Caribbean Airlines: Difference between revisions

Caribbean Airlines
Founded	December 31, 2006
Commenced operations	January 1, 2007
Hubs	Piarco International Airport and Norman Manley International Airport (Future Hub after Air Jamaica merger.
Focus cities	Grantley Adams International Airport; Cheddi Jagan International Airport; Crown Point Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Caribbean Miles
Fleet size	13+6 orders
Destinations	16
Headquarters	Tunapuna-Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago
Key people	(CEO) Capt. Ian Brunton (Chairman) Mr. Arthur Lok Jack
Website	www.Caribbean-Airlines.com

Browse history interactively

← Previous edit Next edit →

Content deleted Content added

VisualWikitext

Inline

Revision as of 01:46, 18 March 2010

Caribbean Airlines is the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago. The airline is wholly owned by the government of Trinidad and Tobago with its main hub at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad.^[3] The airline began operations on January 1, 2007, replacing its predecessor, BWIA West Indies Airways. Its headquarters are in Piarco, Tunapuna-Piarco Regional Corporation on the island of Trinidad.^[4]

Caribbean Airlines flies from the Caribbean to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and South America.

History

Caribbean Airlines was incorporated in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on September 27, 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 September 8, 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.^[5] The company commenced operations on January 1, 2007, servicing the remaining routes of BWIA.^[6]

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 July 27, 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.^[7]

Colors 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.^[8]. 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".^[9] All aircraft in the fleet carry the flag of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the flag of CARICOM.^[10]

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 ruling People's National Movement political party.^[11] The logo was subsequently redesigned without the flower^[12] 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 September 30, 2007, but remained as a strategic advisor to Caribbean Airlines^{[citation needed]}.

On October 1, 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.^[13] The airline added a new U.S. route on May 22 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 November 15, 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 April 15, 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.

Caribbean Airlines, through the government of Trinidad and Tobago, announced plans to operate a base in Jamaica following the closure of Air Jamaica. Caribbean Airlines will provide a seamless transition following Air Jamaica's closure. Once the deal is finalized, Caribbean Airlines will become the largest airline in the Caribbean with a new hub in Kingston Jamaica's Norman Manley International Airport. The merger is to come into effect on April 12th 2010. On this day Air Jamaica will cease operations and Caribbean Airlines will acquire the airline's routes and aircraft.

On 4th 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 March 27th 2010 paving the way for a direct service from Piarco International Airport to London,UK.

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, and Miami and operates two times weekly. The aircraft are flown by ABX pilots using Caribbean's callsign and Caribbean Airlines flight numbers^{[citation needed]}.

Fleet details

Current fleet

The Caribbean Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of February 2010:^[3])

**Caribbean Airlines Fleet**
Aircraft	Total	Orders	Passengers (First/Economy) F/Y	Powerplants	Notes	Destinations
Boeing 737-800 Next Generation	8		154 (16/138) [8]	Two (2) General Electric CFM56-7B	Leased from the International Lease Finance Corporation	USA (Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, & New York), Canada, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, Barbados, St. Maarten, Antigua, Trinidad (Hub), and Tobago. Each Boeing 737-800 uses an IATA code of destinations Caribbean Airlines serves or might serve as part of their registrations.
Bombardier Dash-8 Q300	5		50 (0/50)	Two (2) Pratt & Whitney 123 Series	Acquired when they took over operations of Tobago Express Average age of fleet: 9 years	Trinidad (Hub), Tobago, Barbados, and Venezuela
Airbus A320-200	0	4	150 (12/138)	Two (2) IAE V2500	To be acquired from Air Jamaica	Kingston(Hub),Baltimore,Toronto,Philadelphia,Ft Lauderdale,New York and Montego Bay
Airbus A319-100	0	1	142 (8/134)	Two (2) IAE V2500	To be acquired from Air Jamaica
Airbus A321-200	0	1	188 (12/176)	Two (2) IAE V2500	To be acquired from Air Jamaica

Former fleet

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

Destinations

Caribbean Airlines operates scheduled services to the following:^[14]

Caribbean

Antigua and Barbuda
- St. John's (VC Bird International Airport)
Barbados
- Bridgetown (Grantley Adams International Airport) (focus city) ^{[citation needed]}
Jamaica
- Kingston (Norman Manley International Airport) (hub) (begins April 12 2010)
- Montego Bay (Sir Donald Sangster International Airport) (begins April 12 2010)
Netherlands Antilles
- Saint Maarten
  - Philipsburg (Princess Juliana International Airport)
Trinidad and Tobago
- Port of Spain, Trinidad (Piarco International Airport) (hub)
- Scarborough, Tobago (Crown Point International Airport) (focus city) ^{[citation needed]}

North America

Canada
- Toronto (Toronto Pearson International Airport)
United States
- Florida
  - Fort Lauderdale (Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport)
  - Miami (Miami International Airport)
- Maryland
  - Baltimore (Baltimore-Washington International Airport) (begins April 12 2010)
- New York
  - New York City (John F. Kennedy International Airport)
- Pennsylvania
  - Philadelphia (Philadelphia International Airport) (begins April 12 2010)

South America

Possible Future Destinations

Service to Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Lucia have been mentioned by airline and government officials. ^[15]

Theme Song

The Caribbean Airlines website includes a theme song] (found at the top right corner of the main page) arranged in a traditional Trinidad Soca music style. The song starts off with an epic and uplifting feel. It was originally recorded by Explainer and the song is called Lorraine^[16] The original lyrics which talk about a man who needs to escape the cold of Brooklyn, NY and get back to the Caribbean^[17], were modified to fit Caribbean Airlines.

In Popular Culture

- Caribbean Airlines was the airline used in the movie Dulha Mil Gaya when the main characters travelled to Trinidad and Tobago

References

^ Caribbean Miles, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008.
^ Club Caribbean, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008.
^ ^a ^b Flight International 3 April 2007
^ "Contact Us > Caribbean." Caribbean Airlines. Retrieved on 30 September 2009. Caribbean Airlines is owned by a bunch of ugly Trinidadian bomboholes whose only interest is to TRY, to be better than Jamaica. Caribbean Airlines thinks that buying Air Jamaica will make them profit, but, their wrong, Jamaicans will never support this f*ck*ry.
^ Friendly skies Caribbean Airlines forecasts profit next year, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.
^ Bye Bye BWEE, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.
^ Caribbean Airlines CEO resigns July 27, 2009.
^ Caribbean Airlines launched, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.
^ Caribbean Media Corporation: Hummingbird for BWee's replacement, CANA News, Accessed 2 July 2008
^ Caribbean Airlines gets ready, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.
^ Caribbean Airlines flies the balisier, Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Accessed 2 July 2008
^ PNM joins Gingerbread House campaign, Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Accessed 2 July 2008
^ Caribbean Airlines on course to break even, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.
^ Route Map, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008
^ [1], National Budget Presentation 2010, "Accessed 22nd September 2009"
^ Lorraine
^ original lyrics

External links

Official website

[1] Caribbean Miles, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008.

[2] Club Caribbean, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008.

[FI-3] Flight International 3 April 2007

[4] "Contact Us > Caribbean." Caribbean Airlines. Retrieved on 30 September 2009. Caribbean Airlines is owned by a bunch of ugly Trinidadian bomboholes whose only interest is to TRY, to be better than Jamaica. Caribbean Airlines thinks that buying Air Jamaica will make them profit, but, their wrong, Jamaicans will never support this f*ck*ry.

[5] Friendly skies Caribbean Airlines forecasts profit next year, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.

[6] Bye Bye BWEE, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.

[7] Caribbean Airlines CEO resigns July 27, 2009.

[8] Caribbean Airlines launched, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.

[9] Caribbean Media Corporation: Hummingbird for BWee's replacement, CANA News, Accessed 2 July 2008

[10] Caribbean Airlines gets ready, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.

[11] Caribbean Airlines flies the balisier, Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Accessed 2 July 2008

[12] PNM joins Gingerbread House campaign, Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Accessed 2 July 2008

[13] Caribbean Airlines on course to break even, Trinidad Guardian, Accessed 2 July 2008.

[14] Route Map, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008

[15] [1], National Budget Presentation 2010, "Accessed 22nd September 2009"

[16] Lorraine

[17] riginal lyrics

[1]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]