is the national
Airline of
Trinidad And Tobago . It operates international services in the
Caribbean and to
USA and
Canada . Its main base is
Piarco International Airport ,
Trinidad Flight International 3 April 2007.
Caribbean Airlines was ,
2006 .
The company commenced operations on
January 1 2007 and operates the routes formerly handled by
BWIA West Indies Airways Trinidad Express: Bye Bye BWEE, Hello Caribbean Airlines .
Caribbean Airlines got approval on September 2006 from the
Trinidad And Tobago Government to begin operations, after the failed negotiations between the unions and the management of its predecessor BWIA, and took to the skies on January 1, 2007. The airline got just over US$350 million to start its operations; US$250 million to close BWIA, pay off employee severance, creditors etc. and, approximately US$85 million to fund the operations of Caribbean Airlines. During the last quarter of
2006 , in an effort to scale down operations for the start of Caribbean Airlines, BWIA's then management decided to cut many routes such as
Washington Dulles International Airport ,
Manchester Airport and
London Heathrow Airport , cut its fleet to 6
Boeing 737-800 aircraft, each to be retrofitted with winglets to obtain maximum efficiency and, the airline drastically reduce its staff to approximately 600. Currently, Caribbean Airlines is still streamlining its operations from BWIA and is said to be looking to aggressively expand into new routes in the
US , the CEO cited that a new US route will begin by year's end, and to expand its fleet.
Whereas BWIA's as well as the flag of
CARICOM .
The airline is flying the following destinations from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago: Miami (
KMIA ), New York (
KJFK ), Toronto (
CYYZ ) and current
Caribbean destinations held by BWIA. The London route which was operated by
BWIA West Indies Airways was operated by Caribbean Airlines from January 1, 2007 to May 9, 2007, due to the cricket world cup, after which
British Airways took over operations of this route with a codeshare agreement.
Caribbean Airlines operates the following international scheduled services (at January
2007 ):
taking off from
London Heathrow Airport . This aircraft temporarily retains the colours of Caribbean Airline's predecessor airline –
BWIA West Indies Airways ]]
The Caribbean Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March
2007 ) :
- 6 Boeing 737-800 154 seats (16 business class/136 economy class)
(All aircraft leased from ILFC on long leases with the option to purchase outright eventually. )
Caribbean Airlines offers 2 classes of service onboard its
Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
On the flight to London which is operated by
British Airways , customers can enjoy BA's Club World, World Traveller Plus, and World Traveller.
This premium cabin is configured in a 2x2 format with a total of 16 seats. This offers costomers dedicated check-in, access to business lounges, priority boarding and baggage retrieval, and fast track facilities.
This cabin offer 32" seat pitch in at 3x3 configuration. On most flights catering of a hot meal and drinks are avalaible complimentary. In-flight entertainment of a movie and featured movie show casing caribbean culture is shown on longer-hauls to Miami, Jamaica, New York, and Toronto.
Club Caribbean is a memebership program that allows access to the facilities and services that will help make your travel time as calming and hassle-free as it can be.
In addition to check-in at the Business Class counter and a warm welcome in the Business Class lounges at specified airports, there are a wide range of Club Caribbean benefits.
Caribbean Airlines' frequent flyer program is Caribbean Miles that can be used for upgrades to a higher class or free reward trips. As you move up the ranks in this program, the more benefits you may be entitled to.
- Caribbean Airlines records 93% ontime performance - Monday, March 2007 : ''Trinidad Express''
- Whose warmth, whose wings? - Friday, December 15 2006 : ''Barbados Daily Nation''
- People & Places – BWIA slap - Wednesday, December 13 2006 : ''Barbados Daily Nation''
- History repeating - Sunday, December 10 2006 : ''Barbados Daily Nation''
- Singh calls for probe into BWIA slots - Thursday, December 7 2006 : ''Trinidad and Tobago Express''
- LONG HAUL - Tuesday, December 5 2006 : ''Barbados Daily Nation''
- $2.3 Billion take-off - Saturday, December 2 2006 : ''Trinidad and Tobago Express''
- 'Keep pan logo on new airline' - Saturday, December 2 2006 : ''Trinidad and Tobago Express''
- Never a Caribbean airline? - Saturday, November 25 2006 : ''Caribbean Net News''
''Trinidad and Tobago Express - Series by: Reginald Dumas''
