Last CAL flight from London

Caribbean Airlines (CAL) flight BW 903 departed London Gatwick on Monday at 11.50 am.(GMT) and rrived at Piarco International to a water salute at 5.33 pm (local). There were 181 passengers and crew on board.

In response to questions from the T&T Guardian, CAL issued a statement explaining that the decision to discontinue service to London was not an easy one, since the airline’s customers have loyally supported the service especially in the peak periods. However, costs associated with maintaining the Boeing 767 aircraft operation led to the decision of simplifying the fleet and focusing limited resources to build better connectivity in the North American and Caribbean markets.

“We were not happy to see the aircraft depart, since all airlines, especially small ones take pride in operating wide-bodied airplanes, especially to destinations that are highly regarded internationally. However, in business sometimes hard decisions have to be made. Nonetheless, the year ahead promises to be an exciting one for Caribbean Airlines as we will be embarking on a major overhaul of how we do business,” the statement continued

“These improvements have already begun with the completion of phase one of our Passenger Service System upgrade to Amadeus on December 9, 2015. The second phase of the Amadeus migration which involves our Airport check-in system will be completed by March 2016.

The airline said the change to Amadeus would promote, at every customer touch point, ease of doing business with CAL, by offering:

• Faster and easier web check-in

• Simpler ways to buy tickets, pay for upgrades and other services

• Real-time information on reservations and flight changes

• Self-serve, user friendly airport kiosks at Caribbean Airlines destinations

“Amadeus’ next-generation technology enables Caribbean Airlines to deliver its vision for an improved customer centric travel experience to better serve our valued customers,” the airline said.