AFTER ALMOST 40 years of flying the greatest airline ever, Air Jamaica, I am repulsed by the possibility of our airline going to outsiders.

All those who find fault with Air Jamaica over the years forget too easily the times Air Jamaica took their overweight boxes and held the flight for them when they got to the airport late and had spent their departure tax money. I have not forgotten and I suspect I am not alone.

Do we really need to talk about Air Jamaica's safety record and the quality of the pilots? We do not! When you look up 'exemplary' in the dictionary, you should see the Air Jamaica hummingbird and a model Air Jamaica plane.

Pilot-purchase proposal

I propose that an online fund be set up immediately to help the pilots/staff buy the airline. They have the most to lose if the airline goes down and it is definitely worth a minimum US$10 to hundreds of thousands of other Jamaicans living abroad (and even more to those of us with memory) to keep our airline in Jamaican hands.

There are at least 3.5 million legal adult Jamaicans living in North America, not counting the generation born here or those in Europe and the United Kingdom, who have depended on and love Air Jamaica and I would suggest that we be included in determining the future of our national airline.

I am, etc.,

Steve Smith

stavsig@gmail.com

Florida