CAL adds Barbados to connect to region and Europe
(CNS): Cayman Airways Ltd is set to add two midweek flights from Grand Cayman to Barbados from 18 October. In what Tourism Minister Kenneth Bryan said was an unusual move for the government-owned airline, the goal is to expand connections across the Caribbean for both countries, as well as offer Barbados a connection to the West Coast of the United States and connect Grand Cayman to several European countries.
While this will be the only direct flight from the Western Caribbean to the Eastern Caribbean, which will open up new markets for both islands regionally, the main goal appears to be the access it will provide to the broader worldwide connections, given that a new LAX flight is also being squeezed between the Barbados flights
Speaking at the press conference Monday to announce the new route, CAL CEO Fabian Whorms said the schedule is still to be worked out, but the plan is for an early morning flight on Wednesdays from Owen Roberts International Airport to Barbados. The return flight from Barbados will arrive in Cayman in the afternoon in order to connect with the extra flight to Los Angeles, which will land there in the evening before the aircraft turns around for an overnight flight back to Grand Cayman.
Then on Thursday morning, the aircraft will go back to the Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados, where the flight will be on the ground for several hours. Whorms explained that during this time, a number of European flights arrive in Barbados, and the hope is that people will choose to fly on to Grand Cayman.
As he outlined the new route, Bryan said that CAL was partnering with the Government of Barbados on this “game changer” for the region, though he was unable to share any details of the deal. CNS asked if Barbados was paying towards this route, but the minister said he was not allowed to discuss details of the contract or the financial arrangements that might be contained in it, even though Cayman Airways is owned by the government and subsidised by the public purse.
Bryan said the flights were part of an overall “strategy to expand the airline’s connectivity to the north, south-east and west”. As well as being welcome news for the Bajan community in Cayman, the flight will open up access from this side of the Caribbean to the islands in the east without them having to fly through Miami.
But Bryan said the appeal of Barbados was also the potential connection for Cayman with under-served European destinations, such as Finland and Germany, and more flight options for British travellers.
“By embracing this opportunity, we are not only investing in our prosperity — of both countries — but also the unity and the progress of the entire Caribbean region,” he said, adding that the service would pave the way for a more connected future.
Ian Gooding-Edghill, the tourism minister for Barbados, said that his country would be investing in a marketing campaign to promote the new route and the connections.
CAL Chairman John-Paul Clarke said that the airline has the capacity to add these midweek flights and does not need to drop any flights on the existing schedule. The additional midweek flight to and from LAX will also help the airline maintain the passengers travelling there, as at present many fly in or out of Los Angeles on Cayman Airways but use another airline on one of the legs.
While travelling from Europe to the Cayman Islands via Barbados will be a longer journey than going through Miami, Bryan noted that one of the reasons why this destination was chosen was because it will be attractive to people who are not able to get a US visa to fly through the US.
The new gateway is expected to open in October, subject to regulatory approval. Tickets are due to go on sale in August, by which time the schedule and ticket price will have been confirmed.
See the press briefing in full on CIGTV below:
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid
Category: Local News, Travel
Don’t worry they’ll discontinue this like the Denver flight.
Christ – first place I’d think of connecting through to Cayman from Europe is Barbados…. really? Who thought this plan up? As Kenny B has already noticed it’s a longer route, no doubt more expensive than Miami where competition keeps prices in check and finally – people who cant get a US visa are probably not the sort you want to attract to Cayman anyway
Now the CAL 737 fleet will be stretched to the max, the first warning light on one of the dashboards and the entire Jenga stack comes crashing down.
What a fool you are, educate yourself about the planes and aviation before making such stupid remarks.
Which politician benefits from this insane idea?
Kenny
Need you ask? Kenny
yes
You know whats really sad? Look at all the educated 3 X Degree plus a Phd people who are supporting this donkeys obsesison to look important. They should be ashamed. The Civil Servants have no choice but Board members do! This is really a sign of whats to come. Mackeeva has similar trained henchmen who supported his absurdities as well. If we do not get Kennethout of politics this country will be saddled with him for decades and he will eventually sit in the Premier seat just because he has more years experience than others.
I do note that the rest of the PACT gang are staying out of sight and silent, I guess with Kenny around they are relieved that the spotlight is away from them.
Wayne this is piss poor management of your Government. Resign now please.
OK, so who in government or CAL has a new Bajan chica?
don’t blame the fool Kenny…blame Wayne who put him in this position and keeps him there.
I believe this commenter one hundred percent!
I cannot see the benefits here no matter how hard I look. Tourists don’t travel mid-week; that’s why mid-week flights are never full. Anyhow you spin this, people will lose valuable time and it won’t be cheap either. They need to re-think and withdraw this. It’s not feasible.
We have BA coming in from London almost daily; that’s where the European guests will connect to.
Why do we keep re-inventing the wheel? Why?
Is there anyone out there who remembers the struggles we went through to get CAL to where it is today. While I do not know if the company finances are in good standing but whatever else is going on it seems to be on a fairly stable path. Now this nutmeg head ithrough his stupidly can upend everything with these non-performing stunts. WAYNE please crawl out from wherever are hiding and stop this crap before it gets any further. Does the Board agrees with this? Enquiring minds want to know. If all of you sit back quietly and allow this, you, the Premier of the enablers are complicit. I have heard that the Minister lords it over everyone to get his way but it will be dereliction of duty if this is allows to happen. There is nothing in this deal that will benefit Cayman and our airline must not be responsible for any other country. If we want to go to Finland or Germany we can get ourselves on BA to London, or through Miami then take another flight to either of these countries or wherever we choose to go. We do not have extra money to finance Bajans travel expenses. They think they are more educated and smarter than the rest of the Caribbean so let them take their smarts and sort out their own travel plans.
They are smarter than us (Exciting Updates in Barbados: Airlift Expansion and New Attractions https://nvestestates.com/2023/06/15/exciting-updates-in-barbados-airlift-expansion-and-new-attractions/ ).
That’s why they rely on the half-dozen carriers that are providing the service for them while we piss away $25M per year trying to compete with a half-dozen carriers that are providing the service for us. Douhhhh
Well then, good, our airline don’t have to facil their travels.
Jamaicans be ware.
Looks to me like we are getting ready to swap one labor force for another.
We are not leaving here, unless directed by the government.
What government?
You best go now BoBo. Storm coming l. Things are rough – but still hidden. Soon explode.
Bermuda would’ve made much more sense. Caymanians and Bermudians alike travel for business between the islands, as well as it being much closer to Europe and a fellow British territory. This route is so random.
And BA flies to London Gatwick out of Bermuda. So if you have an onward flight leaving Gatwick (usually to smaller Europe destinations), flying through Bermuda is preferrable to the BA Nassau route. (travelling between Heathrow and Gatwick can take 45 mins to 1.5 hours).
If Kenny can figure out how to load an electric bus onto Cayman Airways he should have his fleet by Christmas.
Take away the subsidy, use it for first world public transportation.
So the target market in LA/West Coast is people who will either fly to/from the US midweek or be prepared to spend a couple of days each leg in Cayman waiting for the mid week connection? Where US tourists typically get a max of a weeks leave at a time. Whilst they could jump on a US carrier Friday night, be in Barbados Saturday lunchtime, and return Sunday. Yeah, sounds plausible.
This is what happens when airlines are so heavily subsidised by the tax payer that they do whatever the politicians want irrespective of the commercial consequences. The management don’t have to worry about breaking even, but they do have to do whatever their subsidy masters tell them.
7 hour round trip. Fares will need to be $1.200++ and load factors high for this to break even. We the people will not benefit in any way from this so let’s hope it doesn’t cost too many of our tax(aka duty) dollars. At least our politicians will get some good freebies out of it.
Connect to Europe? DoT has done nothing directly to develop a European market, so much so that DoT was not even marketing in Europe!
I doubt that any European visitor to Barbados (of which there are millions per year) will tack on a visit to Cayman at the same time!
For the last 25 + years, British Caledonian and later British Airways have provided connections for European visitors to Cayman, via London.
Where are they in masses?
Obviously you missed the part in the later part of the briefing. Where it was mentioned with the new Barbados route, this has now opened up the long awaited Virgin Atlantic flight from Manchester to Cayman with a 1 stop-over in Barbados. Now, I will say that this bit of information should have been expanded on, but I kinda get it the primary topic at this briefing was Cayman Airways starting the Barbados flight.
Which four people have long been awaiting that?
Pure lies about opening up Cayman to other European destinations through Barbados. I checked and not surprisingly the only destinations you can reach directly from Bridgetown are London, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Toronto. Something smells stink here.
you all are clueless. Barbados has multiple flights daily from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester, sometimes even Stansted plus direct flights from other European cities. the Brits love Barbados and go there in huge numbers. Barbados was in the past referred to as Little England. that aside Barbados is the hub of air travel in the eastern Caribbean… trinidad, Guyana, st.lucia, Grenada, st.vincent, martinique, Guadalupe, st.kitts and nevis, antigua, Dominica…a huge catchment of people who are potential visitors to Cayman. there is alot of interest and curiosity about Cayman by the populations other Caribbean islands and this flight now makes visiting here a reality. there is also interest by caymanian and other nationalities living here in Barbados and the eastern Caribbean. Barbados also has scheduled air service to some African countries. the opportunities for this flight are endless and it will be a resounding success. the agreement which is for 1 year in the first instance comes with a guarantee by the Barbados govt that CAL will not lose money. except for fuel, all of CAL’s costs are fixed….staffing and lease costs don’t change and during the midweek there is plenty capacity…the planes are sitting idle. so why not add this route to an underserved market with alot of opportunity rather than lining up to flight to US destinations always which are typically already server by US carriers. finally people, stop living in a cocoon and believing that everything is just about making money. we are a part of the Caribbean with the good fortune of owning our own airline, what is wrong with utilizing that resource to facilitate travel within the region. many of you will travel to Barbados and the eastern Caribbean and be pleasantly surprised at the natural beauty, history, culture, even quality of life that exist. since establishing it’s own currency in 1971 the country has maintained its exchange rate of bds$1 to us$1. Barbados has the second oldest parliament in the commonwealth, has many schools and churches and plantation homes that date back to the 1600s and 1700s. this is a fantastic move which I predict will be a huge success for all, but especially for CAL and Cayman tourism generally.
you lost your credibility. bd dollar is not one for one usd. you don’t know what you are talking about. You must be a KB advisor from the ghetto.
I laugh.
Was rushing…. a genuine typo, it is BDS$2 to US$1. After pointing out the error you could’ve given the correct rate.
Mons brain slow.
Why would they base a route on trying to cater to passengers not able to get Visa and transit through the US? Are those really the types of passengers / aka work permit holders that we are trying to get to our shores to spend money? Whow just a bunch of nutters!
Kenneth Bryan knows first-hand about not being able to get US Visa!
HE Roper had to intervene to UK which had to intervene with US for him to get back Bryan’s travel rights to USA, after he became Minister!!
Yes, he can travel to the U.S. but with a caveat..a 2nd inspection on arrival .