CAL increases flights to Sister Islands
(CNS Business): Cayman Airways said that there has been an increased demand for seats on flights to the Sister Island, so Cayman Airways Express has added a new flight rotation between Cayman Brac and Grand Cayman with its Saab 340 B+ aircraft six days a week. On Tuesday 4 April the National Flag Carrier will introduce a daily Saab 340B+ service for the first time as it expands its morning and late afternoon flights. Saturdays will also see expanded lift, starting 1 April when the airline will be adding another evening Saab flight between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
The new schedule and additional flights significantly improve airlift to and from Cayman Brac, and will benefit both the Cayman Brac tourism product and the economy in general, said Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell. “Part of the rationale for upgrading to the Saab aircraft on the Cayman Brac route was to increase capacity in line with demand and this has resulted in 18% growth being registered over the last two years.”
The minister added that the new daily flights and Saturday jet service have been timed to provide greater flexibility and more convenient options for travel.
“Direct access to Little Cayman has also been improved as the revised schedule offers 24 direct flights between Grand Cayman and Little Cayman per week,” he added.
Fabian Whorms, the president and chief executive officer of Cayman Airways, said the airline had been working for some time on expanding the Saab service.
“The introduction of the second Saab 340B+ aircraft in December is now allowing us to better match supply with the demand we experience,” he said. “While Tuesdays are generally a slower travel day, the Twin Otters are simply not able to provide sufficient lift so this expansion of Saab service is critical to ensuring that we are able to accommodate all passengers.”
He said the extra flights on other days will allow mid-morning travel to Cayman Brac and its return to Grand Cayman will put passengers into Owen Roberts International Airport at the optimal time to connect with any number of Cayman Airways and other airline flights.
Flight KX4005 will depart Grand Cayman at 9:50am, arriving into the Brac at 10:30am while flight KX4006 will depart Cayman Brac at 10:55am and arrive in Grand Cayman at 11:35am. The daily Saab 340B+ service expands the morning flights KX4003/KX4004 and late afternoon flights KX4009/4010 to operate on Tuesdays as well.
Meanwhile, the airline has also launched a new regional route connecting Grand Cayman and Roatan, Honduras, with twice-weekly nonstop flights. Whorms said Grand Cayman acts as a convenient hub between a number of destinations.
“Last year, we had a steady stream of passengers taking advantage of the connection Cayman Airways provides between Miami, La Ceiba Honduras and Grand Cayman,” he said. “Adding Roatan as a Cayman Airways gateway not only broadens travel possibilities and increases connectivity options for our passengers, but further enhances an already well-established
relationship with Honduras.”
The non-stop flight to Roatan will operate Thursdays and Saturdays, with flight KX884 departing Grand Cayman at 6:50pm, arriving in Roatan at 7pm (Roatan time). The return flights are on Fridays and Sundays, with flight KX885 departing Roatan at 8:00am, arriving on Grand Cayman at 10:10am.
Category: Local Business, Transport
Wouldn’t it make more sense to utilise the Saab for Roatan? I doubt CAL did sufficient market research to determine whether the 737 is better suited for this route…