The knife-thin market edge that CAL inhabits is already showing in the wear evident in the airline's ageing fleet, and the day is coming for the airline to make some tough decisions about which sector of airline service perceptions it wants to inhabit. The new turboprop aircraft commissioned from ATR also mark an entry into more aggressive regional airlift, a business that has traditionally been hallmarked by indifferent service, irregular ontime performance and sky-high fares. New aircraft will give CAL an opportunity to carve its own unique space in this competitive market, but the planning must be spot on to appeal to market expectations while ensuring adequate returns on an investment that's going to run well past a billion dollars. While a strategy that embraces the Caribbean region as well as international destinations and two airlines that may take decades to effectively merge, CAL must work fast to define a mission that ensures profitability and respects the investment in taxpayer money that allows it to keep flying.