Overview Of Caribbean Airlines

Caribbean Airlines (CAL) was incorporated in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on September 27, 2006 when the previous British West Indies Airways (BWIA) was found to be no longer viable. In that same year, the airline also purchased Tobago Express.
Flight operations commenced on January 1, 2007 with 128 weekly departures to 10 markets. The company initiated a simplified fare structure which offered discounted fares to senior citizens and students. The Airline launched a Web check-in feature allowing passengers to check in for flights and print boarding passes via the Internet.

CAL operated 93.9% of its flights on time, surpassing the aviation industry’s on-time performance standard of 85%. The company also exceeded industry standards with an impressive lost baggage rate of 0.7 (less than one bag lost per thousand passengers) during their first years of operations.

The airline codeshared with British Airways and added a Boeing 737-800 to meet major regional events including Cricket World Cup and Jazz Festivals. CAL also added special charters to other Caribbean countries.

Other programs were added including Caribbean Airlines Brand Camp, where employees were appointed Brand Ambassadors. The customer service programs resulted in customers rating CAL at an 81% satisfaction rate. CAL was able to transition customers who participated in BWIA’s loyalty programs to their Caribbean Miles membership

CAL’s head office in Port-of-Spain Trinidad featured state-of-the-art technology such as Internet kiosks for ticket booking and online check-in. There are offices and counters in all the Caribbean countries as well as in some of the major airports in the USA and the UK.

In its bid to be a truly Caribbean airline, CAL added more than a dozen flight attendants from throughout the Caribbean as well as pilots and other airline employees. In order to increase quality control and realize savings, CAL hired additional staff to manage the maintenance of its fleet.

On May 26, 2011, CAL acquired the lucrative routes operated by Air Jamaica in a government to government agreement. This deal included six of Air Jamaica’s aircraft, eight of its routes and a transition plan of US$300 million from CAL. The government of Jamaica owns 16 percent of CAL while the Trinidad government owned majority shares. CAL was allowed to use the Air Jamaica brand on a limited basis although the Jamaican government owned the brand.

CAL employs 1124 employees, 650 of whom were originally employed by Air Jamaica.