Caribbean Airlines (BW, Port of Spain) has experienced a number of issues with its fleet of six ATR72s, forcing it to deploy its B737-800s on domestic routes over the Christmas and New Year period. According to The Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, the airline is now seeking legal advice over the persistent faults with its five ATR72-600 and one ATR72-500 aircraft.

Commenting on the report, Caribbean Airlines told ch-aviation in a statement that it is in "positive discussions" with ATR - Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac) to resolve the matter.

The Aviation Herald lists five engine fire incidents affecting Caribbean Airlines ATR72-600 9Y-TTA (msn 968) over the past two years. The incidents occurred on its right-side Pratt & Whitney 127 engine.

As previously reported, Caribbean Airlines is now wet-leasing an ATR72-500 EC-KUL (msn 809) from Spanish ACMI/charter specialist Swiftair (WT, Madrid Barajas) on a two-month long contract ending March 4. The turboprop is currently used for multiple daily shuttle flights between Port of Spain and Tobago.