Effective January 10, the carrier suspended its routes to San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Tortola, British Virgin Islands; now the Caribbean Airlines (CAL) continues to optimize its operations to reduce costs.
Latest development is, the carrier aims to sell two of the five ATR aircraft it owns by the end of this year. According to CAL chairman Reyna Kowlessar says the decision to sell the aircraft "bears no correlation to job cuts."
According to a January 8 disposal notice posted to the airline’s website, two 14-year-old ATR 72-600s registered as 9Y-TTB and 9Y-TTC are up for sale on a ‘where is, as is’ basis.
The registrations 9Y-TTB and 9Y-TTC were delivered to CAL as part of an initial order for nine ATR aircraft. The 2011 deal was valued at US$200 million and was meant to replace the airline’s ageing Dash 8 fleet.
The decision to buy the ATRs instead of opting the lease option, brought a lot of criticism at that time because it significantly depleted the airline’s liquidity.
For now, the carrier has ten ATRs in its fleet, five of which are leased. They were added as the airline embarked on a network and fleet expansion drive in line with its 2023-2027 strategic plan.
While these turboprops are fuel efficient, Caribbean Airlines’ ATRs require a lot of maintenance due to their high utilisation rates, which are amongst the highest in the world.
Airport operational charges, high costs of operation, coupled with heavy debt are factors drifting away the finances from profitability to survival for the carrier.
According to the notice, bids must be submitted electronically by next week Friday (February 6), with the winning offer to be determined solely on price.
Caribbean Airlines operates a fleet of 10 ATR 72-600 aircraft, which are primarily used for regional operations, including servicing the local airbridge.
In another development on January 23, 2026, Caribbean Airlines refuted reports that the company was evicted from its Hope Road location in St Andrew.
In a statement, the company said the decision to relocate its office is aligned with the natural end of the existing lease. It said it has maintained ongoing and open communication with the landlord as is customary and the planned relocation is being managed in a way that ensures business continuity.
Display Picture Credit: Brent Pinheiro
