Caribbean Airlines
| File:CaribbeanAirlinesLogo.jpg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Founded | December 31, 2006 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | January 1, 2007 | ||||||
| Hubs | Piarco International Airport Norman Manley International Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Sir Donald Sangster International Airport Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport John F Kennedy International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Caribbean Miles [1] | ||||||
| Fleet size | 19 | ||||||
| Destinations | 16 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Tunapuna-Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago | ||||||
| Key people | (CEO) Capt. Ian Brunton (Chairman) Mr. Arthur Lok Jack | ||||||
| Website | www.Caribbean-Airlines.com | ||||||
Caribbean Airlines is the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago. The airline also serves as the flag carrier of Jamaica, following its acquisition of Air Jamaica on May 1, 2010.[3] The airline is majority owned by the government of Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, with the government of Jamaica being the minority partner. Its main hubs are at the Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica.[4]
The airline began operations on January 1, 2007, replacing its predecessor, BWIA West Indies Airways. Its headquarters are in Piarco, Tunapuna-Piarco region, on the island of Trinidad. Its inflight magazine is Caribbean Beat. Caribbean Airlines flies from the Caribbean to the United States, Canada and South America. It is currently pursuing a new codeshare agreement to provide flights to the United Kingdom, and fully completed acquisition of Air Jamaica on 28 April 2010;[5] a 6-12 month transition period is projected to follow, beginning 1 May, 2010.[6]
On 1 May 2010, Caribbean Airlines was assigned national carrier status to Jamaica after the airline acquired the latter's Air Jamaica.[3]
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.[7] The company commenced operations on January 1, 2007, servicing the remaining routes of BWIA.[8]
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.[9]
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 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.[10]. 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".[11] All aircraft in the fleet carry the flag of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the flag of CARICOM.[12]
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.[13] The logo was subsequently redesigned without the flower[14] 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.[15] 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 divestment of Air Jamaica slated to occur between April 30, 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 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 April 30, 2010 after it was rescheduled from April 12, 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.
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 March 27, 2010 paving the way for a direct service from Piarco International Airport to London,UK.
On 28 April 2010, Caribbean Airlines and Air Jamaica signed a final agreement for the purchase of Air Jamaica by Caribbean Airlines, 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 governments 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.[5]
Talks have begun between Caribbean Airlines' management and LIAT regarding a possible partnership or merger between the two airlines. The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago has also expressed interest in Cayman Airways and Bahamasair also being merged into Caribbean Airlines.
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].
Finances
Caribbean Airlines made a profit of US$6.9 million in its first year of operations before tax and formation cost, however the Airline had a net loss US$18.9 million at the end of 2007. Caribbean Airlines carried 849,298 passengers with revenues of US$175.2 million. Caribbean Airlines made a before tax profit of US$7.9 million on revenues of US$231 million for the year ending 2008, while carrying 1,648,991 passengers.
Fleet details
Current fleet
The Caribbean Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of April 2010:[4])
| Aircraft | Total | Orders | Passengers (First/Economy) F/Y |
Powerplants | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319-100 | 1 |
0 |
150 (12/138) | Two (2) CFM56-5B | Kingston (Hub) to
Baltimore, Toronto-Pearson, Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, New York-JFK and Montego Bay | |
| Airbus A320-200 | 4 |
0 |
142 (8/134) | Two (2) CFM56-5B | Montego Bay to
Kingston, Fort Lauderdale, Philadelphia and New York | |
| Airbus A321-200 | 1 |
0 |
188 (12/176) | Two (2) CFM56-5B | Montego Bay to
Toronto-Pearson and New York | |
| Boeing 737-800 Next Generation | 8 |
0 |
154 (16/138) [8] | Two (2) General Electric CFM56-7B |
|
Leased from ILFC |
| Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 | 5 |
0 | 50 (0/50) | Two (2) Pratt & Whitney 123 Series |
|
Former fleet
- Airbus A340-300 - Two (left service in January and May 2007).
Destinations
Caribbean Airlines operates scheduled services to the following, which may expand following the acquisition of Air Jamaica in April, 2010:[16]
Caribbean
North America
South America
Possible Future Destinations
Service to Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Lucia have been mentioned by airline and government officials.[17]
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[18] The original lyrics, which talk about a man who needs to escape the cold of Brooklyn, NY and get back to the Caribbean,[19] 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
See also
Caribbean Beat- the in-flight magazine of Caribbean Airlines
Portal:Jamaica
References
- ^ Caribbean Miles, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008.
- ^ Club Caribbean, Caribbean Airlines Website, Accessed 2 July 2008.
- ^ a b "No golden parachute for Air J incompetents, please". JamaicaObserver.com. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ a b Flight International 3 April 2007
- ^ a b "Caribbean completes takeover of Air Jamaica". Flightglobal.com. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Caribbean Airlines to re-hire 1,000 workers" by Daraine Luton, The Jamaica Gleaner, 29 April 2010
- ^ 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