Cayman Airways: A Practical Guide to Flying to the Cayman Islands

History and positioning

Being entirely publicly owned is not a formal detail for Cayman Airways: it means the airline is also run as a guarantee of connectivity for a territory that would otherwise depend only on foreign carriers for its links with the United States. The flag carrier role translates into a traditional, full-service positioning, not into price competition with the Caribbean low-cost carriers.

The fleet

The main fleet is made up of four Boeing 737-8 MAX jets, which completed the fleet renewal plan by replacing the earlier 737-300s on international, regional and domestic jet routes. The subsidiary Cayman Airways Express instead operates Saab 340B+ and De Havilland Twin Otter aircraft on links between the smaller islands.

Routes and network

From its base at George Town, the main routes connect to Miami, Tampa, New York JFK, Denver and Los Angeles in the United States, as well as Caribbean destinations such as Havana, Kingston, Montego Bay and La Ceiba in Honduras. On the domestic side, inter-island links connect Grand Cayman to Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, two smaller islands that depend almost exclusively on these flights for quick connections.

On board and service

The service is single-class full-service even on the shortest sectors to the United States, with a meal or snack and drinks included: a choice that reflects the flag carrier role more than the logic of a generic regional airline. Do not expect the range of inflight entertainment of the major carriers, though: the small fleet also means a simpler cabin fit.

Cayman Airways is indispensable if you need to connect Grand Cayman with Cayman Brac or Little Cayman, since it is in practice the only workable option on these inter-island routes. It is less suitable if you are comparing only price against the Caribbean low-cost carriers arriving from other US hubs, because its fares reflect a national-carrier positioning rather than that of a low-cost airline. The practical tip is to book Cayman Airways Express inter-island flights with some time to spare, because the Saabs and Twin Otters are more sensitive to weather conditions than the larger jets.