of
the Miami fiasco. Not only was that a major inconvenience for us, but as the plane was immediately
returning to MBJ on a red-eye, a huge inconvenience for the passengers of that flight as well. If
there were positives, they didn't lose our luggage, they didn't cancel our flight (I've read Air
Jamaica is notorious for last-minute cancelations), they served free champagne in coach, the meals
were free (unlike some carriers) and were actually not bad for airline food. But overall it was a
difficult and disappointing experience, especially on the return flight.
AIR JAMAICA review : 21 October 2008 : by K Walters
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Customer Rating : 3/5 |  |
Air Jamaica FLL to KIN. Check in was chaotic because of the lack of space at FLL but otherwise the
flight left on time and we had a hot meal and in flight entertainment. The return flight was delayed
for about 2 hrs. Overall it was an average experience.
AIR JAMAICA review : 31 July 2008 : by Alison Williams
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
I traveled with AJ and was very disappointed. The aircraft was very old, the service hostile and
rude, you were made to feel as if you were putting staff out of their way. On arriving at Montego
bay airport and queuing for 20mins the check in desk was closed then reopened 10 mins later. In
total my flight was meant to leave at 5.35 pm and it was delayed by 11hrs and 30mins and all the
while no one came to tell us anything - even when we got on the plane it was delayed by another hour
due to over selling seats. If I could I would give it no stars.
AIR JAMAICA review : 7 July 2008 : by L Harms
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Curacao via Montego Bay to Kingston and back. It was one of the worst experience I made. Both
flights were late. The first one 6.5 hours and the flight back two hours. The service on ground was
nothing. No information about flights. You were sitting all the time in the dark. In Kingston
(capital of Jamaica) there are now screens informing about the flight situation. And if you ask any
officials, also nothing. Nobody knew anything. If you have a choice take another airline.
AIR JAMAICA review : 7 July 2008 : by A McBride
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
My husband and I were travelling Montego Bay to Curacao on the 11:25 flight. We were told at check-
in that the flight was delayed for about 2 hours, and were given a food voucher between us to the
value of US$15. Several hours later we had still not left the airport. There were no public service
announcements made about our flight. It was only by looking at the arrival/departure information
boards that we discovered that the flight was delayed further. Then around 17:30 there was an
announcement that the flight had been cancelled, without apology or any explanation. Passengers were
then informed that they should go to the customer service desk. When we got there it was absolute
chaos. Again there was no explanation as to why the flight had been cancelled and we were told that
the next flight to Curacao was in 2 days time (1st July 2008). There were 3 members of staff there
but only one was trying (badly) to deal with the passengers. In the end we had no choice but to give
up, go back through customs etc, collect our luggage, and go back through to the check-in desks to
be dealt with. The lady there was very helpful, reserving our flight in 2 days time, and booking us
in at a hotel for 2 nights, with complimentary taxi. When we arrived at the airport on 1st July,
again at check-in we were told at 9:30 a.m. that the flight was delayed about 2 hours and whilst we
were checking in were then told that it would not depart until 17:50 In actual fact the flight did
not take off until 19:06 and when we finally arrived at our hotel in Curacao we were 2 and half days
late. The only apology we had was from the Captain addressing the whole plane who apologised for the
delay on 1st July and explained that it was due to the fact that there was a shortage of planes due
to maintenance issues. After this trip we are not planning on using Air Jamaica again.
AIR JAMAICA review : 5 July 2008 : by Pam Hicks
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Our flight experiences from "Hell!" My family and friends (21 of us total) flew from BWI to Montego
Bay on Friday, June 27 for vacation in Negril. Having flown quite often previous to this, we arrived
at the airport nearly three hours prior to the planned flight. Upon check in, we were told our
flight was delayed by three hours because the originating flight from Jamaica the night prior had
not arrived in Baltimore. Our reservations made nearly six months in advance, we planned to be in
Jamaica by 12:30 pm, leaving lots of time for sun and fun upon arrival at our resort. As it turned
out our flight did not leave until 12:30 pm (from our original 8:35 am time). The plane was old,
the seats worn out with no cushion, and the bracing supports poked us in the back for our entire
three hour flight. Upon arrival in Montego Bay, it took another 1 1/2 hours to collect our baggage
due to Air Jamaica's backwards off-loading and lack of assistance with excess/unclaimed luggage.
Sadly, our return flight home was even worse. Tired and ready to leave Montego Bay at 4:50 pm
yesterday, we arrived only to find that our plane had been "down-graded," leaving 36 passengers
without seats or arrangements for flights, food, or overnight accomodation. Only twelve from our
group made it onto the flight, which was also delayed for some unknown reason and didn't actually
leave the terminal until about 7:00 pm. The rest of us attempted to arrange other flights from the
island to just simply get us back into the states. Myself, my husband and my two children were set
to leave on a 7:35 pm flight into Atlanta, Georgia with an overnight stay and then leave this
morning at 7:00 am for Baltimore. The remainder of our friends were to leave at 7:00 pm for New
York with arrangements for transportation upon arrival from New York to BWI. At 7:00 pm, last
evening our Atlanta flight was cancelled without warning or explanation! And, again leaving a very
large, angry crowd trying to make alternate arrangements. In order to get our daughters home as
quickly as possible to avoid further upset about not going home, we were forced to again change our
reservations which would allow the four women to leave the island heading for New York. We boarded
our plane believing we were "on our way." Unfortunately, we wound up sitting on the plane for an
additional 1 1/2 hours awaiting passengers from an arriving flight from Kingston. Had the pilot
refused to wait, the remainder of our families, as well as other families who were also previously
bumped several times, could have been heading home. But, NO! We waited, arriving in New York at
2:40 this morning. We still had to drive 3 1/2 hours south to Baltimore to pick up our car and then
an additional 1 hour to home. We finally arrived home this morning at 6:45 am, exhausted,
frustrated, and discouraged about the whole experience. My husband, son, and our two friends
unfortunately are still not home! Their flight from Montego Bay was further delayed this morning
from 7 am until 11:40 am landing them in Miami at about 1:30 pm, but their connecting flight with
American Airlines (set to leave at 8:00 pm for Baltimore) did not leave until 20 minutes ago (9:05
pm). They will not be home until about 1:00 am tomorrow morning, making this attempt to leave this
beautiful island a horrible two-day experience and a terrible ending to a wonderful vacation. It is
very sad that this type of experience is now the norm instead of the exception. We have received
no explanation, apology, or other benefit from Air Jamaica, and probably never will. My advice - Be
very wary of booking any flights with Air Jamaica!
AIR JAMAICA review : 17 May 2008 : by D Mauro
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
JFK-GND-JFK. Nightmare airline - canceled my flight from JFK-GND. Apparently, this airline cancels
flights all the time when flights aren't full. They took all passengers on a roller coaster ride of
lines, check-ins, lies, and miscommunication. I ended up getting out the next day with a connection
in BGI. Boarding took almost an hour and was not at all organized; the flight was completely full
because they combined it with yesterday's canceled flight! I chose Air Jamaica to avoid a
connection and ended up having it anyway. FAs had an attitude both ways and the food was typical
airline cuisine. Although, you get a complimentary plastic cup of cheap champagne (a joke). To sum
up this airline - on the return flight (GND-BGI-JFK) the pilot announced that the plane was headed
to Kingston by mistake! Fortunately, he corrected himself and we did get into JFK on time. If you
take this airline expect cancellations- this is how they operate.
AIR JAMAICA review : 30 April 2008 : by Norma Faul
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
My husband and I were booked to Barbados on April 13th from JFK. The flight was canceled and we
departed on April 15th, losing 2 days. Return flight April 28th was 2 hours late for departure from
Barbados arriving JFK 0115am at an insane time, and no luggage on arrival. I am tired of hearing
the reason was weight distribution when in effect it was making more money on cargo and sending the
luggage with another airline. I should have taken the hint when our luggage at Grantley Adams
Airport was checked in, that the check in handler asked if our name tags were on our luggage. This
is the first and last time we will ever travel with Air Jamaica. We were treated as human Cargo.
Rule number one, all passengers must check in 2 hrs before departure - obediently we did and people
who checked in much later than we did, received their luggage and we paid for first Class service
and received tourist class service.
AIR JAMAICA review : 30 April 2008 : by M Delaney
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Customer Rating : 1/5 |  |
Air Jamaica nightmare JFK-Barbados return. Too many inconveniences, problems, rudeness and lack of
professionalism to detail here, but includes changing the flight times five times before traveling
and not notifying passengers (when the flight was leaving an hour earlier than scheduled!), not
seating families together (even those with small children). No headphones working, no film shown,
oversold flight on the return leg that left scores of people stranded in Barbados on a Sunday night,
and then to top it off, no luggage on arrival in NYC for approximately half the passengers. Any
complaint to any member of Air Jamaica staff yields only hostile, rude, defiant responses - been
traveling throughout the world for more than 30 years and have never encountered such a poorly run
operation - stay away from Air Jamaica!
Air Jamaica review - by J Otterman
23 April 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
Had quite an entertaining flight on Air Jamaica Ft. Lauderdale to Montego Bay on 12 April. After a
60 minute delay taking off, the captain apologized saying that there had been a "maintenance issue"
that had been taken care of. Twenty minutes into the flight, we do a gradual 180 degree turn, the
captain says "we are returning to Ft. Lauderdale because we cannot pressurize the aircraft." OK...
thank God it was discovered, and we were able to land safely. Great discretion on his part. Here is
where it gets good... after being left in the dark inside the FLL AJ terminal for nearly an hour, we
are told that busses are on the way to "drive us to Miami for departure". OK... Air Jamaica is too
cheap to fly the jet from MIA to FLL and pick us up, so it's time for a 45 minute bus ride. There
was obviously no plan in place for this as everyone's luggage was being thrown around and the FLL
baggage staff was cursing the passengers - it was incredibly unprofessional. On the bus, I asked the
female AJ representative if they would provide us with meals, etc., to which she replied "Yes". I
since learned that they say yes to anything to keep everyone calm. Nice trick. Inside the MIA
terminal, they require us to go through the check in process again - guess who I get to deal with?
The same lady, who now says we will get a "snack" in flight. Air Jamaica are a low class operation
that need to maintain their fleet and train their staff or they will be joining the growing list of
airlines being put out of business.
Air Jamaica review - by H Powel
9 March 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
I booked round trip tickets from Fort Lauderdale to Barbados. The day before our flight Air Jamaica
cancelled the flight out of Fort Lauderdale. Since we were staying overnight in Fort Lauderdale, we
could either get Air Jamaica at 7am or we could fly out of Miami on a nonstop. So we had to be
driven to Miami in Friday rush hour to make the plane. Then 2 days later Air Jamaica cancelled the
return flight. They said we could fly with them all day or take the flight to Miami on American, but
they wouldn't give us similar tickets (1st class). They'd give us a partial refund. We had to pay
$640 to get seats on AA in row 33. And then go through Miami on a Sunday night. The airport was a
madhouse. We then had a driver take us back to Fort Lauderdale to spend the night before heading
home the next day. What was supposed to be an easy trip turned out to be a nightmare and expensive
to boot. We will Never fly on Air Jamaica again and I strongly suggest no one should book Air
Jamaica for flights out of Fort Lauderdale.
Air Jamaica review - by B Cavendish
13 January 2008 Customer Trip Rating : 
Baltimore to Bonaire via Montego suffered from excruciatingly slow check in. Seats were terrible
seats on both legs -- holes in the middle and an uncomfortable bar across the back. Headphones
didn't work. But that was the good half of the flight. Coming home, huge delays in Curacao caused
us to miss connection in Montego Bay. All during the delay, the posting claimed "on time" until it
said "departed" when no plane was still in sight. Three calls to the 800 number resulted in no
rebooking help. I was told they'd accommodate us in Montego Bay. No luck. They handed us tickets
that would have gotten us in at one in the morning the following day. I got on the phone and found
much better tickets, getting in closer to home, at 9 pm. The promised pick up at the hotel never
came; we were on our own. Multiple agents at customer service, but not multiple people working.
Delta ended up bringing us home and they'd be the ones to patronize, not Air Jamaica.
Air Jamaica review - by Andrey Gerasenkov
28 November 2007 Customer Trip Rating : 
JFK-MBJ return in economy onboard A321. Good onboard service with hot dinner and sparkling wine,
served by smiling and helpful FA's. Legroom acceptable for a 3.5 hour flight.
Air Jamaica review - by N Clark
18 September 2007 Customer Trip Rating : n/a
I have flown JM mostly between Ft. Lauderdale and Kingston, but never long-haul. Business Class
seating is comfortable and the service is courteous and correct, but not memorable. Check-in at FLL
is usually chaotic, due to inadequate space in FLL's infamous Terminal 4. Check-in at KIN is usually
very efficient and friendly, notwithstanding all the unpleasant aspects of Norman Manley International
Airport, which is currently undergoing massive expansion. The big negatives with Air Jamaica, at least
on this short, heavily travelled route, are flight delays and cancellations (frequent) and cabin
conditions in coach (frequently filthy). Fares are low from FLL, so one can usually afford Business
Class for about the price of coach on AA from MIA. It's worth a few additional dollars.
Air Jamaica review - by J Riddle
9 August 2007
JFK- St. Lucia Executive Business. All in all a pleasant experience. Without question the biggest
surprise was the Business lounge at JFK. It's shared with Thai, Aer Lingus, and others, but at this
time of the morning it was just us, and had a great selection of drinks, snacks and breakfast items
and it offered plenty of comfy sofas to stretch out on. Flights slightly delayed both ways, no big
deal. Seats comfy, a bit more so on the A320 return flight. (Outbound flight on A321). Biggest
disappointment was the meal service, both breakfast out and dinner return rather bland and tasteless.
FA's pleasant enough, offered unlimited drink refills, a special kudos to the outbound ladies who kept
us refreshed during our stopover in Barbados (you are unable to get off here, and the cabin gets
rather stuffy). Hot towels given out before meal service, a nice touch that is disappearing from many
carriers. IFE did not work on the return flight, and the A320 in general looked like it could have
used a refurb. All in all though a good way to get to the Caribbean, and Executive Business is
definitely worth the modest upgrade price!
Air Jamaica review - by D Jenkins
13 July 2007
I have been using Air Jamaica for eleven years now. I travel each year
from Atlanta to Montego Bay, Jamaica. I have experienced a delay or two,
but all airlines have hindrances from time to time. Onboard the
aircraft, service is welcoming and pleasant as well as professional. I
consider Air Jamaica’s fleet top notch. I even consider the quality and
taste of the meals above standard, for airline food. I encourage you to
give Air Jamaica an opportunity if your travels take you to the
Caribbean.
Air Jamaica review - by David Townsend
21 January 2007
LHR-MBJ-LHR in First/Business Exec. I had booked this seat on a
combination of transferable Delta miles and cash payment for the upgrade
to what at the time of booking was still termed First Class and has now
been rebranded to Executive Business. The rebranding exercise is
obviously aimed at cutting costs - and with it reducing service levels.
I had not flown JM before and was somewhat apprehensive given their high
levels of delays and warnings from friends living on the island about
the level of service. Despite the ordeals suffered by fellow reviewers
below both flights left and departed bang on time. On the outbound LHR-
MBJ cabin crew were essentially indifferent with one notable exception.
The inflight amenity kit was pathetically poor, cleanliness of the
aircraft was sub-standard notably the washrooms including the dedicated
one for Exec Business passengers and the inflight entertainment
derisory. This consisted of two movies, one of which was Home Alone and
of such poor quality it was unviewable. Only two of the audio channels
were working and the system (such as it was) had to be rebooted five
times during the flight. On the return the IFE was better in that it had
three films working properly. Meals outbound were only of a high charter
standard - nothing more - drinks were available on request but given
reluctantly. Water/juice was never offered. The pre-arrival meal
consisted of two dry finger sandwiches and an inedible scone. The food
was actually worse on the return - and the breakfast was pathetic - I
have had better in economy on US carriers - and that's saying something.
Flying JM from LHR entitles you to use the Virgin clubhouse - the return
gets you to JM's business "cupboard" in Montego Bay. Two hours before
departure there was no more food available apart from some potato chips.
Staff were unhelpful and unfriendly. Air Jamaica's First/Exec Bus class
seats are fine although dated - they do permit some form of sleep but I
cannot see how anyone would justify spending a large amount of money for
what is truly poor service. I wonder how JM will survive now Virgin is
flying the route. I think they need to buck their ideas up. The JM crews
were very indifferent to passengers and are obviously seriously
demotivated.
Air Jamaica review - by Kim Farminer
7 November 2006
With reference to the comment on 5th November, we flew out with them
Heathrow to Montego Bay on 21st Oct. Flight 25 minutes late, thats okay.
Flight was okay, just wish the flight attendants were more cheerful and
smiled occasionally. Plenty of leg room. Our flight due to return at
Heathrow on 1st November was cancelled also. We only knew when we got
the hotel to check if we would be going via Kingston, as previous
flights had earlier in the week. They then told us the flight was
cancelled. We battled to stay in our hotel rather than going to Montego
Bay as Air Jamaica wanted us to. We were told our flight would be the
next day going via Kingston. We eventually landed back at Heathrow 26
1/2 hours later than we were supposed to be. The transfer to Kingston
was a nightmare. AJ had chartered another plane which when we boarded
was filthy. Two passengers hadnt got on the plane so we had to wait 1
1/2 hours on the plane whilst their luggage was taken off- all for a 20
minute flight. There was no safety talk on this plane, only this where
the emergency exits are and oh by the way read your safety cards!!
The AJ flight was at night. They came round twice in 8.5 hours with
drinks! I was worried before going about using Air Jamaica, never ever
again will we use them. We loved Jamaica, we just couldnt get over how
friendly and helpful the people were. Unfortunately they dont seem to
work at Air Jamaica. What is especially worrying is that they seem to
have cancelled the same Montego Bay to Heathrow flight twice in one
week- or does anyone know any different?
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