 | |||||||
 Air Caraïbes AtlantiqueAirbus A350-900 approachingParis Charles de Gaulle | |||||||
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| Founded | 1969; 56 years ago (1969) (asSociété Antillaise de Transport Aérien)[1] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commenced operations | July 2000; 24 years ago (2000-07) (asAir Caraïbes)[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | |||||||
| Focus cities | Fort-de-France | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Preference | ||||||
| Subsidiaries | Air Caraïbes Atlantique | ||||||
| Fleet size | 14 | ||||||
| Destinations | 10 | ||||||
| Parent company | Groupe Dubreuil | ||||||
| Headquarters | Les Abymes,Guadeloupe, France[2] | ||||||
| Key people | Christine Ourmières-Widener (President &CEO) | ||||||
| Employees | 1,144 (2021)[3] | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Air Caraïbes (French pronunciation:[kaʁaib]) is a French airline based in theFrench West Indies, with its headquarters inLes Abymes inGuadeloupe. The airline's main base of operations is atPointe-à-Pitre International Airport in Guadeloupe, with a focus city atMartinique Aimé Césaire International Airport, nearFort-de-France inMartinique. It operates scheduled and charter services in the West Indies, as well as transatlantic flights based atParis Orly Airport inMetropolitan France.
The airline was originally established asSociété Caribéenne de Transports Aériens, and started operations in September 1994. In 2000,Air Guadeloupe was acquired byGroupe Dubreuil, which had previously established Air Vendée before the airline was acquired byAir France, rebranding it asRegional Airlines.[4] The current Air Caraïbes was founded in July 2000 through the merger of various local airlinesAir Guadeloupe,Air Martinique, Air Saint Barthélémy, and Air Saint Martin, and was created in response to the air transport needs of the French Caribbean territories. In 2002, the company flew 445,000 passengers and had €68 million in revenues.
In July 2003, the airline received its firstATR 72-500.[3][5] On 12 December 2003, the airline began services toOrly Airport from Guadeloupe and Martinique using anAirbus A330-200.[3] The transatlantic services were operated under a franchise agreement byAir Caraïbes Atlantique, a jointly run subsidiary airline ofGroupe Dubreuil, which was registered in Martinique with its ownair operator's certificate, using anICAO airline designator of "CAJ" and callsign of "CAR LINE".[6][7][8] Its operations were further integrated with and operated under theairline codes of Air Caraïbes at a later date. In June 2006, Air Caraïbes expanded itsAirbus A330 fleet in receiving its first Airbus A330-300, and also planned to receive another A330-300 to replace one of its A330s.[9] Air Caraïbes sold one of its Airbus A330-200s to theFrench Air Force, where it was re-registered and became one of theFrench presidential planes.[10]
On 13 December 2013, Air Caraïbes announced it had ordered theAirbus A350, with a fleet of three A350-900s and three A350-1000s, the first of which were expected to be delivered in 2016 and 2020 respectively.[11] On 14 December 2016, the airline received its firstATR 72-600.[12] The airline received its first A350-900 on 28 February 2017, and its first A350-1000 on 19 December 2019.[13][14] However prior to the delivery of some of the airline's A350s, parent company Groupe Dubreuil allocated some to sister airlineFrench Bee,[15] before ordering additional A350s for both airlines by June 2019.[16]
In 2024, the airline announced further fleet expansion plans with one A350-1000 and two ATR 72-600s to be delivered later in the year.[17][18]
Air Caraïbes is owned byGroupe Dubreuil (85%) and had 1,105 employees as of 2019.[3] Air Caraïbes usesTravel Technology Interactive's airline management system, Aeropack.
Air Caraïbes operates both a regional network in theWest Indies, and a transatlantic long-haul network based atParis Orly Airport in France.[19]
Air Caraïbes hascodeshare agreements with the following airlines:[20]
The airline also codeshares with theSNCF, the French national railway operator.[22] Previously, Air Caraïbes also had codeshare agreements withAigle Azur until the airline ceased operations in September 2019, and withCorsair International until 26 October 2019.[23][24]
_F-OPTP_-_MSN_240_-_Now_in_French_Air_Force_as_F-RARF_(2949184947).jpg)
As of December 2024[update], the Air Caraïbes fleet (including Air Caraibes Atlantique) consists of the following aircraft:[25][26]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | W | Y | Total | |||||
| Airbus A330-200 | 1 | — | 12 | 24 | 267 | 303 | ||
| Airbus A330-300 | 2 | — | 12 | 35 | 307 | 354 | ||
| Airbus A350-900 | 3 | — | 18 | 45 | 326 | 389 | ||
| Airbus A350-1000 | 4 | — | 24 | 45 | 360 | 429 | F-HAJP new addition with 480 seats | |
| ATR 72-600 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 74 | 74 | ||
| Total | 14 | 1 | ||||||
%2c_Air_Caraibes_AN2096232.jpg)
Air Caraïbes and its franchised partners have operated the following aircraft types. It does not include aircraft types that were retired by its predecessor airlines prior to being merged to form Air Caraïbes.[27]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A330-200 | 1 | 2003 | 2009 | Sold toFrench Air Force. |
| ATR 42-300 | 2 | 1986 | 1999 | |
| ATR 42-500 | 2 | 1997 | 2007 | |
| ATR 72-200 | 2 | 2000 | 2004 | |
| ATR 72-500 | 4 | 2000 | 2020 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 1 | 2000 | 2001 | Leased fromIslandsflug |
| Cessna 208 Caravan | 5 | Unknown | Unknown | Operated byAir Caraïbes Express[8] |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter | 3 | Unknown | Unknown | One crashed asFlight 1501. |
| Dornier 228 | 2 | Unknown | Unknown | Operated byAir Caraïbes Express andTake Air[8] |
| Embraer ERJ-145 | 2 | 2000 | 2008 | |
| Embraer ERJ-175 | 1 | 2006 | 2008 | |
| Embraer ERJ-190 | 1 | 2007 | 2013 |
Media related toAir Caraïbes at Wikimedia Commons
