Caribbean Airlines

Caribbean Airlines

IATA BW ICAO BWA Callsign CARIBBEAN AIRLINES
Founded	31 December 2006 (predecessor in 1939)
Commenced operations	1 January 2007
Hubs	Piarco International Airport Norman Manley International Airport
Focus cities	John F. Kennedy International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Caribbean Miles
Airport lounge	Club Caribbean
Fleet size	25 (+10 orders)
Destinations	18
Company slogan	The Warmth of the Islands (Trinidad and Tobago) One Vision,One Caribbean,One Airline (Jamaica)
Headquarters	Tunapuna-Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago
Key people	(CEO) Mr. Robert Corbie (Ag.) (Chairman) Mr. George M. Nicholas III (Chairman and Board Advisor) Prof. JF Mognetti
Website	www.caribbean-airlines.com

Caribbean Airlines Limited operating as Caribbean Airlines is the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago. Caribbean Airlines Limited operates both Caribbean Airlines and Air Jamaica brands and as such is also the flag carrier to Jamaica through its brand, Air Jamaica.

Caribbean Airlines began operations on 1 January 2007, replacing its predecessor, BWIA West Indies Airways. Its headquarters are in Piarco, Tunapuna-Piarco region, Trinidad and Tobago. Its inflight magazine is Caribbean Beat. Caribbean Airlines flies from the Caribbean to the United States, Canada and South America.

History

Caribbean Airlines was incorporated in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on 27 September 2006.

In September 2006, following the recommendation of Peter Davies, the CEO of BWIA West Indies Airways, Caribbean Airlines got approval from the Trinidad and Tobago government to begin operations, after the failed negotiations between the unions and the management of its predecessor, BWIA. As a result, it was announced on 8 September 2006, that BWIA was to be shut down before the launch of Caribbean Airlines.

During the last quarter of 2006, in an effort to scale down operations for the start of Caribbean Airlines, BWIA's management cut routes such as Manchester Airport, London Heathrow Airport, New York City and Toronto, with intermediate stops at Barbados or Antigua, ceased services to and from Saint Lucia, cut its fleet to six Boeing 737-800 aircraft retrofitted with wingtip devices and reduced its staff to 800, with a majority of the staff former BWIA workers now contracted.

The new airline's capital included funds to close and settle BWIA's operations. The company commenced operations on 1 January 2007, servicing the remaining routes of BWIA.

In the first half of 2007, two Airbus A340-300 planes and a Boeing 737-800 were returned to International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS), respectively.

On 27 July 2009, Mr. Philip Saunders announced his resignation as CEO of Caribbean Airlines, due to personal reasons. Caribbean Airlines appointed Captain Ian Brunton in October 2009 as CEO of the airline.

In-flight services

Upon the airline's launch in January 2006, the airline retained the in-flight magazine, Caribbean Beat, and in-flight video, Caribbean Essence, of its predecessor BWIA. Caribbean Beat has been published since 1991 by Media and Editorial Projects Limited out of Trinidad and Tobago, and Caribbean Essence is produced by JCD & Associates, also out of Trinidad & Tobago.

Additionally, Caribbean Airlines continues to market itself as one of the few airlines still offering complimentary meals and refreshments, as well as two free checked bags. A movie is also shown on long-haul flights.

Colours, livery and logo

The colors of Caribbean Airlines are green, blue, and purple and are represented in the new staff uniforms, all featuring the hummingbird, the logo of Caribbean Airlines.

BWIA's logo was a steelpan. Caribbean Airlines' image is a hummingbird in flight. The image is a reference to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, where the island of Trinidad is known as "the land of the hummingbird". All aircraft in the fleet carry the flag of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the flag of CARICOM.

The airline has five designs on the tails of their Dash-8s. One of the designs raised controversy, due to its usage of the Balisier flower, the symbol of the former ruling People's National Movement political party. The logo was subsequently redesigned without the flower and replaced with fruits. The tail designs feature a steelpan, cricket balls, fruits, corals and fish, and butterflies.

Operations

Caribbean Airlines began operations with a fleet of six Boeing 737-800 aircraft and one Airbus A340-313, operating the London Heathrow route until May 2007. The airline offered two classes of service, first/business class and economy class on both the Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Caribbean Airlines operated daily direct services to Miami, Toronto, New York, Jamaica (with stops in Barbados and Antigua/St. Maarten), Guyana, Suriname and London Heathrow till May 2007 due to the ICC 2007 Cricket World Cup, all out of its hub at Piarco International Airport. Peter Davies resigned from his position as CEO, effective 30 September 2007, but remained as a strategic advisor to Caribbean Airlines.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 October 2007, Philip Saunders, Star Alliance VP Commercial, was appointed the new Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Airlines. Subsequently, the airline took over operations of Tobago Express, its domestic arm at a cost of US$24 million, the intentions to upgrade the fleet of Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 to international standards, and adding new Caribbean destinations through the subsidiary.

In March 2008, the airline added a daily direct service to the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas, using the Dash 8 aircraft. In May 2008, Caribbean Airlines acquired a 7th Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline added a new U.S. route on 22 May to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport from Piarco International Airport. This route began operations four times per week and later in July, the frequency was increased to daily service.

On 15 November 2008, Transavia Airlines agreed to operate a wet-lease operation on behalf of Caribbean Airlines, it increased its fleet to eight Boeing 737-800. The aircraft was re-fitted to the standard 16/138 configuration including an extra nine inches of seat pitch in the business class cabin, due to a different galley and closet placement. This allowed the airline to increase flight frequency to meet demand for the peak travel periods. The lease was contracted to stay until 15 April 2009. The aircraft was returned in June 2009, and Sun Country Airlines leased a Boeing 737-800 to Caribbean Airlines.

In April 2009, the airline increased its frequency of service to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas from a daily service to 10 weekly services. The route continues to be operated by the Bombardier Dash-8 Q300, configured for 50 passengers in an all economy service. Daily flights to its gateways Fort Lauderdale and Miami continue. Services to Toronto and New York remain at twice daily and 20 weekly (up to 28 weekly in peak season) respectively.

As of 2009, Caribbean Airlines operates services from the Southern Caribbean to Jamaica, as well as South America, including Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela. The airline also serves the United States and Canada, in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York and Toronto, having also established a codeshare agreement with British Airways, for services to London and beyond. The airline operates a fleet of eight Boeing 737-800 aircraft and five Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 aircraft, out of its main hub at Piarco International Airport, Trinidad.

In August 2010, Caribbean Airlines and Air India signed a travel pact for Trinidadians travelling to India. In October, the airline announced a fleet renewal of 15 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation jets and nine ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft. The new Boeing jets will replace Air Jamaica's operating fleet of Airbus aircraft.

Acquisition of Air Jamaica

Caribbean Airlines Limited, through the government of Trinidad and Tobago, announced plans to operate a base in Jamaica following the divestment of Air Jamaica slated to occur between 30 April 2010 to that same period in 2011. Caribbean Airlines will provide a seamless transition following Air Jamaica's closure. Once the deal is finalized, Caribbean Airlines Limied will become the largest airline in the Caribbean with a new hub in Kingston Jamaica's Norman Manley International Airport. The divestment is to come into effect on 30 April 2010 after it was rescheduled from 12 April 2010. On this day Air Jamaica will cease operations and Caribbean Airlines will acquire the airline's most profitable routes and their remaining six aircraft. In October, plans were announced to replace the aircraft fleet with all Boeing 737-800 Next Generation jets.

On 4 March 2010, Caribbean Airlines announced that they will be terminating their codeshare agreement with British Airways for the Port-of-Spain-London-Gatwick route effective 27 March 2010 paving the way for a direct service from Piarco International Airport to London,UK.

On 28 April 2010, Caribbean Airlines Limited and Air Jamaica signed a final agreement for the purchase of Air Jamaica by Caribbean Airlines Limited, following the signing of a letter of intent to merge in January of the same year. The deal stated that Caribbean would continue operating Air Jamaica's routes, and retain 900 of Air Jamaica's employees. Financing was provided by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, which contributed around $50 million to complete the merger, and Jamaica, which assumed more than $800 million in costs related to the closure of Air Jamaica.

On 27 May 2011, the acquisition of Air Jamaica was completed, with Finance Minister Winston Dookeran and Jamaican Finance Minister Audley Shaw at the Prime Minister' St. Clair office, signing the shareholding agreement. This now allows the Jamaican government owning a 16% stake of Caribbean Airlines Limited.

Talks have begun between Caribbean Airlines' management and LIAT regarding a possible partnership or merger between the two airlines. The former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning had also expressed interest in Cayman Airways and Bahamasair also being merged into Caribbean Airlines, but, with the recent changes in government, the future of these plans is uncertain.

According to Chairman of the Board of Caribbean Airlines George Nicholas III, Caribbean Airlines is pursuing a relationship with Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance, in an effort to support Jamaican hoteliers. In a recent announcement, he announced plans to start routes to Johannesburg, Mumbai, and London. Speculation has arose that LAN Airlines will lease 3 Boeing 767 aircraft. The aircraft is expected to arrive sometime in 2012

Cargo operations

Caribbean Airlines operates cargo services using a wet-leased Boeing 767 freighter from ABX Air of the United States. The service operates to several destinations in the airline's route network including Port of Spain, Barbados, Guyana and Miami and operates three times weekly. The aircraft are flown by ABX pilots using Caribbean's callsign and Caribbean Airlines flight numbers^{[citation needed]}.

Destinations

Main article: Caribbean Airlines destinations

Fleet details

Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737-800 landing in Miami

Current fleet

The Caribbean Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of January 2012):

Caribbean Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	In Fleet	Orders	Passengers			Notes
			J	Y	Total
Boeing 737-800	17	0	16	138	154	2 Aircraft leased from Transavia.com for winter period 13 leased from ILFC 9Y-SXM Leased from ALAFCO, 9Y-MBJ leased from Air Lease
Boeing 767-300ER	0	3	TBA	TBA	TBA	Aircraft expected to arrive in March of 2012. All 3 aircrafts leased from LAN Airlines
Boeing 767-200F	1	0				Wet-Leased from ABX Air Operating for Caribbean Airlines Cargo and Air Jamaica Cargo
Bombardier Dash-8 Q300	5	0	0	50	50	To be replaced by ATR 72-600
ATR 72-600	2	7	0	68	68	Planned to replace Bombardier Dash-8 Q300
Total	25	10

Former fleet

• Airbus A340-300 - Two (left service in January and May 2007).

Caribbean Airlines Frequent Flyer Programme

Caribbean Miles Tiers

Tier Level	Benefits	Requirements to earn	Requirements to retain
Regular		Free membership	N/A
Silver	Earn 3,000 Miles Bonus Earn Miles Bonus of 10% on all Caribbean Airlines flight miles awarded Preferential check-in and priority boarding on all Caribbean Airlines flights	Earn 20,000 miles points within a membership year	Earn 20,000 miles points within a membership year
Gold	ReceiveFour free positive space upgrade certificates annually Earn 5,000 Miles Bonus Preferential check-in and priority boarding on all Caribbean Airlines flights Expedited award delivery at no cost A Miles Bonus of 100% on all Caribbean Airlines flight miles awarded	Earn 40,000 miles points within a membership year	Earn 40,000 miles points within a membership year
Executive Gold	Earn 7,000 Miles Bonus Receive 10 free positive space upgrades certificates annually A Mile Bonus of 100% on all Caribbean Airlines flight miles awarded Expedited award delivery at no cost Preferential check-in and priority boarding on all Caribbean Airlines flights	Earn 80,000 miles points within a membership year having reached Gold	Earn 80,000 miles points within a membership year

Incidents and accidents

Main article: Caribbean Airlines Flight 523

On July 30, 2011, Caribbean Airlines Flight 523 - Reg: 9Y-PBM overran the runway in rainy weather and crashed through the perimeter fence while landing at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport in Guyana. The incident occurred at approximately 1:32 am. The aircraft, a Boeing 737-800, broke into two just behind the first class area. There were no fatalities. At least two passengers suffered broken legs and others suffered lacerations and other injuries. The majority of the injured were treated at Diamond Diagnostic Hospital and then later transferred to Georgetown Public Hospital. Caribbean Airlines confirmed 157 passengers and 6 crew members were on board the aircraft.

Awards

• 2010, 2011 - The "Caribbean's Leading Airline" - by World Travel Awards

Theme song

Caribbean Airlines has a theme song arranged in a traditional Trinidadian calypso music style. The song starts off with an epic and uplifting feel. It was originally recorded by Explainer and the song is called Lorraine The original lyrics, which talk about a man who needs to escape the cold United States and get back to the Caribbean, were modified to fit Caribbean Airlines.

See also

• Caribbean Beat, the in-flight magazine of Caribbean Airlines

External links

• Official website (Mobile)
• In-flight magazine (Caribbean Beat)
• Mognetti CAL Conference)