French airlines operating to French overseas territories in the Caribbean await the outcome of a legal process challenging higher fuel costs imposed there.
In addition to receiving an expected Airbus A350-1000 and two ATR turboprops later this year, Air Caraïbes is considering more aircraft for its long-haul fleet.
While all operators to date have adopted the standard nine-abreast arrangement initially detailed by the carrier in its catalogue, Air Caraïbes has selected a dense ten-abreast configuration with a seat width of just below 17 inches, enabling it squeeze more returns out of the aircraft. This additional seat in each Economy row will mean the carrier’s A350-900 will seat just short of 400 passengers - 389 passengers in a three-class configuration (18 in Business, 45 in Premium Economy and 326 in Economy).
As Airbus celebrates the milestone inaugural test flight of the new A350-1000, the largest variant of the A350XWB family, Routesonline looks at approaching two years of commercial operations with the smaller A350-900.
Initially developed under the working title ‘Sunline’, the long-haul operator is expected to be officially launched next month and is likely to serve a network on leisure markets from Paris Orly, including destinations in Canada, USA, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Ahead of this year's Routes Americas forum, Routesonline is providing a snapshot on the leading airlines and airports and most used aircraft types across the region. Here we look closely at the airlines serving the Caribbean and highlight the region's top performers.
