Air Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago)
Encyclopedia
Piarco International Airport
Piarco International Airport is the main airport serving Trinidad and Tobago located in Piarco, a town in northern Trinidad, about east of the capital city, Port of Spain. It is one of two international airports serving the twin isle republic. The other is located on the island of Tobago, A.N.R...
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, and used YS-11 aircraft for the first five years. The airline seemed to be doing reasonably well until the arrival of ageing Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
aircraft, in July 1998. These aircraft had fuel-thirsty and noisy JT8D engines, and were a financial burden on the airline. Air Caribbean intended to use the 737s on flights to Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport
Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the South Florida area...
, but the planes were too noisy for American noise regulations. One of the 737s was so old that a hush kit
Hush kit
A hush kit is a device for reducing noise from an engine; most commonly the term refers to devices which reduce noise emissions from low-bypass turbofan engines, as fitted to older commercial aircraft ....
couldn't be fitted. As a consequence, the planes had to be grounded whilst the hush-kits were fitted to the suitable aircraft.
In early 2000, Air Caribbean offered slashed air fares to Miami, in order to compete with BWIA and American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
. This was a financial disaster, as passengers chose to fly with competing airlines who offered modern aircraft. On October 23, 2000, Air Caribbean was closed down, with massive debts. The 737s have since been scrapped in America, and one YS-11 is still at Piarco International Airport
Piarco International Airport
Piarco International Airport is the main airport serving Trinidad and Tobago located in Piarco, a town in northern Trinidad, about east of the capital city, Port of Spain. It is one of two international airports serving the twin isle republic. The other is located on the island of Tobago, A.N.R...
, in an abandoned state.
The Airline operated a fleet of six NAMC YS-11's and two Boeing 737-200 aircraft.