THE EDITOR, Sir:

I feel compelled to respond to all the calls to 'lock it down' and 'bury it with dignity' in reference to my beloved airline Air Jamaica. While some might agree with the cries, it is always wise to put everything into context and true perspective. Let us not be caught with the 'hindsight is twenty twenty' and 'if we knew now what we knew then' syndrome, as I believe our country needs Air Jamaica with the same earnest passion now as when it started 40 years ago, especially with tourism being so important to our GDP.

Four-fold benefit

At some point in the latter part of the previous owners' (AJAG) tenure, a study was done by the MIT institute, which determined that for every one dollar pumped into Air Jamaica, the country of Jamaica benefited by some four times the amount. This was also used during Mike Conway's tenure to justify the continued existence of the organisation before the Parliament of the previous government.

The research was also used as a moot point at a forum last year organised by the Jamaica Institute of Accountants held at the Knutsford Court, organised primarily with presenters expressing views on whether a national airline was really necessary for the survival of our country. I am sure the information presented was carefully perused and considered as it was determined that the government needs to throw its full weight behind Air Jamaica.

Think twice

As a privately owned company losing $100 million a year, anybody with basic common sense would not think twice about closing Air Jamaica or any entity with this sort of accounting deficit. However, Air Jamaica being the government-owned entity that it now is, compels us to rethink how prudent a decision this would be. As a matter of fact, even divesting the airline should be reconsidered.

I am in no position to question the credibility of the research or if the figures derived are authentic, but the present administration should commission their own study by using any institution they deem competent at doing this type of research.

I am, etc.,

CHRISTOPHER WILLIAMS

chriswilliamsjam@yahoo.com