Cayman Airways is looking to unground its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft by the end of February. The airline, which has two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, was the first operator to voluntarily ground the type on March 10th following the tragic crash of two other MAXs in similar circumstances.
The Boeing 737 MAXs return to service is beginning to gather steam with more airlines and more regulatory bodies recertifying the aircraft type and returning it to service. However, it also seems that many airlines are keen to drop the MAX branding altogether when it comes to referencing the aircraft.
Cayman Airways resuming MAX flights
With its brightly colored tails, Cayman Airways is due to resume flights with the Boeing 737 MAX by the end of the month. The decision comes after the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands (CAACI) decided to repeal its ban of operations of the aircraft type in its airspace.
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Cayman Airways is yet to reveal its exact plans to return the type to service. However, it did say that the move would happen in the second half of February. The airline is expected to share details of its return to service plans over the coming weeks, with various ‘activities’ on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac planned.
Interestingly, like major MAX customer Ryanair, Cayman Airways appears to have dropped the MAX branding from the infamous aircraft. Instead, throughout the airline’s statement on its return to service, the aircraft is simply referred to as the ‘Boeing 737-8.’
Commenting on the news, Cayman Airways CEO & President Fabian Whorms said,
“Cayman Airways has already completed all the aircraft modifications and improvements necessary to assure safe operation of the aircraft and we are now in the process of implementing several final measures, many of which are above and beyond the prescribed requirements.”
Cayman Airways’ MAX fleet
According to data from Planespotters.net, Cayman Airways currently has two Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in its fleet. Both are leased from ALC,
- VP-CIW – 2.2 years old – Delivered: November 28th, 2018
- VP-CIX – 1.8 years old – Delivered: March 6th, 2019
While the airline saw some use from its first Boeing 737 MAX before the grounding, VP-CIX didn’t complete any flights for Cayman Airways in the three days before it was grounded. VP-CIW was flown to Victorville in late February 2020, returning to George Town in September 2020. Meanwhile, CIX flew to Victorville in August 2020, returning to George Town less than a month later.
Before the grounding, CIW was operating flights to destinations such as Tampa, Kingston, New York, Havana, Denver, Chicago, and Miami from its Georgetown base. The airline has four 737 MAX aircraft on order.
Are you excited to see another carrier resuming Boeing 737 MAX services? Let us know what you think and why in the comments.
