Mike Garcia
Air Jamaica’s Manager, Systems and Procedures
(Longest Serving Employee)
Mike Garcia may best be described as a seasoned, knowledgeable product of the airline industry. Veteran and pioneer are but a couple words to describe Air Jamaica’s longest serving employee. A former Wolmerian, Mike joined British West Indian Airways (BWIA) some 48 years ago and since leaving school has never worked anywhere else. He has attended several business/management diploma courses and was trained as a professional instructor at Instructional Methods International in Ottawa, Canada and IATA at Miami, Florida.
The Government of Jamaica created the national carrier Air Jamaica in 1969, but recognises previous length of service. He says that the airline has simply changed its name, but his employment has been continuous and unbroken.
Having spent a lifetime honing the skills before and after computers that he needed to impart airline reservations, fares, ticketing and customer service procedures to literally thousands of Air Jamaica employees and travel agents over the years, he spearheaded the training and procedures department in 1969 and for 30 years as its Manager brought it to its full potential as it is today.
He was personally responsible for writing the SITA Super Air Cargo “CargoWise” training manual then trained the entire staff at Kingston, Montego Bay, Miami and JFK thus automating the cargo department in 1997.
One of his most memorable moments he recalls was Air Jamaica’s very first DC-9 flight on April 1, 1969 to Miami adorned in its splendid bright colours only without today’s outstanding blue, with its own Jamaican pilots and “rare tropical birds” flight attendants.
When asked what Air Jamaica has meant to him, and kept him working for the same organization all these years, he has little hesitation saying, “It is the people I have worked with, the friendships made and the true family spirit of a wonderful staff”. Without exception he says he has enjoyed every department in which he has worked. “It’s self-motivation to get up each morning looking forward to a new work day”. “Or perhaps it’s now a part of me”, so much so that Mike Garcia has had a perfect attendance record with no sick days for as much as five years as far as he can remember.
Today Mike’s technical knowledge and experience in the airline industry has become a major asset and resource for the writing of company procedures and manuals; interpreting and implementing industry standards and regulations and interfacing with Air Jamaica’s host computer company Sabre.