AIR JAMAICA review : 15 May 2009 : by T Potter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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