High tourism hopes for return of CAL’s Denver flight
(CNS): Cayman Airways will re-start its nonstop weekly Saturday flights to Denver, Colorado, from Grand Cayman on 26 February, which, along with the return of several more airlines and routes this month, is fuelling high hopes for the tourism sector. Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan stressed the importance of getting the national flag carrier to restart this route, which had been popular with dive enthusiasts from Colorado and beyond before COVID-19 threw the sector into a tailspin.
“Tourism is highly dependent on airlift, and the resumption of the Cayman Airways service to Denver, Colorado, is integral to the recovery of our tourism industry,” Bryan said in a release announcing the re-launch of the route. “As we move through Phase 5 of our border reopening plan, the ability to resume established routes like Denver emphasizes the importance of our national airline, and highlights the strategic role it plays in making it easy for tourists to visit the Cayman Islands from key gateways across the USA.”
Also returning this month are JetBlue’s Boston and Fort Lauderdale flights, United’s Chicago, Houston Newark and Washington routes and American Airline’s daily service to Miami.
CAL is already operating regular services to other US gateways, including Tampa, New York and Miami. The non-stop Denver flight, which will run until August, is possible now that the national flag carrier has completed its Boeing 737-8 fleet acquisition.
“Our nonstop service between Grand Cayman and Denver reduces the travel time to Cayman from typically between nine and eleven hours using multiple flights, to less than five hours,” said CAL Executive Vice President of Finance and Commercial Affairs Paul Tibbetts.
“The longest scheduled commercial flight we’ve ever operated in the airline’s history is on our Denver route, which is a unique benefit Cayman Airways provides the Cayman Islands as a tourism destination, thanks to having the newest jet fleet in the Caribbean. We look forward to welcoming new and returning visitors to Cayman from the ‘Mile High City’.”
“The Denver route was particularly popular among the diving community and provided a fast and convenient way for SCUBA enthusiasts to explore the Cayman Islands’ magnificent underwater world,” said Tourism Director Rosa Harris. “We look forward to welcoming visitors, especially divers, back to our warm Caribbean waters for an unforgettable vacation experience.”
See the flight schedule for the US, Canada and London below:
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Category: Business, Local News, Tourism, Travel
CAL is very good at cancelling flights but not very good at anything else. CAL was a great airline until about 3 years ago. Everything started going downhill when they changed the baggage policy. I think it is time for upper management to actually interact with their customers. Like taking phone calls, responding to emails or, god forbid, actually meet with a customer.
Seems like all the connection times are off.
Wish the tourists coming here would wear masks when they go out to a public place. Enforcement is needed because they don’t respect us or the laws here.
Because all the locals are wearing masks, right!
Are you serious. Tourists are all tested negative when they arrive. It is the local community that need to address the 10% positive rate.
If you look at the schedule it’s mostly Saturday/Sunday flights. So if ORIA is now a high value ISIS target and we have a security booth in place can you imAgine the delay in check in? I’m betting that the traffic build up will stretch back to Foster’s. Let’s see how CIAA and their new air arrival scheduling consultants solve this new mess.
ORIA was a high value ISIS target, but they were dissuaded by the high security check booth. Plus the fact that they could find volunteers for a suicide bombing, but no one is as prepared to do the indefinite quarantine if they tested positive on the entrance LFT.
The resumption of Northern American Travel, using alternative airline carriers, makes me so happy.
Time to really life, again 😉.
Who taught Kenny all those big words?
“The Denver route was particularly popular among the diving community a…” said Tourism Director Rosa Harris.
Numbers please Rosa? 2019 or previous.
Great additional airlines. Now the big question are they full?
They are not. Most flights out of Denver have at most 40-50 passengers. A huge money sink for the tourism dept. Pax going to Denver isn’t much better as well.
You forgot the Honduras business plan which is based on friends/family/girlfriends/second families and drug lords.
I know Denver is a United Hub but if CAL flew to Vegas or LA those flights would be full every week and it would make residents exponentially happier.
stop the rule of preventing other carriers from undercutting cal….and tourism will explode…
It’s CIAA landing fees and taxes that double airfare prices here over competitors.
And those fees are technically never paid by CAL. They stay on the books of the CIAA then get “paid” through the CIG subsidy to CAL. So taxpayers are screwing themselves by paying the exorbitant fees on behalf of CAL that keep other airlines airfares artificially high.
There are 4 of us booked on the United flight out of Houston in early March. I looked at the available seats yesterday. On the flight to GCM in coach there are 12 seats SOLD and in first class there are 8 seats SOLD. That leaves a lot of empty seats. I’m waiting for the email that our flight out of Houston is cancelled and we have been rerouted through Miami. Seriously no airline is going to fly a 737 with most of the seats empty. And even if the flight goes as scheduled it will have 4 fewer passengers because we will not return to Cayman as long as testing on 2/5/7 is required.
Go Broncos! Elway is the GOAT.
We should look into flying to more cities out west, like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix etc.
John Wayne Santa Ana (SNA) in Orange County might be a really good customer link. Pity our new planes are so featureless inside.
$1100 to fly coach to Denver return! That is just robbery…..what a joke of an airline
Please go home about joke of an airline. You try connecting through airports or compare any non-stop 5 hour flight in high-sea and see what you are dealing with
$1300. Just for airfare to fly down in April. Ha….can go to other islands and fly and stay a few days for that price.
High hopes for Colorado, I see what you did there.
Get rid of the meaningless LFT 2, 5 and 10 day protocols.
If you test positive at 5 or 10 days, you almost certainly caught it in Cayman. Why would anyone risk getting stuck?
Tourism is doomed until Cayman stops hiding behind the couch and joins the world in learning to live with Covid.
2,5 and 7 now. Just FYI.
Lodge people bought test kits. Meaningless testing will continue until every last one is sold to the public at 100% markup.
There is a global pandemic underway with 25% of the planet under Level 4 avoid travel cautions, so pretending we are foregoing normal airlifts right now is bogus. Imagine the health, economic, and administrative toll if humanity had decided to give up and “live with Covid” last summer in advance of vaccination campaigns, and the Delta and Omicron variants. We don’t know what, if anything, will succeed Omicron, but reasonable minds understand it’s not necessarily the last, even if we all wish it to be. Also unknown is the extent of protection, waning comirnaty or previous recovery antibodies will provide for whatever comes next, if anything. None of Cayman’s entry and exit requirements are particularly onerous given an experienced travellers’ level of understanding of the global circumstances. Ours is thankfully far more relaxed than some G7 countries.
Move on!
Thankfully, there is a service provider on Island that can tell you how much protection you have whether from the jabs or natural immunity.
Maybe stuck looking at only half of the equation. The fact is, Americans aren’t free to get COVID while abroad and expect to return home without problems. That’s why USA official guidance is to “avoid travel”.
CDC COVID-19 Testing Required for U.S. Entry
Effective December 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require all air passengers two years of age and over entering the United States (including U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents) to present a negative COVID-19 test result a negative taken no more than 1 day before departure, or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days. Airlines must confirm the negative test result or proof of recent recovery for all passengers prior to boarding. Airlines must deny boarding of passengers who do not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery.
You is another chicken head!!
“Tourism is highly dependent on airlift, and the resumption of the Cayman Airways service to Denver, Colorado, is integral to the recovery of our tourism industry,” Bryan said in a release“
Wrong! Tourism is highly dependent on tourist willing to travel to Cayman, while our insane testing and isolation requirements remain! How long will it take you numb skulls to figure that out?
Travel right now, anywhere, is not for novices or unvaccinated. Level 4 travel cautions for a quarter of the planet.
7:54, you nailed it!!!!! Lots of other places are open with nothing required but an entry test!
Lots of countries are in complete lockdown too. They aren’t even letting their own people in so stop whining and complaining.
Name where is in complete lockdown. Most places been out of lockdown since a month after the pandemic started.
CAL fly direct to Nashville challenge. It’s a fun city!
Legal weed in Denver! Really good legal weed as well!
Legal weed in all of Canada since September 2018. Beautiful legal stores, safe product.
No calories!
Oh my goodness….do you care about anything else than weed? Do something with your life besides weed.
And Rocky Mountain Oysters.
Love the Mile High City
Can get the same quality in Cayman for ridiculously outrageous markups.
A little birdie told me it’s due to ‘fees’ paid to ensure it crosses the border without a hitch.
Keeping it illegal doesn’t stop consumption, it just keeps it lucrative for drug lords.
A real blast they say.
Notably, still no geographically logical business/tourism and vacation route to Tocumen in Panama City, gateway to the Latin America, and the wider-world, with more international arrivals and departures than MIA.
Meanwhile CAL retains twice weekly airlift service to a downgraded category 6 backwater airport in Honduras, whose airfield disrepair has inflicted over $1mln in mechanical damage to previous CAL aircraft. Go figure.
Wish this service was more thab just Saturdays!
Q. When will CAL reinstate their LOYALTY program? They are still gouging double price as lone operator, and not giving their customers the decency of any Sir Turtle points credits.
They will when the competition returns, and then we have a choice and that choice will include value for service. Until then they don’t care.
Visitors, other than friends and family, will continue to be a trickle if maintain the 2, 5 and 7 day testing regime. Not only a pain in the butt to have to disrupt three mornings to do this, but risk getting you and your travelling companion(s) locked down for at least 10 days.
Like many other people, I am waiting for this to be scrapped before I book. Havent been since 2018.
(There are zero updates from your government in a month. No indication as to what/when this might be lifted.) I am sure your returning residents feel the same with this protocol.
Verified LFT testing will probably fizzle out soon. Until then, it’s easy and fast. Not a big deal compared to some other Western countries.
It’s a big deal. The threat of being locked in a hotel room and prevented from returning home for many weeks is simply not worth it.
How to put this delicately: unvaccinated inexperienced travellers should stay in their red states right now. Breathe that freedom.
It doesn’t sound like you’re smart enough to travel anywhere right now.
CDC COVID-19 Testing Required for U.S. Entry
Effective December 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require all air passengers two years of age and over entering the United States (including U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents) to present a negative COVID-19 test result a negative taken no more than 1 day before departure, or proof of recovery from the virus within the last 90 days. Airlines must confirm the negative test result or proof of recent recovery for all passengers prior to boarding. Airlines must deny boarding of passengers who do not provide documentation of a negative test or recovery.
As soon as you test negative you can hop on a plane to US under US rules. Cayman rules put you in quarantine if you hit a positive and you are isolated longer than your next day negative.
Not only a big deal, but an added expense to an already expensive holiday. Don’t forget the required medical insurance.
No one wants to get locked in a small Westin hotel room for 7 (really 9 to 10) days if you or those you are travelling with get a positive. Not worth it.
True, but suppose “Cayman” scraps all testing…what will be the irrational complaint on second last day when the defiant group surprises positive for pre-boarding CDC re-entry test to USA? We spin the wheel of chance going anywhere right now, and COVID rules aren’t just on Cayman’s end.
Yeah? Name all those Western countries demanding LFT testing for 3 separate days after arrival. Waiting…..
6:59, We are a brilliant and unique people. We are the ONLY / ONLY ones in the world demanding LFT testing 3 separate days.
How about Canada? For fully-vaccinated and boostered travellers, they can “select” you with a pink sticker for a domestic arrival entry PCR test where traveller must strictly quarantine until results delivered to either clear as negative or condemn as positive. The turnaround time on those results can be up to 6 days in downtown Toronto. We had to do one last week that was a “speedy” 72 hours turnaround. Give us the 5 minute LFT any day over that.
There are also many private resorts in USA, Mexico, and Canada that only accept fully-vaccinated travellers and require a domestic LFT or PCR after arrival to use their property amenities. Think of Cayman that way, and it fits.
Who at CAL decides to activate this DEN route after every winter ski season? Dummies.
Can CAL pilots land in winter weather?
Well smartass, they can land at JFK at night, in fog and sleet, and they are supposed to be trained pilots…don’t see how normal seasonal weather is supposed to be a problem.
What a discriminating point. Can Foreign pilots (Mainly the US and Canadian-based) flying into Cayman Island’s Non-radar environment, accept and hand-fly visual approaches in CAVOK?
The original post was patronizing but your response is just silly. Flying into an airport on instruments and in adverse conditions is advanced flying – doing a visual approach is basics.
A pilot on a long haul flight of say 9 hours, will have only amassed on average 10 minutes or less of actual hand flying time. The FMC and autopilot “fly” the aircraft the majority of the time. Conditions, System Operability, and SOP’s dependant. A Cessna 172 recently crashed in Iceland on Feb 3 with 4 onboard in VMC. The PIC was the AOPA Iceland Chapter President and one of the most decorated pilots in Iceland. All flying is advanced. Research Asiana Flight 214. Over 30,000 Hours (3 pilots) combined experience in the cockpit and an extra relief captain in business class, yet they managed to “fly” a Boeing 777-300er short of the runway, fixated on instruments in perfect VMC conditions. FAA’s Proposed Advisory Circular AC-120FPM is currently in a 30 day comment period, urging airlines and charter operators to incorporate more “hand flying” into their operations and not be so dependent on automation, among other recommendations. Visual flying in itself compared to shooting an approach to minimums in IMC may be “basic”, but the heavier the metal, the more complex it gets.
Wasn’t Asiana 214 the plane that crashed in Lost?
Because it’s not designed for us to go there, it’s meant to be for them to come to Cayman.
Well the. It should definitely by during the winter season!
And no direct flights from the Northeast during our winter season except from JFK and none of us want to have to fly into JFK.
Get vaxed then you’re free to travel!
Tourists? When will our own people be returned their constitutional right to travel freely between islands?
Sadly, this Denver flight times aren’t conducive to an easy connection to the west. Leaves too late to catch a connection outbound and leaves Denver too early to get here.
Shame, I wish they would consider something direct and nonstop to the West.
Agree. Arizona would have been better
Las Vegas, baby!!!!
Same in Miami. I can understand them not having formal connections to other airlines, but why do they have to schedule so that you often have to spend the night to connect?
Seriously, it arrives into DEN at 11:30 am, plenty of flights leaving to all matter of western cities.
Not the one I want
AA direct from MIA to LAX at least 6 times a day as well as other west coast cities.
Not going to LAX.
Yes, that was great when AA did an overnight and had a 7:00 am departure from GCM to MIA. Now it is a late afternoon with an arrival into Miami at 5pm.