Whether it is the close proximity or that the place is home to the largest segment of the island's diaspora, persons travelling between the US and Jamaica represent the largest share of air traffic to and from the island - approximately three-quarters.

And now that Air Jamaica has code-sharing agreements with other airlines to handle traffic flowing to and from the UK as well as Canada, its financial sustainability has become dependent in large part on the US market.

But since the turn of the decade, the ailing national carrier has lost grip of the market for which it once held a handsome share - 58 per cent of US traffic in 1999.

Based on data published by the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics, for the first half of 2007, Air Jamaica carried less than a third of passengers flying to and from the US during that period, in line with the share it held last year - 34 per cent.

What's more is that the airline's passenger carry has fallen from the year 2000 peak of 728,000 to 563,000 in 2006 - a 29 per cent drop, while for the first six months of 2007 the national airline saw a 17 per cent drop in enplaned passengers from the US to Jamaica.

A number of factors have contributed to the decline, including several attempts at restructuring, but perhaps none stand out more than the growth in scheduled carriers that operate between the two destinations.

Since 2000, five airlines - North American, Delta, Continental, United and Spirit - have been added to the route, and the market segment which once saw two airlines dominate (Air Jamaica and American Airlines held 80 per cent of the US-Jamaica route up to 2000) now has to share up the business.

American has managed to maintain its quarter share of the market over the years, even absorbing other airlines, such as TWA in 2001, to maintain its market presence.

But US Airways, which once was responsible for carrying six per cent of travellers between the US and Jamaica, grabbed up over 12 per cent of the market for the year so far.

But far more impressive is Spirit, which largely through flying from Fort Lauderdale and which began operating in Jamaica in November 2005, now holds nine per cent of the US market, surpassing even Delta, which began flying to Jamaica from as early as 2001 and now has eight per cent of the US segment.

Incidentally, although Spirit's low-cost model is not meant to compete with Air Jamaica, according to the airline's chief marketing officer, Barry Biffle, more persons used the airline coming out of Hollywood International Airport than those that used the national carrier - 57,655 persons compared to 53,593.

"Air Jamaica competes on product; we compete on price," Biffle told the Business Observer back in March. "We fully expect that a lot of people are going to stick with Air Jamaica, and we are not going after them."

Air Jamaica's woes are not however restricted to Fort Lauderdale. In the five top routes to and from the US, the national carrier only dominates in one - New York.

The near-50,000 persons that took the airline from New York between January and June this year surpassed the 35,184 flyers that used American during the period, but Air Jamaica's share of the New York segment has been declining since the turn of the decade.

Back in 2000, the carrier brought in 60 per cent of flyers to Jamaica from the north-eastern city. The numbers in 2007 represent under 47 per cent.

In the meantime, American maintained its 35 per cent stake while widening the margin in Miami, where the US carrier dominates.

Of the 121,090 persons travelling from Miami by air, 105,334 or 87 per cent took American, while only 15,677 or 13 per cent took Air Jamaica. The two airlines once split the route 53-47 in favour of the US carrier.

In the case of Atlanta - the fourth largest route between the two countries in terms of enplaned passengers - Delta dominates, carrying 73 per cent of the near 70,000 travelling to Jamaica between January and June, compared to Air Jamaica's 25 per cent share of that market.

In Philadelphia, which follows Atlanta in size, US Airways took the largest share, carrying 57 per cent of the 41,000 flyers during the six-month period.

Air Jamaica, which is fully owned by the state, has been haemorrhaging for years and its divestment has been placed on the front-burner due to the financial drain it has on the government's coffers, racking up losses of close to US$1.1 billion ($79.2 billion) over the years. Estimates place the expected loss of the carrier at US$64 million ($4.6 billion) in 2007 alone.

The government expects to sell off its holdings in the airline by the latest March 2009, after restructuring the operations.

Senator Don Wehby, state minister in the finance ministry, in making the deadline announcement earlier this month, noted that while operating inefficiencies are to a large extent controllable and can, over time, be remedied, it is also recognised that factors in the global environment, particularly rising oil prices, are outside the control of the airline and unfavourable to its future viability.

Inicidentally, many of the US carriers that fly to Jamaica are having financial difficulties of their own.

Apart from TWA, which had to be bought up by American back in 2001 due to financial difficulty, and Transmeridean, which closed down in 2004, three of the 11 US carriers operating in Jamaica are currently under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, including newcomers Delta and North American, and US Airways, which holds the third largest share of the US market segment.

United Airlines, which started flying to Jamaica in December 2004, emerged from athree-year-long Chapter 11 proceeding in early 2006.

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