Cayman Airways is moving forward with its plan to expand gateways into the US and has applied to the US Department of Transportation for permission to fly to the West Coast, Cayman Airways President and CEO Fabian Whorms has confirmed.
Whorms said the airline has submitted an application to expand its existing authorisation.
“As the Cayman Islands Government and Cayman Airways have previously indicated, Cayman Airways is exploring opportunities to provide new air service to the west coast of the United States, taking advantage of the expanded range of the new Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft,” Whorms said in a brief statement to the Cayman Compass Wednesday morning.
The US DOT, in a brief statement to the Compass, confirmed the application is now before it for consideration.
“We will consider the request in the context of the U.S.-UK ATA and our normal public interest standards. In the meantime, the carrier is licensed under an older agreement and can continue to conduct its authorized services,” the DOT, through a spokesperson, said.
Whorms said a decision on potential routes is still being finalised.
“[T]he application to the US DOT for revisions to the airline’s operating permit is simply one of many preparatory measures which need to be completed in order to allow any route expansion into the United States,” Whorms said.
Eyes on the West
Cayman Airways attorneys filed the application on 27 May seeking an exemption under the Air Transport Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom.
The exemption application was first made public through an article on online commercial aviation site Simpleflying.com.
Under the filing, Cayman Airways stated that in addition to its current US routes, it is “exploring non-stop service to one or more U.S. West Coast destinations with its new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with 160 seats.”
With the US-UK Open Skies Agreement in place, Cayman Airways, in its application, said it now seeks the “additional authority granted to carriers of the United Kingdom under this agreement”.
Whorms, addressing the DOT application, pointed to the wider opportunities it will bring.
“We continue to believe that the future of Cayman Airways lies with new longer missions and direct flights which have strategic importance in giving the Cayman Islands a unique advantage over other Caribbean destinations that will not have direct flights from these more distant gateways,” Whorms said.
In 2018, Whorms stated that Cayman was looking to access other gateways to the US such as Los Angeles or San Francisco as the airline launched its Denver route.
The East Coast of the US, officials back then had indicated, was well-covered by a variety of airlines, including Cayman Airways.
Currently, Cayman Airways’ longest route is to Denver, which it resumed in February. The airline first launched the service in March 2019. Grand Cayman remains the only Caribbean island with a direct flight from Denver.
The national flag carrier also operates routes to Miami, Tampa, New York, Jamaica, La Ceiba and Cuba.
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