Air Jamaica did not need to look far to find the combination of brains and beauty that is being presented as the new image of the Caribbean airline. The company in February named Yendi Phillipps, a Jamaican beauty queen and popular island celebrity, as its new Global Ambassador. Phillipps won both the 2007 Miss Jamaica World title and the 2010 Miss Jamaica Universe title before being named the 1^st runner-up to Ximena Navarette of Mexico at the 2010 Miss Universe contest in Las Vegas. She also competed in the 2007 Miss World contest that was held in China. Phillipps, who has a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Masters Degree in Recreation Management from the State University of New York, will represent Air Jamaica to the airline's clients and travel partners worldwide. She is also the new host of the airline's inflight video program called "Island Style."

Phillipps has family roots in both the U.S. and Jamaica, where she attended the St. Andrews High School for Girls in Kingston. She has previously been a host on "Digicel Rising Stars" a highly-popular Jamaican television talent show considered the island's version of American Idol. Phillipps has been described by Air Jamaica executives as the perfect image to portray the airline's market message of self "reinvention and redefinition." Phillipps joins Air Jamaica at a time when both the airline and its island appear to be enjoying a resurgence of tourism interest. Travel Pulse / Modern Agent online reported that Jamaica's Sangster International Airport announced that it broke a record for visitor arrivals during the U.S. Presidents Weekend of Feb. 18-20, 2011, when 20,695 overnight vacationers arrived, surpassing by almost 7,500 the highest previous number of arrivals on any weekend.