Operations Update, August 6, 2019

In the past four and a half months since the grounding of its two Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, Cayman Airways has operated its international flight schedule with only three jet aircraft. While necessary adjustments were made to the airline’s flight schedule to operate with a reduced fleet, it has left the airline with little redundancy in the event of an aircraft being out of service. 

Last week, a single technical problem on one jet aircraft resulted in that aircraft only being able to provide limited service between Wednesday and Saturday. Unfortunately, despite best efforts, Cayman Airways was unable to secure a substitute jet aircraft, and, being short one plane, passengers and crew on certain flights experienced extended delays. These passengers were assisted by Cayman Airways’ airport and call center teams, who worked tirelessly to accommodate each person. The technical problem on that aircraft was resolved on Saturday, and it returned to full service that evening.

On Monday, a separate technical issue with another jet aircraft again resulted in extended delays on certain flights. The issue with that aircraft was resolved by Tuesday evening.

In addition to airport announcements, affected passengers would have received email updates via the airline’s third-party messaging platform, TripCase. Once an email address is provided at the time of booking, Cayman Airways passengers automatically receive their initial reservation confirmation via TripCase, as well as pre-trip reminders and notifications of any gate changes, flight delays, schedule changes, and such. Cayman Airways is in the process of extending this communications tool to SMS messaging for passengers, specifically for notifications about delays.

Passengers affected by extended delays this past week who may still have questions or concerns, are encouraged to contact the airline directly by emailing customercare@caymanairways.net.

“Cayman Airways would like to sincerely apologize to those passengers affected by the unanticipated delays, and we thank them for their patience and understanding,” said Cayman Airways President and CEO, Fabian Whorms. “Every day, we transport up to two thousand international passengers, and the grounding of our two new 737 Max 8 aircraft has complicated our ability to do that consistently to the high service standard that we are known for. We are grateful for all customer feedback received, and are diligently working on improving the customer experience during such irregular operations. Thankfully, even with a reduced fleet, extended delays are rare, as our operational teams in Flight Operations, Ground Operations and Maintenance, work hard on ensuring safe, enjoyable, and reliable service for the many who travel to and from our islands with us.”