By Debbie-Ann Wright—–

President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Evelyn Smith says it is surprising that the Philidelphia to Montego Bay route cannot be made to perform well.

She was speaking against the background that on Friday news emerged that the Philadelphia-Montego Bay route is the first to be slashed by Air Jamaica in its new round of rationalisation.

Philadelphia is reportedly deemed one of the unprofitable routes for the former national carrier, which is now owned by Caribbean Airlines (CAL).

However, Smith said while she has received no official word that the route is to be cut, if such a decision is taken it could have a negative impact on Jamaica.

Efforts to book a flight with the carrier on Friday for the Philadelphia route for any date after July 1 were unsuccessful.

The cut of the Philadelphia route marks the start to significant changes to be made by the airline.

A source at the airline said in a few weeks, the carrier will drop 60 more Jamaican employees, as CAL moves its aircraft hangar from Kingston to Trinidad and Tobago.

The news comes on the same day the 75 Air Jamaica pilots sat through interviews, trying to get new jobs with CAL, one month after their positions at a Cal subsidiary were terminated.