Angry at the incompetence of Fly Jamaica

Dec 25, 2015 Letters

Dear Editor,
This is the most wonderful time of the year. Inarguably the most festive time, when friends and families from home and abroad get together to celebrate this joyous season.
This is a time for merriment. However, I like many other Guyanese have found ourselves in a dilemma, owing to the incompetence of Fly Jamaica Airline.
To begin with, I “proactively” arrived way ahead of time at the John F. Kennedy airport to catch my flight which was scheduled to leave at 9 am on Saturday morning, since I am not a last minute person and I also wanted to avoid the congestion at this time of the year as well. By 6 am, I had already checked in and cleared immigration in preparation for my flight; nonetheless, the flight did not get not get airborne until approximately 11:30 am.
Although the patrons were visibly irritated, they vented their frustration in hush tones, not realizing that that was sign of an epitome of disaster to follow later. We subsequently arrived at the Cheddi Jagan International airport safely a few hours later and cleared immigration hassle free; were patiently awaiting our luggage.
But that festive mood which emanated in the fuselage of the aircraft even before it taxied along the runway , hurriedly diffused and transformed into one of anger after the baggage attendants told us that that was all the luggage that the aircraft had brought.
You can imagine how infuriated we all became. Nonetheless, some passengers were even more boisterous because they paid in excess of seventy five dollars for their overweight baggage, only to be greeted with this distasteful news.
But, what was even more callous and unprofessional was the fact that no Fly Jamaica representative was available to offer words of consolation or answer any questions. The aircraft was replete with parents and young children from different geographical locations of Guyana who were hoping to get to their destinations as fast as they could from a trip, which drained them physically.
The question is who will compensate us for the lost time, inconvenience and the possibility of larceny which I understand from rumors are prevalent. In my case, I am currently at a hotel because my house was burglarized a few weeks ago, so understandably, there is trepidation and a great deal of reservations about staying there at this moment. Will Fly Jamaica compensate me for the time that I am at this hotel? I will take a wild stab at the dark here and say, no.
What consideration has been given to those people from the outlying areas who supposedly do not have relatives in Georgetown and will have to return to the airport to retrieve the late arrival of their luggage? However, a further conversation with an agent at the airport revealed that another Fly Jamaica aircraft was due on the 21st of December, but his wry smile and perfunctory tone did not suggest much confidence that the luggage will be brought.
For too long we have been very tolerant with these unreliable airlines that treat us with nothing but contempt and condescension. We are expected to pay exorbitant fees to travel and yet, the services meted out to us can only be described as mediocre.
Such disposition speaks volumes about the perception of Guyanese. We are the only nationality that they will treat with disdain. No wonder we are seen as second rate citizens in some other parts of the Caribbean.
I know that we have been struggling to get reputable and credible airlines to service our market; it would make a lot of sense that the Government solicits the services of other airlines, after all we pay whatever fees are demanded of us unhesitatingly; all we demand in return is the delivery of quality service.
In closing, I will say that in all my years of traveling with Caribbean airlines, I have no recollection of any difficulties with this airline. I have learnt my lesson.
Raul Khan

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Angry at the incompetence of Fly Jamaica

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