EFFECTIVE JULY 1, Air Jamaica will make adjustments to its in-flight service on some international flights lasting under two-and-a-half hours. The adjustments will only affect Florida and Caribbean routes. On these routes, passengers will be offered a snack and beverage service instead of full meals. However, passengers on these short flights with scheduled departures before 8:30 in the morning will be provided with a full breakfast and beverage service. There will be no changes to the full meal and beverage service on international flights over two-and-a-half hours. Hard liquor, beer and wine will be sold on all flights except on the London route and to first class passengers. The adjustments are a continuation of the airline's restructuring and cost cutting programme, which began six months ago. Executive Chairman, Dr. Vincent Lawrence, said the decision was a difficult but necessary one, which will save Air Jamaica up to US$2 million (J$120 million) annually. The savings will come from food and service associated costs. Dr. Lawrence said that over the past few months, the airline has focused on improving the efficiency of its operations, cutting costs in line with what is affordable and putting the airline on a viable footing. He said there has been some success in the cost containment efforts in a number of critical areas. The airline must cut costs by approximately US$50 million (J$3 billion) to be viable. Last year when the Government took back the operations of the airline, Finance Minister, Dr. Omar Davies said the state could not afford to give the airline more than 30-million U.S. dollars in financial support annually, so it must find ways to survive on its own. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com