The Editor, Sir:

Dennie Quill, in his article 'Air J forgetting its mission' in yesterday's Gleaner suggested that Air Jamaica was wrong to help in the promotion of a recent tourism event in Barbados.

I note that Mr. Quill's grouse was not that the promotion was a bad financial decision for Air Jamaica. He feels that Air Jamaica's mission should be to promote tourism in Jamaica only.

This is absurd. For almost 40 years now we have been trying to make Air Jamaica profitable. If the management of the airline sees a business opportunity in another island, I would expect them to exploit it.

We cannot ask them to ignore these opportunities and at the same time complain when taxpayers have to continuously bail out the airline.

national carrier

Mr. Quill should also recall that Barbados and some other Caricom nations have designated Air Jamaica as their national airline. This allows Air Jamaica access to third country routes, from which it can presumably profit. Would Mr. Quill have Air Jamaica accept these routes but refrain from promoting them to make them more profitable?

The 'crab in the barrel' syndrome apparent in Mr. Quill's argument - "Every tourist that is diverted from Jamaica means there is less food on the table for some of our people," will take us nowhere.

It is ironic that Mr. Quill should mention Sandals in the article - suggesting that Air Jamaica is hurting them by the Barbados promotion. Air Jamaica started flying to Barbados and became that country's national carrier, while the owner of Sandals was the chairman.

I am, etc.,

HUGH P. SMYTHE

10 Schooner Court

West Moorings

Trinidad & Tobago