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chilled or too chilled?

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3 Sep 16th, 2007  (Sep 10th, 2007)

31 Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful

Advantages:
Good crew, food and free champagne in economy

Disadvantages:
no seat back tv's

Recommendable Yes:

Detailed rating:

Food Quality

Customer Service

Punctuality

Space

Value for Money

frankiecesca

frankiecesca

About me:

I am playing catch up again after being away on holiday - I've not been ignoring anybody and will ge...

Member since:01.08.2005

Reviews:213

Members who trust:114

I flew with Air Jamaica(JM) to Montego bay airport (sangster) last year and i wasn't very impressed with the aircraft itself or the way they took on so much luggage!
To start off with, the check in staff seemed to allow all the passengers to check in over their allowance. Even though they did charge them it seemed the majority of passengers were taking at leat two even three bags more than most normally would and i'm certain the total the aircraft should be safely carrying was well exceeded. I seemed to feel this even more on take off as it just seemed so HEAVY and the aircraft seemed to take forever to actually lift from the airstrip - it made me feel a bit uneasy to say the least and i'm never scared on aircrafts at all.

Check in and Boarding:
Air Jamaica fly from Heathrow and check was actually relatively smooth with very little queues considering the above! The staff were friendly enough and after check in we made our way through security and into the waiting lounge - the flight was due to leave on time but we did depart about 15 minutes late - not a major problem and think this most mostly due to traffice anyway.

Inflight service:
I didn't purchase any duty free so can't really comment on this part but i did see the selection and as with most airlines there were quite a lot of goods including some branded goods with the JM logo on. prices seemed ok too. (prices were good in the airport too so i would just buy it here as thats what i did on the return leg.

The seats on JM are actually quite a good pitch at 33 inchesbut the aircraft was at full capacity so i think this is what made it feel more jammed and also made it 'feel' heavier. Don't get me wrong it's good that the flight was full but if the staff knew this they shouldn't have let nearly every passenger check in so much access! The staff were good and quite chatty but at the same time did have an air of being a bit too chilled out - true jamaicans but think i'd rather save this attitude for on the ground! When i needed anything it wasn't that the staff didn't do it and they were very friendly but the flight was the first i've been on where i didn't feel the staff were staff it that makes sense!

Food and Drink:
I thought the food was good - we were served a jerk chicken but, i would say it was a milder version. During the flight i had a glass of champagne which was really nice and this was the first time aswell that i tried a appletons rum with coke and i have to say it has become one of my favourite tipples along with the red stripe beer!
They served some sandwiches as a second small snack but we were on the later flight out of heathrow so most people were sleeping which i guess why it wasn't a larger meal. However i did ask for some snacks and got a packet of crips and some nuts so you can get more light bites. Food and drink is free throughout the flight.

In flight entertainment:
Now this was my big peeve and my main reason for not enjoying the flight as much! Now most long haul airlines have individual seat back tvs even in economy but JM still doesn't have this on all flights(and not many of their aircraft do unless you're in an upgraded seat). Now bear in mind that a flight from Heathrow to Montego bay is 9hrs and 30 mins it is a long time to have your head tilted up looking at a shared screen! Because thier is no seat back tv you have to wait for the entertainment to start and then can only watch the airlines chosen programme so if it's something you don't like then you're sat for at least an hour and half waiting for the next film! it does drag not being able to choose what you watch and maybe it's just me but like i say it's standard on most long haul scheduled flights now and it seems strange not having this feature with JM.

Frequent flyer programme:
Air jamaica have a good flyer programme. You earn points for flying with them and their affiliates. Quite a decent amount of points awarded and actually one of the easier flyer programmes to earn from and as the fares for JM are quite cheap it does mean frequent flying with them is fairly easy to do.

overall, There is good things about JM but if you are a frequent long haul flyer you'll notice the difference between them and their competitors. However, some people may prefer the laid back attitude of the airline! 

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Comments about this review »

costas1234 29.04.2008 15:12

Good review, would have been more helpful to give a guide price of fares if this is applicable.

hiedihi 26.10.2007 00:29

some good info in this review - id go to jamaica on any airline if it got me there in one oiece ! Heidi xx

andrewfleminguk 25.10.2007 00:12

Very interesting and informative review. I hear Air Jamaica are about to pull flights out of Heathrow - indeed I am not sure if they will continue to trade at all in their current name. Sad loss if this is true as national airlines are important for the identify of a small country.

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