Captain Ian Grant Looks Back on 27 Years with Air Jamaica

Captain Ian Grant looked back on 27 years with Air Jamaica, describing the airline as more than transport after its final flight more than 15 years ago. In an episode of Air Jamaica Chronicles, he said flying Boeing 727, DC-8, Airbus A300 and later the Airbus A340 helped him carry thousands of passengers between Jamaica and cities such as London, New York and Manchester. Grant, who joined Air Jamaica in 1979 after completing flight training in nine months, began as a flight engineer on the 727 before serving as captain on long-haul routes. He traces his path to a government scholarship for engineering at the University of the West Indies, but credits a family friend and the belief of his maternal grandmother, who mortgaged her home for flight training. The account highlights Jamaican crew culture aboard flights, even after the airline ceased operations.