Diasporic Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean - Firm Profiles.pdf Vol 2 | Page 36

Transportation/Freight Firms

12. FLY JAMAICA
Company Background:
Fly Jamaica is a full-service, airline providing
air transport service from select Caribbean
countries (namely Guyana and Jamaica) to
New York and Toronto. Fly Jamaica Airways is
a partnership between Chief Executive Officer
and Guyanese-born Captain Paul Ronald
Reece, and Jamaican shareholders, including
Chief Operating Officer, Captain Lloyd Tai and
Manager of In-Flight Services, Christine Steele.
The Company was incorporated in Kingston,
Jamaica on August 22, 2011 and started with
a Boeing 757 aircraft. The company has met
the requisite national and international
requirements, facilitating clearance to enter
other jurisdictions as provided by regulatory
bodies, including the Jamaica Civil Aviation
Authority’s (JCAA), the US Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA), Department of
Transportation (DOT), and Transportation and
Security Administration (TSA), in order to
operate as a commercial US-registered carrier.23
Main Services:
Fly Jamaica currently offers its service
between the four destinations named above
with flights to Georgetown (Guyana), Kingston
(Jamaica), New York (USA), and Toronto
(Canada). The airline allows each passenger
two free checked bags and free meals on all
flights (economy and business class).
Based in Jamaica, Fly Jamaica currently
employs approximately 60 persons, including
pilots who were formally employed to Air
Jamaica, Jamaica’s national carrier.
Target Market:
The primary target market for the airline
is Jamaican and Guyanese nationals, the
Jamaican and Guyanese diaspora and
Caribbean nationals. The diaspora market
stands as a critical target for Fly Jamaica,
which has now begun to successfully offer
23 Fly Jamaica. “The Fly Jamaica Story: A Dream takes Flight!.” . http://
www.fly-jamaica.com/story/history-of-fly-jamaica (accessed April 2,
2014).

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competition to other regional and foreign
airlines. The firm attributes its success to date
to the delivery of quality service as well as
the nostalgic feeling of the airline based on
the presence, which Air Jamaica previously
occupied. A pivotal weakness, which has
been identified, is the airline’s size, which
is significantly smaller than other trusted
brands. Additionally, there is the recognition
that the airline has entered the market at a late
stage.
Whilst the airline has introduced new
competition into market, correspondingly, its
viability