Virgin Atlantic yesterday said Air Jamaica stands to lose revenue if it does not sign off on the code share agreement negotiated with the previous administration last year and has vowed to begin flying the Kingston to Gatwick route come October 30 whether or not this is done.

"Everything is in place for our launch on October 30 and we are going to fly with or without a code share deal in place," said Paul Charles, director of communications at the London-based airline.

"We did a deal with Air Jamaica and the previous government which was agreed on and which is going ahead. we have a permit from the then government to fly and we will be flying," he added.

Charles, who is in the island to ensure everything is in place for the company at the Norman Manley International Airport, told the Business Observer that the sale of the Heathrow landing slot is a done deal, with the slot exchanging hands in July.

He, however, said the code share agreement had not yet been signed since it was negotiated after the sale of the slot.
He said it was in the best interests of Air Jamaica that the agreement be signed as it would help to bring much-needed revenue to the national carrier.

"The code share agreement is a second element to the deal which actually helps Air Jamaica, because how a code share works is that Air Jamaica will be paid per passenger they put onto our flights," Charles said.

Although he did not say how much revenue Air Jamaica would be losing, the Virgin Atlantic executive explained that under the code share agreement, Virgin would pay a percentage of the ticket cost for every passenger Air Jamaica puts on their plane.

As such, he said they were very hopeful that by the end of October the code share deal would have been agreed upon.

However Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry maintains that the matter is not a done deal as he was still reviewing the agreement.

"I have made my position clear that I am still reviewing the matter," said Henry. "I have a meeting scheduled for this evening so when I am armed with the information I will speak more on it."

He told the Business Observer that he is also still awaiting information requested from Air Jamaica.
Asked about the revenue Air Jamaica stands to lose from not signing the code share agreement Henry said the airline has already lost.

"Right now we are at a great loss for the price they are offering for the slot," Henry said.

But Charles said the sale of the slot was the right deal to be done since the airline was losing millions from that route.

Charles said if the code share deal is not signed by the end of October they already have contingency plans in place as they are training local staff in customer service while their check-in counter is already established at the airport.

"We are arriving on October 30 and departing that day and we have asked the prime minister to greet the plane on arrival at the airport and we hope he will do that," he told the Business Observer.

In the meantime, Charles said Virgin is determined to be a very strong competitor with British Airways.

He said although the agreement signed gives them the option to increase the number of days they fly to Kingston, they will be settling at two weekdays for now. Virgin will fly out of Kingston on Tuesday and Thursdays and out of Montego Bay on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Under the current code share agreement, Kingston passengers opting to fly out of Montego Bay would have been placed on an inland flights to that city.

However, Charles argued that if the agreement is not signed passengers will be forced to pay a separate airfare to Montego Bay.

"It would be a benefit to Air Jamaica because we would be paying them to put passengers on those flights. Now persons would have to pay separately as opposed to have it integrate," he explained.

In the meantime, he said Virgin was very much in tune with the vibes of the Jamaican community and would be offering quality in-flight service to include flat beds and fluff pillows in upper class, all at a lower cost than British Airways.

He said there will also be a higher luggage allowance on the Jamaican route than for others.

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