Caribbean Airlines

History

Caribbean Airlines traces its roots to BWIA (British West Indian Airways), founded on 27 November 1939 and long the flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago. In the mid-2000s the government restructured the ailing BWIA, incorporating a new national carrier, Caribbean Airlines Limited, on 27 September 2006; it commenced commercial operations on 1 January 2007 and absorbed BWIA's routes and much of its fleet. In 2011 Caribbean Airlines took over the international and much of the domestic flying of Jamaica's former flag carrier, Air Jamaica, following a deal with the Jamaican government -- an acquisition that reportedly left Caribbean Airlines with well over US$1 billion in cumulative losses in the years afterward.

Current Operations

Caribbean Airlines is the largest airline in the Caribbean, operating a fleet of roughly 20 aircraft as of 2025 -- ATR 72-600 turboprops, Boeing 737 MAX 8s and a legacy 737-800 -- to about 28 destinations across the Caribbean, North America and South America, with roughly 1,600 employees. It runs a dual-hub structure at Piarco International Airport (Port of Spain, Trinidad) and Norman Manley International Airport (Kingston, Jamaica). The airline is jointly state-owned by the governments of Trinidad and Tobago (about 88.1%) and Jamaica (about 11.9%), and it is not a member of any of the three major global alliances, though it has periodically discussed a closer relationship with Star Alliance.

Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

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