Cayman Airways to launch Brac-Cuba route
(CNS Business): The National Flag Carrier will be launching a new weekly flight to Cuba from Cayman Brac at the end of next month, the airline has announced. The new Cayman Airways Limited (CAL) service between the Sister Island and Holguin is the second Cayman to Cuba route and the first outbound international route launched since the Brac airport was expanded.
In a statement released Friday, CAL said the first flight is slated to depart Cayman Brac for Holguin on Saturday 28 November and will operate once a week on Saturdays. Cayman Airways Express will provide connecting flights to and from Grand Cayman.
The new flight is designed to meet the growing demand for flights between Cayman and Cuba, and to provide dual destination travel opportunities for Canadian and European visitors to Cayman, CAL said.
“This new service to eastern Cuba is designed to complement the airline’s existing flights between Havana and Grand Cayman, which is often capacity constrained,” explained Cayman Airways President and CEO, Fabian Whorms. “Holguin is Cuba’s fourth most populous city and was selected due to its close proximity to Santiago de Cuba and Camaguey, Cuba’s second and third most populous cities respectively. It is also anticipated that many of the airline’s existing Havana passengers, many of whom are from Cuba’s eastern towns, will be able to utilize this direct service and avoid lengthy travel between the capital city and their hometowns.”
Commenting from a destination standpoint, Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell said another important benefit of CAL flying to Holguin, which is a popular resort area for Europeans and Canadians, is that it is currently served by several of CAL’s interline partners like Condor and Air Canada, as well as other airline partners.
“CAL’s new flights to Holguin will therefore provide connectivity as well as dual destination opportunities for Canadian and European travelers, which is excellent for Cayman,” Kirkconnell said.
In addition to creating an opportunity to increase the number of European visitors to Cayman, the minister said CAL’s new service to Holguin, Cuba will also be a great benefit for Cayman Brac, which will see its first outbound international flight schedule launched since the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (CKIA) was expanded.
“The introduction of this service provides several benefits and allows us to make better use of our existing assets, in this case the international airport in Cayman Brac, which was recently enhanced to handle more capacity,” he explained.
“This new service will also help Cayman Airways to grow its business while not adding any further pressure or demand on ORIA in Grand Cayman, which already experiences high demand especially on a Saturday. Passengers arriving in Cayman Brac from Holguin will be able to subsequently travel to Grand Cayman and Miami.”
When the new weekly Saturday service begins 28 November, flight KX842 departs Cayman Brac (CYB) at 1:30pm, arriving in Holguin (HOG) at 2:30pm. From HOG to CYB flight KX843 departs at 3:30pm and arrives at 4:30pm.
Category: Tourism
Why did we stop going to Panama? Tocumen airport is expanding and will be a hub producing 63 million people going through Panama. We should be there
We need this route. I can now tell the wife I’m going with my buddy’s fishing in the brac for the weekend. Jump on a plane and hot the Cuban women for the weekend.
Well do Moses.
Oops no one thought of this did they… Lol
“We need a new route”
“But it has to be loss making”
“Of course”
“The Brac is a money pit”
“Good idea”
“Brac-Cuba?”
“Perfect, it is that or we can have a big cash bonfire”
Empty seats for sure! We can’t fill a 737 plane to Toronto or NYC from GCM, how the hell will we fill Brac to Cuba?
We need flights to big cities and continents we don’t service. Ie. Mexico City (large pop), Central America – Panama City, South – Brazil, Argentina (they like to travel a lot). West coast US, Los Angeles?
The Saab should be more than enough for this route and then move to 737 if there is demand. We’re doing this backwards.
This is stupidity. Ask what the reason is for the national airline to adopt this (or any) route.
In this case there is a hope to employ more people at the Brac airport period.
This can be accomplished by modifying some already popular routes and actually increase tourism to the Brac.
Change one of the NY flights to stop at the brac going to and from. JFK-Brac-GCM do a once a week connection from NY. You employ people at the airport maintain a GCM-Brac route as required, The direct flight from NY will increase tourism to the brac, charge a few buck less for the entire journey so we won’t mind the short stop on the way out.
GCM-Brac-Kingston.
Even GCM-Brac-Havana makes more sense!
I do agree with many posters. This will be done and dusted by spring.
“Many of the airlines existing Havana customers will likely use the new route”
So taking people off an existing well used route and putting them on a new unproven route is a worthwhile exercise right….oh and they end in the Brac and have make another flight back to Grand …
Seems like a sound business case to me, should be a winner !
Why are they using the jet for this flight, instead of the Saab?? They could easily fill up the Saab and make money with it going to Cuba. That’s the kind of trip length it is built for. With the jet, it will be yet another money wasting initiative.
Was thinking the same thing. They could also provide more frequency, like maybe three flights a week instead of just one, if they used the smaller Saab. They announced this new plane with big fanfare but it looks like wasted money.
Wrong again!!! Sit back and watch it work. You have no idea what you are talking about. You have no idea how many pax are traveling to Havana with CAL and then have to drive for 10 hours or more or, get another flight to get to that end of the island!
or they could take a $5 taxi to Terminal 1 at Jose Marti and take a Cubana internal flight for about $50.
Tourist Minister Moses says : Flying there is a popular destination for Canadians and Europeans. Please tell me how the hell is that supporting the Cayman Tourist trade when you are running a loosing air taxi service when they are spending their money there and not here in Cayman Islands.
The most STUPID comment I ever read.
Does he not know Canada is not part of the embargo and has direct flights to Cuba?
You are the stupid one here. By doing this flight it will give the Brac the airlift that it needs while the Cuban traffic will help cover the cost. It’s a win win!
Someone has to proved this is the right move. I’m not sure how many europeans comes thru the brac, or if there is more that 5 cubans there but if you want to connect cayman to cuba you do it with the bigger airport you have. why, in the name of god, you will add a flight from the Brac to Holguin when you know that 98 % of the customers are at grand cayman…. i dont see the point..
Holguin? Give me a break. This will last no more than 6 months of empty flights.
Boy! A lot of Brac men going to be happy about this one. It will make their little trips to see those Cuban women so much easier.
And the Cuba flight will benefit us how? Be ready Brac, the Cubans will soon replace the Filipino’s/Honduranians/Jamaicans.
New ladies at the bars soon – yippee!!!!
Does one really think that “dual destination” travels are for real????
Brac needs to work on it’s solution to derelict properties – Tiari Beach, Alexander Hotel,
former Johnson house/property east of coral isle.
This should help reduce some of the congestion at Owen Roberts (GCM). Good move.
How? They have to go through Grand Cayman anyway. To me it seems as if this just adds another leg to the journey.
Can’t you read at all or are you just that stupid? It’s says it will be Miami to Brac to Cuba back to Brac and then Miami! Where in that are they passing through Grand Cayman???
Why doesn’t CAL make flights to Dominican Republic and/or Puerto Rico?
Maybe they can do the same with flights to/fr Bahamas and Montego Bay, Jamaica.
Will there be return flights from Cuba to the Brac? It’s not an ‘international’ airport.
“From HOG to CYB flight KX843 departs at 3:30pm and arrives at 4:30pm.”
Of course the Hon Minister forgot to mention that this service is competing with AA’s established scheduled charter flights from both MIA and LAX. I don’t know what the commercial case for the service is but the comments in this article are complete bull.
You are so wrong! You need to catch up on what is happening in these islands before you make such stupid comments. The Brac airport meets all international standerds and is approved for flights direct into the US!!!