InterCaribbean Airways
interCaribbean Airways, Ltd.[1] (formerly known as Air Turks & Caicos) is a passenger airline based in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The airline offers scheduled domestic and regional services from its hub at Providenciales, Turks & Caicos and Tortola, British Virgin Islands, to multiple destinations in Antigua, The Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Maarten. interCaribbean Airways also operates domestic flights in Jamaica between Kingston and Montego Bay, the first non-Jamaican airline in over 50 years of Jamaica independence to be given such route rights. The company provides charter flights as well.
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| Founded | 1991 (as InterIsland Airways, Ltd.) | ||||||
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| Hubs | |||||||
| Focus cities | |||||||
| Fleet size | 14 | ||||||
| Destinations | 23 | ||||||
| Parent company | Interisland Aviation Services Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands | ||||||
| Key people | Lyndon R. Gardiner, Chairman Trevor Sadler, CEO | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
History
The airline was established in 1991 as InterIsland Airways, Ltd. offering Charter Services. In 2003 the Turks and Caicos Government started a push toward regional and international development and it seemed the time had come for the Turks and Caicos to have its own airline. A scheduled license was applied for and granted, and thus began an ambitious expansion project that involved adding international destinations and acquiring larger and faster aircraft. The company re-branded to become Air Turks & Caicos to serve key international destinations, with daily scheduled flights to cities in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Bahamas and Puerto Rico.[2]
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By 1999, Founder Lyndon Gardiner had acquired a small fleet and was running a full-fledged charter service. Realizing that his true potential lay in business, not flying, he left the piloting to others and concentrated on growing his emerging airline.
In 2008, Air Turks and Caicos bought its direct competitor SkyKing. The SkyKing brand was integrated within the Air Turks and Caicos operations on 22 October 2008 and by mid-2009 the airline continued operating with a single Air Operators Certificate.[3]
In November 2013 after operating for 10 years as Air Turks & Caicos, the Company re-branded itself interCaribbean Airways. This was followed by a new expansion plan focused on providing greater connecting options across the Caribbean.
In 2018 it was announced that the airline was introducing new routes from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to Aruba and between Curaçao and Kingston, Jamaica. These new services add to the airline's nonstop flights to Tortola, St. Maarten and Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, reported Caribbean Journal (CJ).
The new destinations of Aruba and Curaçao will also serve as new routes for the British Virgin Islands with connections to and from Tortola via Santo Domingo. Direct flights from Tortola, interCaribbean's second hub, include services to San Juan, Puerto Rico, Antigua, St. Maarten, Santo Domingo, St. Lucia, Dominica and Providenciales with connections to Kingston and Nassau.
The Turks and Caicos-based carrier, which connects 27 destinations and 15 countries across the Caribbean, in June 2019 added the larger and faster 50-passenger seat Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet aircraft to its fleet, increasing its passenger and direct flight capabilities.
In addition to the ERJ-145 regional jets, the airline currently operates 30-passenger seat Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia propjets in addition to one 18-passenger seat executive Embraer EMB 120 aircraft, all equipped with lavatories, a galley and flight attendant service, as well as 19-passenger seat de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft.[4] InterCaribbean also previously operated the nine-passenger seat Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander twin prop aircraft. The Twin Otter aircraft joined the fleet in December 2015 while the Britten-Norman Islander aircraft has been retired.[2]
Destinations
As of January 2022, interCaribbean Airways operates scheduled flights to the following destinations within the Caribbean:
Fleet
According to the airline's website, the InterCaribbean Airways fleet currently includes the following aircraft:[6][7]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Refs/Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 4 | - | 19 | STOL capable twin engine turboprop | |
| Embraer EMB 120ER Brasilia | 10 | - | 30 | Twin engine turboprop | |
| Embraer ERJ-145 | 2 | 1 | 50 | Twin engine regional jet | |
| Total | 18 | 1 |
The airline leased Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia from October 2014 to February 2016 to Cayman Airways for scheduled inter-island passenger flights in the Cayman Islands.[8] The airline acquired two Embraer 145[9][10] regional jets, which it began operating commercially from early June 2019 and has since acquired additional ERJ-145 aircraft.
References
- "interCaribbean Airways". interCaribbean Airways. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- "interCaribbean » The Company". intercaribbean.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- "Sky King Sold to Air Turks and Caicos". WIV 4. 2 September 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- "Aircraft Models | Our Aircraft".
- "interCaribbean Flights | Route Map".
- "Aircraft Models | Our Aircraft".
- "Airline Information: Air Turks & Caicos". CH-Aviation. 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- https://www.CaymanAirways.com, press releases
- "interCaribbean Airways to Expand with Regional Jets". Retrieved 7 March 2020.
- "interCaribbean Airways to add maiden jet equipment". ch-aviation. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
