AIR JAMAICA FINALIZES TRANSITION OF AIR JAMAICA VACATIONS
6/22/2007
Kingston, Jamaica – June 22, 2007 – Air Jamaica officials today announced that the transition of Air Jamaica Vacations to a Strategic Business Unit of The Mark Travel Corporation will be complete and in effect as of July 1, 2007.
The Mark Travel Corporation will manage the Air Jamaica Vacations brand, maintaining its name brand equity and products in the marketplace. The new marketing team will be located in Orlando, Florida, headed up by Mr. Bryan Shilling, Vice President and General Manager of the brand and Mr. Brian deMercado, Director of Marketing. To ensure a smooth transition, all bookings will be based on arrival date, regardless of the date the reservation was made. Therefore, all travel with an arrival date up to and including June 30, 2007 will be handled by Air Jamaica Vacations/Air Jamaica; all travel with an arrival date from July 1, 2007 forward will be handled by Air Jamaica Vacations/The Mark Travel Corporation.
“Of course, Air Jamaica Vacations will continue to provide excellent customer service with its Smile Team in the destinations it serves and in the future, we look forward to offering even more services and products to your clients,” says Paul Pennicook Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Air Jamaica. “We have been working diligently over the past few months with The Mark Travel Corporation to create a transition plan that will be seamless to our travel agent, hotel and supplier partners, as well as to our customers.”
All existing bookings will be maintained with the same reservation numbers. Existing policies for commission structure, love money, products offered and the variety of ways to book AJV products including the online portal Vaxvacationaccess.com will remain in place. The Mark Travel Corporation (TMTC) will manage all supplier contracts. TMTC will honor established AJV contractual relationships with suppliers and is currently reviewing all contracts. TMTC will contact suppliers with any questions on existing contracts.
A letter was recently sent to travel agents, suppliers and hoteliers outlining contact numbers, reservation procedures and accounting information. Travel industry representatives can also continue to utilize Vaxvacationaccess.com vendor center for Air Jamaica Vacations for the latest information on AJV. As a quick reference, the contact number for AJV Customer Care Specialists as of July 1, 2007 is 1-800-622-3009 (for assistance with reservations, customer service, commissions, documents, accounting and VAX assistance). For Inside Sales, please contact 1-800-414-0856; for group sales contact 1-888-622-3007 and for brochure order assistance, please call 1-800-478-2501. Staffing hours for reservations are Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. EST, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST. Group sales staffing hours are Monday – Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST. Updated information is always available at Vaxvacationaccess.com under the Vendor Center.
All partner hotels and suppliers will be receiving a phone call in the next few days to answer any questions. All inquiries should continue to go to current contacts at 305-670-1177 through the end of June 2007. New contacts will be available shortly and will be sent directly to hotels and suppliers.
About Air Jamaica
Air Jamaica provides more non-stop flights to Jamaica than any other carrier with more than 300 flights per week from Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York (JFK), Orlando, and Philadelphia in the United States; Toronto in Canada; and from London in the United Kingdom to Montego Bay and Kingston. Air Jamaica also offers daily non-stop service between New York (JFK) and Barbados and direct service between JFK to both St. Lucia and Grenada. Beginning July 22, 2007, Air Jamaica will also provide non-stop service every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from Fort Lauderdale to Barbados. Air Jamaica also offers intra-regional service with flights between Jamaica and the Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Cuba, Curaçao, Grand Cayman, Grenada and St. Lucia.
About Mark Travel
The Mark Travel Corporation is a recognized leader in the business of making vacation dreams come true. Mark Travel is the company the world’s leading airlines and hoteliers trust to manage their vacation brands and take care of their customers. The company offers service to more than 200 destinations worldwide and its 16 vacation companies provide value, superb care and complete end-to-end service for its customers. The vacation companies of The Mark Travel Corporation include: ATA Vacations, Blue Sky Tours, Funjet Vacations, Las Vegas and More, Mark International, MGM MIRAGE Vacations, Midwest Airlines Vacations, Mountain Vacations, Showtime Tours, Southwest Airlines Vacations, Spirit Vacations, TransGlobal Vacations, United Vacations and Vacations by Adventure Tours.
Contact for Air Jamaica:
Christina Brozek
Ruder Finn, Inc.
212-715-1535
brozekc@ruderfinn.com