Festivity Always- Caribbean Aviation Thread 97

BW424 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:41 am

Greetings once again to all A.net patrons!!!

Welcome to the 97th instalment of the Caribbean Aviation Thread. This thread, unfortunately, will not be dedicated to any particular island due to my personal immediate time constraints, however, the successive will continue the conventional island spotlight trend. It's great to see the lively nature of the forum and I sincerely hope that these discussion activities continue at their current pace.

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Gianni Deligny

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Mikhail Gorichev

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Gianni Deligny

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Jose Mendez

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Nino Buda

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Nigel Harris-CYYZ Aviation Photography

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Timo Breidenstein

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Timo Breidenstein

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Karl Nixon

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Michael Walter

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Bruce Leibowitz

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Photo © Helmut Schnichels

*************News Feed***********
Redjet's ultimate fate still undecided as BGI ponders helping the LCC
Redjet loses POS and BGI AOCs
CAL reported to be under considerable financial stress
CAL ATRs 9Y-TTC and 9Y-TTD remain in TLS
CAL rumoured to be not happy with ATRs and looking at Q400 again.
CAL increase capacity into JFK for Easter period from both POS and KIN
KX to launch service to PTY on May 31
$US138M airport improvement project for GEO still on course
Increased pax arrivals and cargo for SKB in 2011
UX to offer seasonal 2x weekly BCN-SDQ service with A332
UP gets first B735 (B6-BFE) to replace B732s ex AR
LI's V2-LGA leaves fleet
Air Caraibes inaugurates 2x weekly ORY-SDQ flight on March 25
CAL looks at Brazil possibilities through Ogle, Guyana
DAE ATR-42 in new DAE livery
DAE to start daily CUR-MIA on June 1st
Hotel affiliated Harlequin Air becomes newest Caribbean carrier based in SLU
Surinam Airways inaugurates PBM-GEO-MIA service
George Nicholas resigns as CAL chairman
New CAL chairman to be economist, businessman and politician Rabindra Moonan
CAL B763s delayed till May. A/C painted and config is 30/191.
9Y-SXM suffers bird strike outbound from POS to JFK. Returns safely...

Happy Posting!

andrefranca · Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:11 am

Quoting BW424 (Thread starter):
CAL rumoured to be not happy with ATRs and looking at Q400 again.

WOW WOW WOW, that's big... I imagine they were so used to the Q's.... and now?

817Dreamliiner · Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:22 am

Quoting BW424 (Thread starter):
CAL rumoured to be not happy with ATRs and looking at Q400 again.

If true, I wonder why. Also it might explain why the other 2 TTC and TTD have not been delivered yet.

2travel2know2 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 1:31 pm

Quote:
You guys want to support WN expansion into the Caribbean....do your part http://www.freehobbyairport.com/

Houston, we have a solution! Love it!

WN wants support for international service out of HOU but it support page doesn't allow support from overseas.. WN get your act together.. I want to see a HOU F.I.S. and CM flying there (to get cheaper fares to Houston).

yellowtail · Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:25 pm

Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 3):
WN wants support for international service out of HOU but it support page doesn't allow support from overseas..

But you can just write in your name with a made up US address :^)

I sent WN an email about the overseas registrations. Let see what happens.

baje427 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 2:57 pm

I cant imagine the Q400 on the TAB-POS hop the aircraft is not designed for those type of ops also can the Q400 fit in SLU? What are the rumored problems with the ATR?

aa1818 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:03 pm

Quoting BW424 (Thread starter):
CAL B763s delayed till May. A/C painted and config is 30/191.

Where is the aircraft? Is it in Chile or in the US?
I know Inbound made the statement below in the previous thread:

Quoting Inbound:
I retract my statement about the aircraft not being painted....

Is that because of the photo here: http://www.svzmspotters.net/noticias.php?id=836
Is that an edit or a photoshop? If its a photoshop, its a darn good job, and very accurate as the registration is just as Inbound said it would be 9Y-LGW and 9Y-LHR.

Cheers,
AA1818

A388 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:59 pm

Thanks for starting the thread BW424 but you are missing photos of DAE!!!

Quoting 817Dreamliiner (Reply 2):
If true, I wonder why. Also it might explain why the other 2 TTC and TTD have not been delivered yet.

Either Caribbean Airlines doesn't know what their doing or this is based on nothing (maybe coming from (opposing) politicians). You can't be happy or not happy with a new aircraft type after operating it for so little time. Come on, give the ATR a bit more time to prove itself!!! You know what, let them send those ATR's on scheduled flights to CUR so I can judge for myself if they are good or not Big grin

A388

[Edited 2012-04-13 09:00:55]

LimaFoxTango · Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:48 pm

Quoting 817Dreamliiner (Reply 2):
If true, I wonder why. Also it might explain why the other 2 TTC and TTD have not been delivered yet.

The most consistent rumour around is that they're yet to be paid for. Whether or not CAL is refusing to pay or perhaps they just don't have the money is the topic for debate.

Quoting aa1818 (Reply 6):
Is that because of the photo here: http://www.svzmspotters.net/noticias.php?id=836
Is that an edit or a photoshop? If its a photoshop, its a darn good job, and very accurate as the registration is just as Inbound said it would be 9Y-LGW and 9Y-LHR.

Looks photoshop to me, albeit a damn good one.

A388 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:38 pm

Quoting LimaFoxTango (Reply 8):
Looks photoshop to me, albeit a damn good one.

If you look at the capital letter "A" of the word Airlines and the two "bb" small letters of the word Caribbean, you will notice that the don't curve as they should (the fuselage is round and not flat). At least this is my opinion. The hummingbird near the horizontal stabilizer also looks awkward/fake. All this definately gives it away as a photoshopped image

Cheers,

A388

[Edited 2012-04-13 11:39:50]

westindian425 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:54 pm

Quoting baje427 (Reply 5):
also can the Q400 fit in SLU?

Sure it can! Remember when the old BW used to bring the Mad Dogs into SLU?

Quoting A388 (Reply 7):
You know what, let them send those ATR's on scheduled flights to CUR so I can judge for myself if they are good or not

LOL! Of course, you would say that!

caribbean484 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:21 pm

A preview of 9Y-LGW in MEX, its former CC-CEB will be in POS in the beginning of May.

http://envivodesdescl.blogspot.ca/20...l-cc-ceb-uno-de-los-veteranos.html

[Edited 2012-04-13 16:43:19]

A388 · Fri Apr 13, 2012 11:48 pm

Quoting caribbean484 (Reply 11):
A preview of 9Y-LGW in MEX, its former CC-CEB will be in POS in the beginning of May.

I can already see that the titles are smaller compared to the Caribbean Airlines 737's.

A388

baje427 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 12:21 am

Quoting caribbean484 (Reply 11):

Looking nice looking forward to seeing the aircraft in BGI I don't think at this point CAL will go for the Q400 its not the right aircraft.

Inbound · Sat Apr 14, 2012 1:52 am

See, I knew someone would get a pic sooner or later.

beeweel15 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 3:36 am

Quoting caribbean484 (Reply 11):
A preview of 9Y-LGW in MEX, its former CC-CEB will be in POS in the beginning of May.

Looking forward to seeing it in JFK. Still wish it was a 777 though.

817Dreamliiner · Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:41 am

Quoting BW424 (Thread starter):
9Y-SXM suffers bird strike outbound from POS to JFK. Returns safely...

Any word on any damage to the aircraft?

Quoting caribbean484 (Reply 11):

Thanks for posting the photo, too bad its not the the entire aircraft, hope they have the winglets painted

Quoting A388 (Reply 12):
I can already see that the titles are smaller compared to the Caribbean Airlines 737's.

Its probably the same size as on the 737, well it might be a size bigger, but not exactly sure

bjorn14 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 11:04 am

Quoting A388 (Reply 7):
You can't be happy or not happy with a new aircraft type after operating it for so little time. Come on, give the ATR a bit more time to prove itself!!!

ATR has a backlog of a 150+ orders while BBD has just a handful so CAL is saying everyone else is wrong.

Are these -500s or earlier? or -600s?

817Dreamliiner · Sat Apr 14, 2012 12:15 pm

Quoting bjorn14 (Reply 17):
Are these -500s or earlier? or -600s?

They have the -600s

baje427 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 3:41 pm

Anyone know why AC is sending and E190 on YYZ-BGI route today they have three flights from YYZ-BGI today anyone know why ?
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ACA7097

817Dreamliiner · Sat Apr 14, 2012 4:14 pm

Quoting baje427 (Reply 19):

I think thats quite stretch on an E190 don't you think? It might be a flightaware error.

bjorn14 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:08 pm

Quoting 817Dreamliiner (Reply 20):
I think thats quite stretch on an E190

Yep. A little bit outside of the E190 published range @ 2424nm unless they are taking a penalty.

A388 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:21 pm

Quoting bjorn14 (Reply 21):
Yep. A little bit outside of the E190 published range @ 2424nm unless they are taking a penalty.

Or the flightaware website is wrong. They posted the first Southwest 737-800 flight as being operated with the 737-300...

A388

[Edited 2012-04-14 10:21:42]

baje427 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:29 pm

Quoting A388 (Reply 22):

I saw the plane land in BGI its not an error by flightaware aircraft is currently parked at the gate

BW424 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 6:37 pm

Quoting 817Dreamliiner (Reply 16):
Any word on any damage to the aircraft?

No extensive damage that I'm aware of. I believe she was operating 524, returned and then was down for a day or two. She's back in the air now.

Quoting caribbean484 (Reply 11):
A preview of 9Y-LGW in MEX, its former CC-CEB will be in POS in the beginning of May

Interesting. I'm still skeptical about the whole thing. I believe Nicholas jumped ship knowing the mess he created and just used a paltry excuse to make an easy exit.

Let's up this will be a success despite its tumultuous beginnings.

Quoting A388 (Reply 7):
Thanks for starting the thread BW424 but you are missing photos of DAE!!!

LOL......sorry bro. I'll make sure to include a couple next time around.

[Edited 2012-04-14 11:53:01]

817Dreamliiner · Sat Apr 14, 2012 7:33 pm

Quoting baje427 (Reply 23):
I saw the plane land in BGI its not an error by flightaware aircraft is currently parked at the gate

Interesting, I really thought it would be an error especially since its not a direct route, favorable winds maybe?

Quoting BW424 (Reply 24):
No extensive damage that I'm aware of. I believe she was operating 524, returned and then was down for a day or two. She's back in the air now.

Good to know that shes back in the air, thanks BW424

caribbean484 · Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:12 pm

Quoting BW424 (Reply 24):
No extensive damage that I'm aware of. I believe she was operating 524, returned and then was down for a day or two. She's back in the air now.

I believe that 9Y-SXM was down for about a day or two after the incident, it was replaced by another a/c.

Quoting BW424 (Reply 24):
Interesting. I'm still skeptical about the whole thing. I believe Nicholas jumped ship knowing the mess he created and just used a paltry excuse to make an easy exit.

you and I both hope that this will be successful and that CAL gets a new CEO and CFO very soon or things will really go down hill.

LIAT PRO sets the record straight
"While you highlighted the fact that “the cost of fuel has made a number of players in the field shrink as the smaller ones go belly up and the larger entities struggle for survival” you neglected to mention that all other Caribbean carriers – Bahamasair, Cayman Airways and CAL – receive subsidies in some form in the annual budgets of their owners while LIAT does not receive the same facility.

You also neglected to remind your audience that several Caribbean countries pay either marketing support or seat guarantees to several foreign carriers to get them to fly into their countries while none have similar arrangements with LIAT or any other regional carriers.

Permit me to now address the inaccuracies about LIAT in the editorial. It states that: “One year ago the airline said it was moving almost one a half million pounds of cargo annually and this warranted going into the cargo business.”

The reality is that LIAT has always been in the Cargo business. The transport of various forms of cargo has always been a part of the business. What we did in February 2011 was to take our cargo business to a new level with the formal introduction of an aircraft dedicated exclusively to the movement of air cargo throughout our network and that aircraft alone has carried approximately one and a half million pounds of cargo since."
http://www.antiguaobserver.com/?p=73857

baje427 · Sun Apr 15, 2012 12:05 am

So does anyone know why the AC E190 flew YYZ-BGI did not know if it departed BGI

windian425 · Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:18 am

The Air Canada E190 is on its way home to Brazil for a maintenance check. Should depart first thing tomorrow morning.

baje427 · Sun Apr 15, 2012 1:28 am

Quoting windian425 (Reply 28):

Thanks for the info thats strange they are going back to Brazil never seen the AC E190 in BGI other than when being delivered was it just a ferry flight or were there pax onboard?

817Dreamliiner · Sun Apr 15, 2012 8:14 am

Quoting baje427 (Reply 29):

If its going for a maintenance check then its more likely a ferry flight with no pax.

guyanam · Sun Apr 15, 2012 7:30 pm

Quoting beeweel15 (Reply 15):

The JFK route cant support a 777. Its best suited to the 737 which allows frequent flights at various times of the day allowing maximum flexibility. The jury is still out on whether the LGW route will be a success, given the failures of both SAirJ and BWIA on this route, and the fact that conditions are even worse now (high fuel, APD increasing fares, and a soft UK economy). SO a 767 is a better bet a sthere are fewer seats to fill and it can be diverted to the YYZ route if LGW doesnt generate enough traffic to fully utilize two planes.

2travel2know2 · Sun Apr 15, 2012 7:50 pm

Quoting guyanam (Reply 31):
The jury is still out on whether the LGW route will be a success, given the failures of both SAirJ and BWIA on this route, and the fact that conditions are even worse now (high fuel, APD increasing fares, and a soft UK economy)

It looks like LON would be a prestige - hopefully not so much money losing - route for Caribbean.
Has anybody at Caribbean headquarters bother to check what is the traffic between CCS and LON?
Yes, TP, IB, AF, LH, AA they all offer connections between CCS and LON but nobody flies direct or non-stop.
If Venezuelans could account for 40-50% of the POS-LON-POS loads, that's rally something. It's just a question to route that B767 LGW-POS-CCS-POS-LGW.

baje427 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 1:57 am

Well I guess CAL can advertise LGW in CCS as they do serve CCS daily maybe if there is significant enough demand they could retime the flights or add a new flight to connect with the LGW aircraft.
Is there any word on how PY loads are on GEO-MIA ?

BW424 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:27 am

Quoting bjorn14 (Reply 17):
ATR has a backlog of a 150+ orders while BBD has just a handful so CAL is saying everyone else is wrong.
Are these -500s or earlier? or -600s?

My point exactly. The ATR is outselling BBD by a siginificant ratio. How is it that CAL is experiencing below par performance from the ATR on the CCS run? Seems to me that someone is agitating such a situation through whatever means they have available. It just doesn't make sense to me...........especially since the Lok Jack BoD and Brunton favored such a deal.

beeweel15 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:00 am

Quoting guyanam (Reply 31):
The JFK route cant support a 777.

It could depending on how the aircraft is utilized.

BW424 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:22 am

"Nicholas should not have resigned at CAL"

"With regard to your news item titled ‘CAL Chairman resigns‘ (SN Apr 5), credit must be given to Mr George Nicholas for accepting responsibility for what he interpreted as criticism of his leadership of Caribbean Airlines and tendering his resignation. It is not my view that Mr Nicholas was a failure at CAL. On the contrary, I think his leadership has been the best in CAL/BWIA’s history. "

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/opi...s-should-not-have-resigned-at-cal/

I've never read such a highly concentrated piece of drivel in my life. The Trinidadian newsday reporter is pretty horrible, but this fool takes the cake. The biggest joke and most erroneous fact of all is that Nicholas has a Harvard MBA......lol.....I guess he's terribly confusing credentials with former CAL director Gervase Warner. It's disturbing to know there exist such "low" individuals in our society.

beeweel15 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:14 am

Quoting BW424 (Reply 36):
I've never read such a highly concentrated piece of drivel in my life. The Trinidadian newsday reporter is pretty horrible, but this fool takes the cake. The biggest joke and most erroneous fact of all is that Nicholas has a Harvard MBA......lol.....I guess he's terribly confusing credentials with former CAL director Gervase Warner. It's disturbing to know there exist such "low" individuals in our society.

Could not agree with you more.

GUYAIR707 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:44 am

Quoting BW424 (Reply 36):

Quoting beeweel15 (Reply 37):

Don't take this guy seriously he is known for his nonsense.

GUYAIR707

A388 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 12:59 pm

Hey guys, this past weekend there were three government aircraft from the U.S. in Curacao. They were two Air Force Two 757's and the Air Force One 747. They were parked in Curacao for the South American Summit held in Colombia. I think this was the summit that was held in Trinidad in 2009. In any case, this time these aircraft parked in Curacao!!!

You can see my first photo in below link:

http://www.planespotters.net/Aviation_Photos/photo.show?id=268440

All my best photos I've taken are already in the queue so I hope they will be accepted!!!

Cheers,

A388

bjorn14 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 1:48 pm

Quoting GUYAIR707 (Reply 38):
the Air Force One 747

Hmm...can CTG not handle a 747, it's a 2600m runway?

yellowtail · Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:05 pm

Quoting A388 (Reply 39):
Hey guys, this past weekend there were three government aircraft from the U.S. in Curacao. They were two Air Force Two 757's and the Air Force One 747. They were parked in Curacao for the South American Summit held in Colombia. I think this was the summit that was held in Trinidad in 2009. In any case, this time these aircraft parked in Curacao!!!

You can see my first photo in below link:

Guess they had to park em where the crew and staff could find any party girls

2travel2know2 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:16 pm

Quoting yellowtail (Reply 41):
Guess they had to park em where the crew and staff could find any party girls

M ost likely given the number of aircraft flying into CTG for the summit that airport couldn't afford to keep the U.S. presidential B747 on its tarmac all the time. Keeping it in BAQ a few kilometres away instead wasn't an option then.
If I'm not mistaken, its seems that once a U.S. president flew to BAQ and took an helicopter to CTG due to runway or tarmac room issues.

A388 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 3:43 pm

Quoting bjorn14 (Reply 40):
Hmm...can CTG not handle a 747, it's a 2600m runway?

Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 42):
Quoting yellowtail (Reply 41):
Guess they had to park em where the crew and staff could find any party girls

M ost likely given the number of aircraft flying into CTG for the summit that airport couldn't afford to keep the U.S. presidential B747 on its tarmac all the time. Keeping it in BAQ a few kilometres away instead wasn't an option then.
If I'm not mistaken, its seems that once a U.S. president flew to BAQ and took an helicopter to CTG due to runway or tarmac room issues.

I don't know the reasoning for parking their aircraft in Curacao but I can also imagine that parking space was limited in Cartagena and/or Barranquilla due to other government aircraft parking there as well. Besides, the U.S. does have a FOL base in Curacao with decent ramp space available so why not use it as it's close by.

A388

guyanam · Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:11 pm

Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 32):

I happen to agree with you on the CCS LGW route which should at least be investigated to see market potential now that its not served by BA anymore. I dont know whether running the 767 would make sense but convenient connections ATR=> might work. Right now there arent connections.

Quoting BW424 (Reply 36):
:

You will note that this is aletter and not an article. Mr Bishram is infamous for his surveys which always predict UNC victories, or if he cant show this, then whines about Indians "splitting" their vote. He is Guyanese by the way,,,,probably got favors from Mr Nicholas..

time2lyme · Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:12 pm

Quoting caribbean484 (Reply 11):
A preview of 9Y-LGW in MEX, its former CC-CEB will be in POS in the beginning of May.

http://envivodesdescl.blogspot.ca/20....html

From comments on that web page translated using my pigeon spanish means that CAL will most likely be getting their two PW4060 powered 763s, CC-CEB, which is now 9Y-LGW, and CC-CDP.

2travel2know2 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:23 pm

Quoting guyanam (Reply 44):
I dont know whether running the 767 would make sense but convenient connections ATR=> might work. Right now there arent connections.

I'd say let the CCS-LON-CCS cargo demand decide if it's worth to fly the B767 between POS and CCS.

A388 · Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:04 pm

Quoting guyanam (Reply 44):
I happen to agree with you on the CCS LGW route which should at least be investigated to see market potential now that its not served by BA anymore. I dont know whether running the 767 would make sense but convenient connections ATR=> might work. Right now there arent connections.

Quoting 2travel2know2 (Reply 46):
I'd say let the CCS-LON-CCS cargo demand decide if it's worth to fly the B767 between POS and CCS.

Valid points but the thing is that the arrival and departure times for both markets (CCS-POS and POS-LGW) should be considered as well because if the same 767 is used for a CCS-POS-LGW routing it will mean that the market between CCS and POS must be adjusted in order to get favorable arrival and departure times in LGW. I would think as guyanam said that connections with the ATR flights can be better or maybe even the 738. Cargo can always go on DHL to POS for onward connection to LGW on Caribbean Airlines flight to LGW. Cargo in that regard is less prone to convenient connections in the way that passengers would want

A388

baje427 · Tue Apr 17, 2012 2:03 pm

If BA discontinued CCS the yields must not have been good enough but maybe CAL can make it work through convenient connections. On another note heard some female pilots on the scanner this week I am wondering how many female pilots are they at CAL LI PY etc

guyanam · Tue Apr 17, 2012 6:30 pm

Quoting A388 (Reply 47):

BW can run 4rX/week early afternoon from POS to CCS with a return in time to connect to the LGW bound flight. They can do a late afternoon to CCS 3X/week. They can add morning flights if needed.

An added bonus is these departures will allow better integration into the JFK route if there is need for added JFK CCS capacity, which some claim.i

Who is online

Popular Searches On Airliners.net