The shareholder agreement between Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) and Air Jamaica was signed on Thursday. The agreement gives legal access to CAL to all routes operated by Air Jamaica.
The agreement was signed by the Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Finance Winston Dookeran and Jamaican Finance Minister Audley Shaw in Port of Spain. Present for the ceremony were Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Minister of Works and Transport Jack Warner.
Persad-Bissessar said, “I know that Caribbean Airlines does have the vision for one Caribbean airline, and this is a step in that right direction.”
Dookeran said the merger will make way for the expansion of CAL, which will have a positive impact on revenue. Shaw said there was a capital base of some $500 million in the merger.
On the question of job losses as a result of the merger, Shaw said there was no cause for alarm on the Air Jamaica side as they would have already taken place in the first few months of turning over to CAL. He added the new management was committed to ensuring there were adequate resources.
