03.11.2021 - 17:38 UTC
Cayman Airways (KX, Grand Cayman Island) has transitioned to an all-B737 MAX fleet following the retirement of its last B737 Classic jets.
A press release said B737-300s VP-CKW (msn 26322) and VP-CKZ (msn 27626) were officially withdrawn from service on October 18, 2021 and October 25, 2021 respectively. VP-CKW’s last passenger flight was on May 17, 2021, from Cayman Brac Island to Grand Cayman Island after which it was ferried to Victorville on October 19 while VP-CKZ operated its last passenger flight for Cayman Airways on June 26, 2021, after which it was ferried to Victorville on October 25.
As it stands, the state-owned carrier's fleet now consists of three B737-8s, leased from Air Lease Corporation, while its Cayman Airways Express (KX, Grand Cayman Island) subsidiary operates two DHC-6-300s and two S340B(Plus)es.
23.07.2021 - 01:09 UTC
The Cayman Islands parliament has approved another KYD7 million Caymanian dollar (USD8.5 million) in rescue aid to Cayman Airways (KX, Grand Cayman Island) to make up for revenue shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic and cover its expenditures until year-end 2021.
According to a government statement, the allocation forms part of KYD96.4 million (USD117.5 million) in additional funds for the 2021 budget approved by members of parliament on July 21, 2021. The highest individual amount approved was KYD27.5 million (USD33.5 million), earmarked to extend tourism stipend payments until December 31, 2021, to deal with the ongoing fallout from the pandemic. Of this, KYD10 million (USD12.1 million) was also allocated to the Cayman Islands Airports Authority.
As previously reported, Cayman Airways, the flag carrier of the British Overseas Territory, already received KYD16.3 million (USD19.8 million) in COVID-19 support from the government last year, covering the period from January to December 2020.
According to the government's Strategic Policy Statement for 2022-2024, its planned capital investment for Cayman Airways over that period is another KYD9 million (USD10.9...
Editorial Comment: Adjusted status of Saab 340B fleet as at least one aircraft is currently active again. - 23.07.2021 - 07:58 UTC
17.05.2021 - 03:50 UTC
Boeing (BOE, Washington National) has won approval from US regulators for a fix of an electrical grounding issue that affected about 100 B737-8s, clearing the way for their quick return to service after flights were halted in early April, Reuters reports.
An FAA official confirmed the agency had approved the service bulletins and associated instructions, after Boeing had sent two bulletins to affected airlines on May 12, advising them on the fixes.
"After gaining final approvals from the FAA, we have issued service bulletins for the affected fleet," Boeing told Reuters. "We are also completing the work as we prepare to resume deliveries."
Boeing on April 8 had notified the FAA that it had recommended to 16 operators of a specific group of recently-built B737 MAX aircraft to temporarily remove them from service to address a manufacturing issue that could affect the operation of a backup power control unit in the cockpit. The recommendation was made to allow for verification that a sufficient ground path existed for a component of the electrical power...
02.02.2021 - 07:41 UTC
Cayman Airways (KX, Grand Cayman Island) will shortly resume B737 MAX operations after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands permitted the type's return to commercial service subject to "close oversight" and modifications in line with earlier FAA, EASA, and UK CAA decisions.
The regulator said it would work closely with the carrier, the only operator of the B737 MAX in the self-governing British Overseas Territory in the western Caribbean Sea, about the type's re-induction into service. It said it would undertake a "full review" of the airline's return to service plans, including new training requirements and aircraft modifications.
Given that, Cayman Airways said it expects to return its two B737-8s to service during the second half of February 2021 once all requirements have been met.
The airline's MAX are dry-leased from Air Lease Corporation, including one delivered in early March 2019 and not inducted into active service prior to the type's global grounding in the middle of that month. It is also awaiting the delivery of a third unit of...
