What Air Jamaica Taught Oliver Mair About Service

Long before Oliver Mair became Consul General, he was a young university graduate faced with a career decision his father was not particularly happy about.

Mair had a promising job at Jamaica Broilers when an opportunity arose to become a flight attendant with Air Jamaica. He had never seriously considered the job before, but the prospect of travelling the world — and the benefits that came with working for Jamaica’s national airline — proved difficult to resist.

His decision would begin a journey of more than nine years with the Lovebird, during which Mair became one of Air Jamaica’s earliest male flight attendants and went on to make history as the airline’s first male purser and first male supervisor.

In this episode of Air Jamaica Chronicles, Mair looks back at the decision that changed the course of his career and shares some of his most treasured memories of an airline he credits with teaching him lessons about people, service and Jamaica that remain with him today.

A Love of Travel Leads to Air Jamaica

Mair’s fascination with Air Jamaica began before his professional career.

He recalls taking an early family trip that included Orlando, Miami and Cayman. Returning through the airport left the young Mair thinking about how much he wanted to travel and, in his mind, there was an obvious way to make that happen: work for Air Jamaica.

His first summer job would eventually be with the airline in customer service, checking in passengers, meeting arriving flights and assisting unaccompanied minors.

Even then, there were signs of the fun and camaraderie he would later associate with Air Jamaica. Mair remembers playing dominoes with colleagues during breaks while listening for arriving flights — and once having to sprint through the airport after realising he was late to meet one.

By the time he left high school, he already knew Air Jamaica was somewhere he wanted to work.

After graduating from the University of the West Indies, however, Mair found himself on a different path, working as an import and export supervisor at Jamaica Broilers. When a former Air Jamaica colleague encouraged him to apply to become a flight attendant, his father was firmly against leaving what he considered a “good job.”

Mair applied anyway.

His father eventually came around — helped considerably by discovering that Air Jamaica’s benefits allowed parents to travel for free. It would ultimately allow Mair’s father, who had always wanted to see the world, to travel extensively.

Making History at the Lovebird

When Mair joined Air Jamaica’s cabin crew, male flight attendants were still relatively new to the airline. He recalls that there had been one male flight attendant before his cohort, with Mair joining as part of a group of approximately four men.

His career quickly progressed.

Mair became Air Jamaica’s first male purser and later its first male supervisor. He also participated in a management trainee programme that exposed him to human resources, auditing, marketing and other areas of the airline before eventually becoming regional marketing manager.

For Mair, Air Jamaica became far more than the opportunity to travel that had first attracted him. It was also where much of his professional development took place.

Memories From Life at Air Jamaica

More than the titles and promotions, however, it is the people and experiences that dominate Mair’s memories of the Lovebird.

Among his favourites is an Air Jamaica staff production in which he took on the role of then-chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart — complete with a padded belly, entourage and a humorous song — while Stewart himself sat in the audience.

“Everybody was nervous for me,” Mair recalls of performing the impersonation in front of his boss.

His years in the air also brought him into contact with well-known passengers, including dancehall star Patra, reggae legend Jimmy Cliff and attorney Johnnie Cochran.

One particularly memorable assignment unexpectedly placed him among Jamaicans travelling to support the Reggae Boyz during the country’s historic journey towards qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Mair had not even realised the significance of the flight when he selected it, but soon found himself outfitted with a Jamaica shirt, flag and match ticket.

Captain Horace Burrell was among those travelling, and Mair remembers the late Jamaica Football Federation president confidently telling him that Jamaica would qualify for the World Cup.

Then there were Air Jamaica’s famous in-flight fashion shows.

Mair served as an emcee for the shows on London flights, introducing flight attendants as they modelled through the cabin at 35,000 feet. The presentations became memorable enough to attract television coverage.

As Mair and host Xavier Murphy joke during the conversation, he had effectively “gone viral” before social media.

The Lessons in Service He Carried Beyond Air Jamaica

Looking back, Mair sees another dimension to his years with the airline.

He worked at Air Jamaica during a period of expansion under Butch Stewart, when the carrier was opening routes across the Caribbean, United States and South America. Those routes did more than transport passengers; they helped maintain connections between Jamaica and its growing communities overseas.

Mair recalls being told years later that Air Jamaica employees like him had helped to “build the diaspora.” It was a comment that made him reconsider just how closely his airline career was connected to the diplomatic work he would later undertake.

The lessons extended beyond geography.

Air Jamaica, he says, taught him the value of service — and, importantly, that serving someone should not be confused with being subservient.

“It is an honour to serve people,” Mair says, explaining that whether he is dealing with a CEO or visiting Jamaican farm workers, the principle remains the same: treat people with respect, love and dignity.

Decades later, Jamaicans still approach him and remember him from his Air Jamaica days — a reminder of how deeply the airline and its employees became woven into the diaspora experience.

An Iconic Part of Jamaica

Asked what he hopes people 50 years from now will remember when they see Air Jamaica’s famous Lovebird, Mair places the airline in distinguished company.

For him, Air Jamaica belongs alongside Bob Marley, Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Miss Lou — Jamaican names and symbols recognised far beyond the island’s shores.

He describes the national carrier as “an iconic part of our history and culture which helped to put Jamaica on the map.”

Years after Air Jamaica ceased operations, the friendships, memories and sense of pride remain. So too does Mair’s belief that Jamaicans have not seen the last of their national airline.

For someone whose journey from young traveller to flight attendant, airline executive and eventually diplomat was profoundly shaped by the Lovebird, the connection remains deeply personal.

Watch the full interview with Oliver Mair on our YouTube channel, and explore previous episodes of Air Jamaica Chronicles here.