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A R C H I V E S

P R O F I L E

Not Just Barrels Anymore

     “We Make You Feel Good All Over,” became part of the language a decade ago as aircraft winged their way to paradise, where white, sandy beaches are kissed by the clear warm waters of the Caribbean Sea.
     Truth be told any flight aboard an aircraft of Air Jamaica, the national flag carrier is above the ordinary, with plenty of good food and generous amounts of free champagne or the island nation’s famous Red Stripe Beer offered up all along the way.
     But Air Jamaica Cargo is a horse of a different color. Ask anybody in or out of air cargo about Air Jamaica Cargo and you’ll likely get reaction ranging from just a shrug of the shoulders, to something that might go like this:

Fuad Safatle (left) and Robert Armento (right).
     “Yeah, we know about them. Lots of narrow-body aircraft with holds full of personal effects wrapped up in those tan barrels.”
     At the risk of revealing two truths in three paragraphs, Air Jamaica Cargo today viewed as only a resource for barrels, is like thinking Hong Kong is the only important city in China.
     Maybe once upon a time, the aforementioned was true.
     But aboard this airline, cargo like the feeling, is changed for the good all over.
     Yes, Air Jamaica still carries barrels.
     However with the events of 9/11 came a new set of rules that dictate from the U.S. anyway, barrels can be moved, only aboard freighters.
     What that means to shippers, is all cargo of the barrel type, goes by truck to the big Air Jamaica freighter operation at Miami, Florida, where the carrier’s all-cargo freighters depart.
     At Miami, Air Jamaica Cargo features three weekly DC-8 all-cargo frequencies, in addition to the carrier’s passenger schedules. The Southeast area of the U.S. is amply covered by the old cargo pro—Orville Hart, who reports, that despite softened economies “good, old-fashioned hard work and some creative marketing and persuasiveness to our forwarders have kept numbers and cargo flying.”
     In April, JM moved its air cargo operations at MIA to a brand new facility (about 800 yards from the old one) at 1701 N.W. 66th Avenue Building 709, Miami Cargo Center, Florida.
     “Our movement time from the U.S. to Jamaica is five days for personal effects. In terms of rates, relative to time, Air Jamaica Cargo efficiency is much better than available anywhere else.
     “We serve the market, answering demand while exceeding expectations as Air Jamaica Cargo perpetuates a barrel service that it invented.
     “Jamaicans love U.S. manufactured goods and specialty items.
     “But in the wide world of sports, these barrels are only about 20% of our total cargo business.”
     The speaker is Robert Armento, who heads up cargo sales and service for Air Jamaica in the Northeast USA and Canada.
     Mr. Armento and Fuad Safatle, who serves as cargo marketing and sales development for the carrier covering the same turf, are a double threat, cargo duo, and a potent one-two punch dedicated to getting the story of the real Air Jamaica Cargo out to the world at large.
     The Northeast U.S. Air Jamaica Cargo offices are on the street side of Cargo Building 87 at JFK International Airport.
     Street side allows for outside light all day, and at times, the sun to pour across the desks.
     But the bright ideas here are strictly born in the minds of two guys who have been doing this air cargo thing for quite some time.
     Robert Armento : “Our all Airbus fleet which now includes the Airbus A340-200 is quite capable of handling any manner of air cargo either in container or pallet from wherever we fly. Access to our gateway cargo handling facilities and the ability for customers to track shipments at their desktop or laptop computer has been standard operating procedure around here for the past few years.”
     Fuad Safatle is enthusiastic:
     “Shippers who never thought of Air Jamaica as anything in the cargo business, are more than surprised to discover that we currently serve more than 16 destinations in our system for the United States Postal Service (USPS) and we also move quite a bit of time-sensitive express cargo to our part of the world via an agreement with DHL.
     “In both cases, eyebrows were raised when we told customers that Air Jamaica Cargo had become a first-class air cargo resource.
     “The USPS began with just three destinations and has expanded steadily ever since. Likewise, our cargo contract and other business is growing steadily.”
     Mr. Safatle revealed that just after 9/11 the USPS halted all air movement of the mails, preferring to truck shipments at its own expense to various international gateways in the U.S.
     But where Air Jamaica was concerned, Fuad had a better idea. “We said that we could not only pick up the mail and move it from the postal facility eliminating the need for USPS trucking, but also that we would sort the bags and basically do whatever it would take to create an economy of scale and security that would allow USPS to get back to business with us as usual.
     “They did. We did. Things have been working smoothly ever since.”
     The perception that Air Jamaica serves only the home—Jamaica, W.I. market such as Montego Bay and Kingston from various U.S. cities as a home island’s airline is another popular misconception.
     Truth is, today Air Jamaica flies from New York and a dozen North American cities to 14 destinations in Jamaica and surrounding island countries, offering fast, efficient and predictable air cargo connections to Haiti, Antigua, Santo Domingo, Grand Cayman and elsewhere.
     The fleet consists of three Airbus A340s which are utilized on the New York and recently launched Jamaica-London-Manchester, England runs.
     Air Jamaica also utilizes ten cargo-friendly A320s, four A321s and four A310s although the carrier’s effusive chairman of the 70% privatized airline, Butch Stewart indicated that the A310s will give way to the more efficient A320s in the near future.
     It’s worth mentioning that Post 9/11, Air Jamaica in a move of sincere solidarity and friendship, rededicated an A320 naming the craft “Spirit of America.”
     To reach Mr. Armento or Mr. Safatle, contact (718) 917-6171.