Former Air Jamaica CEO Chris Zacca (left) and lawyer Winston Spaulding at yesterday's news conference called by the Air Jamaica Acquisition Group in Kingston. (Photo: Bryan Cummings)

Fed-up with what it sees as a campaign charging that it corruptly managed Air Jamaica, Gordon "Butch" Stewart's AJAG group yesterday declared itself willing and capable of defending its record on the facts.

But AJAG also added muscle of another kind to its communication strategy. It named heavyweight defamation lawyer Winston Spaulding to a team with which it plans to engage anyone wishing to debate the issue.

At the press briefing yesterday, Spaulding, the lawyer who steered Anthony Abrahams' multi-million dollar libel victory against The Gleaner newspaper, was mostly sugar-coating in urging a frank, open and honest discussion of the Air Jamaica issue.

But beyond the niceness and subtleties, there appeared a clear message: defame my clients and you may just find yourself in court.

"The members of the Air Jamaica Acquisition Group do not wish to stifle robust public debate on matters of public significance or importance," Spaulding told reporters.
"However, sheer elementary decency and fairplay demand that this be done without falsehoods, which can serve no purpose other than muddying the reputation of various persons and institutions expressly and by necessary implication."

Stewart, who is the principal of this newspaper, was the controlling partner in AJAG, which controlled Air Jamaica for a decade until it was returned to Government ownership last December.

Over the decade, the airline racked up more than US$500 million in losses and at the time of the Government take-over had US$650 million in debts - the bulk of it owed to the Government in airport landing fees and unpaid taxes.

Stewart's group had invested approximately US$30 million at the time of its acquisition of Air Jamaica, and as part of its exit agreement agreed to pump US$20 million for working capital into the airline.

But since Stewart's withdrawal there has been, according to Spaulding, mischievous, malicious, sensational and inflammatory allegations against AJAG and its principals, via "the most powerful communication network, 'Rumour, Gossip and Malice Incorporated'".

Added Chris Zacca, the former Air Jamaica CEO and deputy chairman of Stewart's ATL/Sandals group: "The impression has been created that the airline was mismanaged, corruptly used for the benefit of AJAG's principals and generally that there is some malfeasance. There have been calls for a public inquiry.

"These allegations are scurrilous, baseless and in many respects defamatory. We have nothing to hide. We managed Air Jamaica in the interest of Jamaica and are prepared to defend our record and our stewardship of the airline at any time, any place."

Spaulding, a Queen's Counsel, will, according to Zacca, "guide us in terms of a legal defence of our corporate integrity".

But Spaulding, who won a $35-million award against The Gleaner for Abrahams, an ex-politician turned talk-show host, was at pains to stress that he was not intent on filing writs and summonses against anyone.

The aim would be to ensure fairness and balance, rather than defamation and slander, in the discussion of the Air Jamaica issue. The initial route was to ensure that the information was available.

"If after we put it out there (and the same thing continues) we have to determine what steps to take," Spaulding said. ". If after all of this you continue to make all these defamatory allegations you can't have done so innocently," he added.
Among the "facts" highlighted by Zacca were:

. Shortly after Air Jamaica's privatisation, Jamaica's civil aviation management system was downgraded by the Americans, undermining the capacity of the airline to fly new routes. Independent auditors had estimated that this cost Air Jamaica US$150 million.

. By the third quarter of 2001, Air Jamaica was breaking even on its operations. But then came the 9/11 terror attacks that threw the world's airline industry into turmoil.

. This was compounded by America's War on Terror, violence in Jamaica, rising petrol prices and hurricanes last year.

. Cost reduction initiatives, including the cutting of routes, begun under the AJAG management.

. The airline's financial management was no secret to Government members of the board.

. It was nonsense to claim that Air Jamaica flew destinations because Stewart's Sandals and Beaches hotels were located there. Of Air Jamaica's 12 Caribbean routes, Sandals has hotels in five, while its greater Jamaican competitor, SuperClubs has properties in a similar number.

. Sandals guests flying on Air Jamaica account for US$40 million of the airline's revenue. Sandals got nothing from Air Jamaica that other Caribbean hotels did not get. The airline treated the hotel chain as any business does a major client.

. It was nonsense to claim that the advertising agency Hunter Hammersmith had a sweetheart deal with Air Jamaica. It was the same company that had built the Sandals brand internationally and had done "a great job" at Air Jamaica.

Over 10 years the agency had billed US$25 million - not the US$60 million as claimed - out of a total marketing expenditure of US$150 million. The bulk of Hunter Hammersmith's billing was for media buys, while the firm earned the standard 15 per cent commission.

Said Zacca: "We inherited an airline in 1994 which was the scorn of the industry. It was best known for guaranteed delays and sub-standard service. We handed back a most incredible airline.

"It is the envy of the region and ranks among the best of the best. This did not happen by chance. It is the result of visionary management."

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