Cayman Airways - History

History

The airline was established and started operations on August 7, 1968. It was formed following the Cayman Government's purchase of 51% of Cayman Brac Airways, from LACSA, the Costa Rican flag carrier, and became wholly government owned in December 1977. The airline operated regional services from Owen Roberts International Airport in George Town, Grand Cayman to Gerrard Smith International Airport on Cayman Brac. Early on, the airline's aircraft was a single DC-3. A few months after it was formed, Cayman Airways flew its first international route to Kingston, Jamaica, on a leased BAC 1-11. International service to Miami began in 1972 using a single leased Douglas DC-6. The airline acquired its first jet aircraft; the BAC 1-11 in 1978, and began services to Houston. In 1979, a second BAC 1-11, A Hawker Siddleley Avro 748, and a Britten-Norman Trislander were purchased. The airline replaced their two BAC 1-11's with Boeing 727-200 aircraft in 1982, strengthening the airline's regional and international capability, and also allowed for the introduction of first class service. These jets were eventually replaced with Boeing 737-300's. At one time or another during the 1980s, Cayman Airways offered scheduled or charter service to Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, Newark, New York, Philadelphia, & St. Louis.

The airline struggled throughout the early 1990s, however financial assistance from the Cayman Islands Government, financial re-structuring, a new fleet and the addition of new destinations (Chicago, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Havana) seems to have helped the airline.