Airlift predicted to increase for 2022 high season
(CNS): The Cayman Islands is expected to see a 1% increase in its airlift capacity during the last quarter of this year when compared to the last quarter of 2019, which was the last high season period before the COVID pandemic decimated the tourism sector. Officials at the Department of Tourism said in a press release that this is a positive indication of tourism recovery for 2023. An airlift capacity report by the DoT’s research unit, which tracks flights, shows that Cayman will begin gaining seats in late 2022.
The report predicts an increase of 1,253 seats in the fourth quarter of this year, which Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said was a welcome indication of recovery
“The PACT Government’s easing of the travel regulations has unlocked pent-up demand,” he said. “However, we cannot become complacent. Our focus is to drive growth from the markets where it will have the most positive impact. While we celebrate a net increase in available seats for Q4 2022, we must also continue to strive for opportunities to increase the number of flights, operating airlines and gateway cities.”
The net growth in seats is driven in part by an increase in American Airlines connections through Charlotte and Miami, Southwest’s strong feeder markets in Texas, United’s growth in Washington DC and Newark, as well as the new non-stop route from Baltimore to Washington.
However, many secondary markets with less frequent services, such as Philadelphia and Boston, are falling behind and the historical stalwart, Delta, is still in a rebuilding phase with its connections through Atlanta.
The report shows signs of longer-term growth at the start of next year from Dallas and Houston, showing year-over-year growth of 5% and 40% respectively.
According to the DoT, Cayman Airways is one of the destination’s most important advantages in mitigating any loss in capacity from US carriers, tand “a silver bullet for market development”. The national flag carrier’s new non-stop route to Los Angeles accounts for 1,280 seats in Q4 2022 and could have a positive impact in increasing the number of arrivals from Southern California.
“Airlift is the oxygen of our islands’ tourism industry, and our global team has been working hard, engaging with the airlines to restore routes and seats,” DoT Director Rosa Harris said, noting that “increasing the Cayman Islands’ airlift remains a top priority”.
She said the DoT is working to increase the airlift from New York and the Tri-State Area, which has traditionally been a leading source of visitors during the winter, because the numbers are currently down around 8% from 2019.
“Year-over-year growth from the New York market is always a priority,” Harris said. “Instilling confidence amongst the airlines and sharing booking pace and demand indicators as contextual data in partnership with our accommodations sector will help the Cayman Islands extend our momentum.”
According to the statistics posted on the DoT website, as of the end of May this year, just over 88,000 stay-over visitors had flown into the Cayman Islands.
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Why, after all these many years, does Cayman Air not have an interchange agreement with any big carrier? It would be nice to be able to have official connections to/from other places and be able to check your luggage through. Since we don’t live in one of CA’s few airport cities, we don’t fly CA unless absolutely forced to. It’s just too much hassle to connect, not to mention the fares are not competitive.
12:45, The answer is simple. The airline management is under no pressure to make a profit so no need for an inter change agreement.
Cayman Airways fares are also not competitive. But does not matter as profit is not in their vocabulary.
This is a waste of text on screen. 1% ?? 1 253 seats which could disappear with cxls so easily.
Airlift? Interesting choice of a word.
I hope the litter that has been accumulating over the last two years is removed before high season
Mr Bryan is doing his best to help the airlift galavanting around the Caribbean.
What about the shameful BA routing and fares that have destroyed middle income tourism from Europe? With 500 million + citizens holding passports in Europe, Cayman is at a distinct disadvantage by concentrating on North Americans, who statistically hold fewer passports and travel less outside of their own borders.
Cayman loses out to the Bahamas in many ways, including hotel and resort building, Covid restrictions, diverse price points, and locations. But one the worst hurdles is definitely air fares from LHR and the ridiculous ‘both way’ routing via Nassau.
Cayman surrendered to the Bahamas and T&C when BA pulled away from direct flights from London, only returning via Nassau. This gave Nassau the primary airlift capability and Cayman the poor second, resulting in smaller loads and a diminished market share. I believe this was partly due to hotel capacity following Ivan, a mistake that has never been rectified.
CIG should be persuading BA to return to direct flights to Cayman, shortening journey times, offering more realistic fares, and resisting an over reliance on the fickle NA market.
In addition, this would have an effect on smaller, locally owned hotels and resorts who have been all but wiped out by the large franchises that only attract the premium end of the sector. The European style package holiday has been wiped out in Cayman to its detriment, and a reliance on low end cruise market has filled the void. The long stay visitor has to be the future for prosperity in Cayman. Foreign owned private houses, managed by foreign based rental agents, and maintained largely by ex-pat workers, isn’t helping Caymanian people or their economy. It’s time for change and it should start with insisting that Cayman isn’t undervalued by its supplying airlines or market competitors in the region.
You are lucky they come at all. The Bahamas is a much bigger market. The prices will not improve unless you get a second airline to compete.
I disagree with you. Americans are the best tourists generally, they are more positive and they tip very well. Europeans and Brits (I am one) are generally tight fisted, very demanding and miserable. Give me an American anyday.
Oh and while I’m at it, I now live in the Turks and Caicos and we have unreal amounts of tourism at the moment, alot of my guests say they’ve ditched Cayman because of the ridiculous entry procedures and it’s opened their eyes to what TCI has to offer, Cayman but on a much larger scale. You have shot yourselves in the foot on this one.
@7:35 I believe you. Our worthless government handed out tourism industry to the Eastern Caribbean due to their idiotic over the top, over extended covid policies. Now their answer is send a check to everyone impacted by our the loss of business.
I hope those demanding, tight-fisted, miserable Brits that enter T&C via the BA flight read your disingenuous comments. I don’t think anywhere in the world competes with the US for the over demanding of service, you’ve obviously not visited recently.
You clearly rely on or agree with paying staff from tips instead of giving them the dignity of a contracted minimum living wage, that’s known as indentured slavery so you can stop bragging from afar.
However, you have qualified the original comment that identifies the issues that curtail European travel into Cayman and the reasons why Cayman is at a disadvantage, so thank you.
Tips are great. When I was in law school I waited tables at a good restaurant. Got 50% of minimum wage plus tips. Made a ton of money. (It’s true the europeans tip 10% at best but it didn’t matter). It wasn’t until my first raise at a law firm that I made more than I did as a waiter. People who want to work for an hourly wage at a restaurant apparently are satisfied with less.
I hope they do read it, as I said give me an American anyday. And while I’m at it I don’t rely on tips but they supplement my income. In high season I make $7-8k per month. Far more than I’d ever make in Cayman as a Boat Captain Dive Instructor.
And there-in lies the problem. Gratuity based service is why local Caymanians don’t want to enter the service industry due to their employers abrogation of responsibility to ensure a basic living wage.
No employee should have to rely on the additional generosity of their customers to live, and no employer should be able to avoid paying a living wage for a days work.
It’s well known that some employers pay their healthcare and pension control from pooled tips.
The minimum wage should be made realistic to the cost of living in Cayman, and ALL employers forced to justify excessive profits in their market choice if their staff are not remunerated to an acceptable level.
But none of this is possible until Caymans supply, wholesale, and retail sector is opened up to international competition, and the stranglehold that is imposed on Caymans throat by three families is broken.
Caymans woes are self inflicted by self interest, time for change.
Brits are too cheap, no tipping budget travelers. American stay over tourists spend big and they drive tourism for the region, not just Cayman.
You’re delusional.
The pilots could land the planes on wb road and our highways from the driving I’m seeing recently and be safer than most local drivers. All… please use the most left hand lane available on highways, indicate correctly at roundabouts, always no what is beside you and behind you when driving, and NEVER INDICATE RIGHT WHEN GOING STRAIGHT ON AT A ROUNDABOUT
Please define “straight on” when every vehicle is going ROUND a junction.
I prefer every vehicle to indicate all of the time they are using the roundabout so I know exactly when and where they are going.
Plus, none of the roundabouts are built like the pictures in the manual. Lopsided, 1-4 lanes, 3-5 exits, weird chutes in different directions, funky signage.
The problem with signaling right when you’re going straight only to switch over at the last millisecond is that it tricks drivers coming the opposite way into thinking you’re going all the way around.
If anything you should be indicating left early enough that they know you’re exiting rather than going straight. But I’d rather nothing because half the time people turn on the left too early and confuse you as to which exit they are taking.
The most sensible thing would be left for turning left, nothing for straight, and right for going to the third exit.
More flights and routes are great, but Kenny – we need more hot chicks riding giant iguanas, that’s what will bring the tourists…right? Maybe floating giant iguanas would bring more ships?
Exactly my thoughts. Taking into account acceptable margins of error for these sorts of economic predictions they could easily be predicting a decrease!
Drop the quite ridiculous prices for getting on and off this rock and you might be able to multiply that 1% by 10.
But the high prices help subsidise CAL’s free flights for their VIPs friends & family club.
The flights to and from Cayman are a disaster. Everyone I know that has flown there has been hung up for hours with delays and cancellations. I’m not sure people will be rushing to book trips there until things get easier with the airlines. Flights are still limited getting there and still very expensive. The holidays prices will only increase prices.
It’s like that all over the world. British railway workers are striking as well as airport personnel. I had a train cancelled on me and had to find alternate ways to get where I was going.
Cayman people are in a bubble believing that Cayman is the only place in the world with these problems. Try travelling overseas to Europe, flights are cancelled, trains cancelled, etc.
As for Covid restrictions, try Italy. They will scream at you to put on your mask if you don’t wear one on the boats and train from Venice.
And I suppose you think that has nothing to do with the current situation/challenges the airline industry is having globally? SMH
Had to book one way flights cuz the airlines don’t fly in every day so you have to mix and match to get a round trip on the days you want/ need to fly. ( ie delta in, jet blue out)
Holidays prices have ALWAYS been higher, and always will be. That is no remarkable observation, a fact world-wide. Cayman has no ability to change this fact of tourism.
A 1 % increase? Is it me or is that not really that much?
A rainy day in Miami and that 1% is wiped away.
When it was told to Bryan he thought it was a huge increase.
Exactly my thoughts. Taking into account acceptable margins of error for these sorts of economic predictions they could easily be predicting a loss!
It is not an economic prediction! It is a fact based on the number of airline seats that are booked to come to Cayman over the high season.
I think the main point was that airlift is back to pre-pandemic levels. Pre-pandemic, if you ever had the misfortune of having a Saturday departure or arrival, you will recall how packed that airport was. Come December, Saturdays will be a madhouse again at that airport.
Is this why all Covid restrictions will be dropped? Maybe they aren’t as impressed w/ the 1% either.