A Trip Report: Caribbean Airlines
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When we were planning our trip to the Caribbean and had
decided on Trinidad and Tobago, the obvious choice in terms of getting there
was Caribbean airlines. Caribbean
Airlines is based in Trinidad and Tobago and they offer direct flights from a
number of U.S. gateways including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and New York. They also have many sale fairs, and we found
a great deal from Miami to Port of Spain.
We had two flights on Caribbean: the first flight was from Miami to
Trinidad and then connecting to Tobago and was booked through a travel website;
while the second flight was from Tobago to Port of Spain and that was booked
directly through Caribbean Airlines. The
website for Caribbean Airlines is not very user friendly and definitely needs
some improvements - it is fine when booking flights but very cumbersome and not
user friendly when managing a booking or managing options. Another reason we choose to book with
Caribbean was for the perks – two free checked bags as well as meal in
economy. Given all this, we were eager
to experience Caribbean Airlines.
The day before our departure, I was able to check-in online
and print out boarding passes – I have a dietary restriction so I had called to
ensure that was on the reservation and I was assured it was. We got to the airport about 2 hours early,
and the line to check-in was not too long – even though it was Christmas Day
there were a lot of people travelling to the Caribbean. Check-in was smooth and we proceeded to go
through security and head towards our gate.
Our flight was to depart at 2:05pm and land in Port of Spain at 7:05p,
our next flight was around 8:30pm given us about an hour to clear customs and
immigration in Trinidad (which I was told was going to be enough time). The plane was already at the gate when we got
there, as it had come from Trinidad earlier that morning and this was going to
be the return journey home. Usually, the
tail of the Caribbean Airlines is painted with a bright blue bird but the tail
of this plane was white. Boarding started
and we were seated and in the plane by 1:40pm.
Overall impressions of the plane were that it was an older
plane – with older seats and an older look.
There were no PTV’s in front of you, no USB ports, and no coat
hooks. The seats were in a 3-3 layout,
the covers on the seats were a bit worn out, and the seats had a ‘sat-in’
feel. While not completely comfortable,
the seats were also not completely uncomfortable and were decent for the 3-hour
journey (not sure if they would be comfortable for a longer flight). The only good thing about the older plane was
the good amount of legroom that was provided – it was really good legroom and
as someone who is tall, I appreciate the legroom. Other amenities of the plane included a
magazine in the seat-back pocket and TV’s that dropped down from the
ceiling.While we had left Miami late, we landed in Port of Spain on time.
There was not a lot of communication from the on-board staff
to the passengers – the flight attendants did not communicate that much and
neither did the pilots. Even when our
departure was delayed, there was still not a lot of communication. We were just delayed and then all of a sudden
they closed the front doors and we were off, and that is when the flight
attendants came on and welcomed us on board.
The overall flight
from Miami to Port of Spain was pretty uneventful. The screens were showing a commercial for
Trinidad and then a really old movie (one that I had never heard of) was
screened. As Caribbean is a full-service
airline, a meal was provided to all passengers.
The overall flight time from Miami to Port of Spain is about 3hr 40
minutes, and the meal did not commence until at least 2 hours into the flight. I am not sure why Caribbean decided to wait
this long – was it to coordinate with the 7pm arrival time in Trinidad, or
heating up the food? Whatever the reason, the delay was noticed by the
passengers as there was nothing else to do on the flight (had they given
passengers food earlier, passengers could’ve eaten and then fallen asleep and
not been a bother to the flight attendants; that did not happen). The meal provided was either fish or chicken,
and there were also a vegetarian option provided (for those with dietary
restrictions). The food was decent
enough for the 3.5hr flight – there are definitely other airlines that provide
you with more and others that provide you with a lot less so at least something
substantial was provided. In addition to
the food, drinks were served. Tea and
coffee were supposed to be served as well, but those were only individually
served to those who requested it. Even
though there was enough time to provide all the services, the crew seemed a bit
overwhelmed or unsure about the meal delivery.
Overall, the flight attendants were not rude but they definitely did not
embody the ‘warm Caribbean spirit’ –they seemed there to just to do their job.
We were connecting to a domestic flight from Port of Spain
to Tobago, so we had to clear customs in Trinidad, collect our baggage, exit
the arrival hall and proceed to the domestic check-in hall. Even though everything took a long time, we
still made it in time for our flight to Tobago.
The flight from Port of Spain to Tobago only takes 25
minutes and is operated on an ATR flight.
On both sectors that we flew on – Port of Spain to Tobago and return –
each aircraft was brand new with slimline seats that were nice and comfortable
for the flight. Due to the short length
of the flight, no inflight services were provided but the plane was comfortable
and extremely nice.
Overall, Caribbean Airlines offers you access to the
Caribbean to a flight for a low price.
How enjoyable is that flight depends on your expectations. If you are expecting a 5-star airline, you
will be disappointed. If you are expecting
a low-budget, LCC carrier your expectations will be exceeded. Caribbean Airlines seems to be a hybrid – low
fares, free checked bags, meals on board, sometimes older planes and sometimes
newer planes. Given the free meal and
free checked bags, they are winning as compared to some of the American
mainline carriers they are competing with; however, now airlines such as
JetBlue are entering into Caribbean Airlines territory and they offer snacks,
PTVs, comfortable seats and lower cost.
We will see who wins in the end.
I was planning a trip to Providenciales and wanted to see the other island of Grand Turk. Grand Turk is mostly a cruise-ship driven city so when there are no cruise shops, and it is COVID, then there is nothing really to do there but I still wanted to check out. Given the lack of economy in Grand Turk, the only option to get to the island was flying on InterCaribbean. InterCaribbean is an airline based at Providenciales in Turks & Caicos and provides services to various Caribbean destinations. I booked the flight online and booked the morning flight out to Grand Turk and the afternoon return. I was very excited to try the product as I heard read a lot about the airline and the new management which was trying to build the airline into a better service provider to connect the Caribbean together.
My outbound and return flight operated very similarly. Both were operated by an Embraer 120 with a2-2 seat configuration with about room for 30-40 passengers. I think the plane was making the round back and forth because it was the same pilot and crew for both outbound and return. The plane was definitely older as the quality of the seat and the plane had seen better days. Flight time on both outbound and return is 30-minutes so given the short flight-time there was no inflight service but the views from the plane were plenty of entertainment. Overall, the flight and plane were very basic. It was a nice and short domestic flight - my only comment would the lack of friendliness by the flight attendant. It was a short flight and the plane was very small so there was the opportunity for a more personalized and friendly interaction but the demeanor of the flight attendant was very strict and stoic. There was definitely no island friendliness but that did not take away from the fantastic views from the plane. 
