History Caribbean Airlines

a former caribbean airlines airbus a340-300 still in bwia west indies airways livery

in march 2008, airline added daily direct service simón bolívar international airport in caracas, using dash 8 aircraft. in may 2008, caribbean airlines acquired seventh boeing 737-800 aircraft. airline added new u.s. route on 22 may fort lauderdale-hollywood international airport piarco international airport. route began operations on 4 times per week schedule , later in july of same year, frequency increased daily service.

on 15 november 2008, transavia airlines agreed operate wet-lease operation on behalf of caribbean airlines, increased fleet 8 boeing 737-800. aircraft re-fitted standard 16/138 configuration including 9 inches of seat pitch in business class cabin, due different galley , closet placement. allowed airline increase flight frequency meet demand peak travel periods. lease contracted in effect until 15 april 2009. aircraft returned in june 2009, , sun country airlines, u.s. air carrier, leased boeing 737-800 caribbean airlines.

in april 2009, airline increased frequency of service simón bolívar international airport in caracas daily service ten flights per week. route operated bombardier dash-8 q300, configured 50 passengers in economy service. daily flights gateways fort lauderdale , miami continued. services toronto , new york city remained @ twice daily , 20 weekly (up 28 weekly in peak season), respectively.

on 27 july 2009, philip saunders announced resignation ceo of caribbean airlines, due personal reasons. caribbean airlines appointed captain ian brunton in october 2009 ceo of airline. in 2009, caribbean airlines operated services southern caribbean jamaica, south america, including suriname, guyana , venezuela. airline continued serve united states , canada, in miami, fort lauderdale, new york city , toronto, having established codeshare agreement british airways, services london , beyond. of 2009, airline operated fleet of 8 boeing 737-800 aircraft , 5 bombardier dash-8 q300 aircraft, out of main hub @ piarco international airport, trinidad. dash 8 aircraft have since been replaced new atr 72-600 propjets.

acquisition of air jamaica

a former air jamaica boeing 737-800 operated caribbean airlines

caribbean airlines limited, through government of trinidad , tobago, announced plans operate base in jamaica following divestment of air jamaica slated occur between 30 april 2010 same period in 2011. caribbean airlines providing seamless transition following air jamaica s closure. when deal finalized, caribbean airlines limited become largest airline in caribbean new hub in kingston jamaica s norman manley international airport. divestment scheduled become effective on 30 april 2010 after rescheduled 12 april 2010. on day, planned air jamaica cease operations , caribbean airlines acquire airline s profitable routes , remaining 6 aircraft. plans announced replace aircraft fleet boeing 737-800 next generation jets.

on 4 march 2010, caribbean airlines announced terminate codeshare agreement british airways port of spain-london gatwick route effective 27 march 2010 paving way nonstop service operated caribbean between piarco international airport , london, uk.

on 28 april 2010, caribbean airlines limited , air jamaica signed final agreement purchase of air jamaica caribbean airlines limited, following signing of letter of intent merge in january of same year. agreement stated caribbean continue operating air jamaica s routes , retain 900 of air jamaica s employees. financing provided government of trinidad , tobago, contributed around $50 million complete merger, , jamaica, assumed more $800 million in costs related closure of air jamaica.

in august 2010, caribbean airlines , air india signed travel pact trinidadians travelling india. in october, airline announced fleet renewal consisting of fifteen (15) boeing 737-800 next generation jets , 9 atr 72-600 turboprop aircraft. new boeing jets intended replace air jamaica s operating fleet of airbus aircraft.

on 27 may 2011, acquisition of air jamaica completed, finance minister winston dookeran , jamaican finance minister audley shaw @ prime minister st. clair office, signing shareholding agreement. agreement allows jamaican government own 16% stake of caribbean airlines limited. on 28 october 2011, u.s. department of transportation fined caribbean airlines $60,000 limiting reimbursements lost, damaged , delayed baggage less consumers entitled under montreal convention.

talks have begun between caribbean airlines management , liat (leeward islands air transport, regional airline operating dash 8 atr-42 , atr-72 turboprop aircraft in caribbean) regarding possible partnership or merger between 2 airlines. former prime minister of trinidad , tobago, patrick manning had expressed interest in cayman airways being merged caribbean airlines, but, recent changes in government, future of these plans uncertain.

according chairman of board of caribbean airlines george nicholas iii, caribbean airlines pursuing relationship star alliance, world s largest airline alliance, in effort support jamaican hoteliers. reported preparing start route mumbai, no date has been given. also, nicholas announced johannesburg, nigeria, , brazil possible contenders new routes. chicago , atlanta 2 new u.s. gateways being considered, nicholas stated.

on 29 march 2013, u.s. department of transportation (dot) fined airline $100,000 not providing passengers opportunity leave plane delayed on tarmac @ new york’s jfk airport more 4 hours.

in 2016, management of caribbean airlines has set agenda consider replacing atr fleet comparable turboprops sourced bombardier due persistent reliability problems. former chief executive officer (ceo) michael di lollo described atrs “not mission capable” after suffered frequent aog (aircraft on ground) occurrences. on recommendation, efforts made sourcing dash 8-400 aircraft replace carrier s fleet of 5 atr72-600s.

also in 2016, airline returned 2 boeing 767-300er aircraft lessor, coinciding termination of european route london gatwick airport on 10 january 2016, part of streamlining exercise remove unprofitable routes.