UPDATED 10/24/2023
Wah Gwaan Mon,
Now you can roll into Ochi in style! (that’s Ocho Rios, Jamaica)
Everytings Irie. And it only took Jamaican officials 10 years and countless bottles of Appleton’s to get AA on board.
No more arriving in MoBay and running the gauntlet of 2 hours of road rage, dodging goats, and having to pee after 10 RedStripes! Of course, we’ll miss the stop for Jerk Chicken along the way.
In A Nutshell: – UPDATED 10/24/2023 – According to American Airlines, AA service to Ocho Rios, which was originally set to begin in November 2022, will now start February 24, 2024.
American Airlines is going to be flying 2 non-stop flights a week from Miami to Ian Fleming International Airport in Ocho Rios on an Envoy E-175. Now we can get to Orcabessa/Ocho Rios without the 2 hour drive. If you can call how Jamaicans navigate the roadway ‘driving’
Related:Taking weed on Vacay?
As of today, AA is tentatively anticipating the following twice-weekly scheduled flight times:
— Depart MIA 1235pm – Arrive OCJ – 132pm
— Return OCJ 231pm – Arrive MIA – 527pm
American will be flying the Envoy E-175, which carries about 80 passengers.
So you won’t be bouncing around in a twin-prop Otter all the way from MIA.
Here is a pic of the E-175. So it’s a good size jet.
The interior is a 2 + 1 configuration. So your travel partner can sit alone if they don’t like to get up and down for your potty breaks.
Here is a pic of the interior.
Just in case you have not flown into Ian Fleming International Airport (which is like a trip back to the 60’s)
Here is what it looks like as you power in or out……
Here is your terminal. Landing in Ochi is a lot like landing in Green Bay Wisconsin…..
BYOB
The good news is that you will be treated like you’re James Bond blasting in on your PJ (Private Jet).
The bad news is you have to either live in Miami – or connect through Miami – to catch AA’s Wednesday or Saturday flights each week.
Is Jamaica making progress? My vote is yes.
The faster I get to the pool bar to bang out my next James Bond book, the happier I am.
Blabba mout is done for the day!
~Jake
P.S. I’ll keep the seat warm for ya…..
Some random James Bond factoid for us Bond geeks:
Three Bond movies were filmed in Jamaica: Dr. No, the first-ever Bond film, in 1962; Live and Let Die in 1973 (which was filmed in Jamaica but set on fictional San Monique); and No Time to Die in 2021. Bond creator Ian Fleming wrote all of the Bond novels while he was residing in a cottage at Goldeneye in Jamaica.
More Reading:
Scheduled passenger flights to Ian Fleming Airport just the thin edge of the wedge
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