It now appears that Trinidadian carrier Caribbean Airlines is the front runner to acquire Air Jamaica, as reported by Caribbean Business Report back in July of this year.

On Wedneday , the Prime Minister Bruce Golding flew to Trinidad on an exploratory mission to see whether a deal could be hammered out.

Yesterday in Parliament Golding said: ” The team I met with yesterday were fully authorised to pursue discussions and give us an indication as to what they propose. Caribbean Airlines has a vision of one Caribbean and one airline serving the entire Caribbean. We indicated that one C aribean is wonderful but we are a tourist destination, tourism is a part of our lifeblood.

While we support the concept of a regional carrier we have particular interests that have to be satisfied and I am hoping that we will be able to arrive at an agreement in short order that will preserve and protect Air Jamaica’s routes that are vital to us and those routes that are essential to Jamaicans. I am satisfied based on discussion yesterday that that is possible.”

Air Jamaica currently has US$1.2 billion in accumulated losses and the IMF who is arriving at a Standby Arrangement wityh the government for US!.3 billion over four years, is insisting that it divests itself of a number of non performing assets including Air Jamaica.

For months speculation suggested that Air Jamaica was to be sold to Indigo Partners and Oaktree Capital said to be the owners of Spirit Airlines. Deadlines for the divestment of Air Jamaica have come and gone this year with the national airline seemingly to be a bride groom and never a bride. With no takers the Spirit Airlines deal seemed to be a fiction.

In July of this year Air Jamaica reported an operating loss of US$63.51 million on revenues of US$293.27 million considerably better than the previous year’s performance which saw the airline reporting an operating loss of US$162.43 million on revenues of US$350.98 million.

Caribbean Airlines replaced BWIA as Trinidad’s national carrier in 2007. It operates international services from the Caribbean to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and South America. The airline, wholly owned by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, began operating with a fleet of six Boeing 737-800 aircraft and one Airbus A340-313. In 2007, the Trinidadian government spent US$250 million to winfd up BWIA and then another US$100 million to set up Caribbean Airlines. The airline is expected to turn a profit next year.