Caribbean Airlines (CAL) has announced the reintroduction of service between Kingston, Jamaica and Fort Lauderdale in Florida from December 15, 2024.
The all-economy flights are set to operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the airline said in a statement yesterday.
It added that this re-established route will enhance connectivity for passengers travelling between Jamaica and South Florida, providing increased options and convenience.
CEO of CAL, Garvin Medera, emphasised that the airline’s decision to reintroduce this route was based on customer demand and direct feedback from the Jamaican diaspora, both in the Caribbean and abroad.
“The return of service between Kingston and Fort Lauderdale is a direct response to our customers’ needs. At Caribbean Airlines, we are committed to connecting the Caribbean region more effectively, wherever resources allow, to ensure that our passengers have greater access to key destinations that are important to them,” he said.
The airline added that with this additional service, Caribbean Airlines continues to strengthen its mission to connect the region to itself and to popular destinations world-wide, especially those that hold significant value for Caribbean nationals and the wider diaspora community.
CAL said flights between Kingston and Fort Lauderdale are available for booking immediately through the Caribbean Airlines website, www.caribbean-airlines.com, as well as through the airline’s travel agency partners.
CAL added that customers can also look out for a special introductory fare sale, from today.
According to the list of State company directors, published by the Ministry of Finance in January 2024, the Government of Jamaica owns 11.94 per cent of CAL, while the T&T Government owns 88.06 per cent of the airline.
The only Jamaican on the CAL board is an attorney named Adam Moss. The airline’s board is chaired by Shameer Mohammed and comprises Michael Quamina, Dr Chris Maharaj, Enid Zephyrine and Moss.
In October, CAL made its inaugural flight to the British Virgin Islands (CAL). The airline will operate four flights a week to Tortola, which is its 24th destination.
The airline launched a service to Puerto Rico in July.
T&T’s national airline plans to continue to expand its footprint in the region with routes to the French Caribbean. In December, the local carrier will begin operating flights to Martinique and Guadeloupe, both French overseas departments in the Eastern Caribbean.
Service to Fort-de-France (FDF), Martinique begins on December 3, 2024 and service to Pointe-à-Pitre (PTP), Guadeloupe begins a few days later on December 7, 2024. CAL will fly four times weekly to both islands – Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays to Martinique and Sundays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to Guadeloupe.
In January, Minister of Finance Colm Imbert announced, at the airline’s customer appreciation event at the Hyatt Regency, that the airline had moved from a 2022 operating loss of US$36 million, excluding debt service, to a 2023 operating profit of US$24 million, also excluding debt service.
“For the benefit of those members of your staff who may want a huge wage increase, that transition from loss to profit does not include the hundreds of millions of dollars of support that you get every year from the Government, for debt servicing.
“That’s because one of the decisions the Government made is to take over CAL’s debt in those loan arrangements; while we did not take it over totally, we provided debt servicing. That is a continuing obligation of the Government,” Imbert said in January.
On Tuesday, Imbert said the Ministry of Finance continues to subsidise the airline to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
