NEW YORK (JIS) – Thursday, September 20, 2007 : Air Jamaica, the World’s best Airline to the Caribbean was honored on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 by Counterpart International for furthering the cause of using sustainable tourism to enhance and improve the health, wealth, culture and environment of the communities it serves. Air Jamaica was presented with the World Tourism Forum Award for Peace and Sustainable Tourism at Counterpart International’s 2007 World Leadership Awards at Guastavino’s in New York City.

Air Jamaica’s Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing Paul Pennicook, who accepted the award was humbled by the airline’s recognition at the gala.

“Throughout our history Air Jamaica has been steadfast in its support of causes which aim to improve the quality of life of the people in the communities we serve, and we are therefore very pleased to be acknowledged in this way by Counterpart International,” Pennicook noted.

Jamaican-born attorney who appeared on season six of NBC’s “The Apprentice” Muna Heaven presented the World Tourism Forum Award for Peace and Sustainable Development to Mr. Pennicook.

The company is well known in the airline industry for its outstanding record of philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and community involvement. Air Jamaica has championed a number of philanthropic causes including Medical Missions to Jamaica, which has administered health care to more than 18,000 indigent adults and children over the past six years; Jamaican Children’s Heart Fund, which has provided open-heart surgeries in Jamaica, free of cost, to impoverished Jamaican families for the past 12 years; and the Lovebird Kids’ Club, which works to enhance the quality of life for children living in the Caribbean (and in Caribbean communities within the United States) by providing increased educational opportunities and improved learning facilities.

The airline also acknowledged that its expanded network of routes continues to help sustain the tourist economies of the destinations to which it flies and hopes to continue it expansion and support in the coming years.

Among the other award winners on the night were President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez, who was presented with the World Leadership Award; Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and St. Lucia’s Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Senator Allen Chastanet; Executive Vice President and General Manager of BET J and BET Digital Networks and President of BET Event Productions, Paxton Baker and public relations veteran and Ruder Finn Chairman and cofounder David Finn.

Counterpart International was founded in 1965, to gives people a voice in their own future through smart partnerships, offering options and access to tools for sustained social, economic and environmental development.

For further information about Counterpart International, visit www.counterpart.org