SUMMARY
American Airlines leads with 90,000 flights and 14.2 million seats in the US-Caribbean market.
JetBlue offers lie-flat seats to the Caribbean on their Mint-equipped Airbus A321s.
Delta Air Lines has 36,000 flights to the Caribbean from main hubs in Atlanta and New York.
The US-Caribbean market, along with many others, has seen air travel demand skyrocket since pandemic-related restrictions eased a few years ago. While some markets have already reached their peak and have plateaued, Caribbean travel has been on a steady incline thanks to the Spring and Summer months.
The seasons, along with year-end holidays, understandably see the most amount of demand throughout the year. Delta Air Lines and United Airlines specifically focused on catering their operations to appropriately respond to the demand during the springtime, but more recently, it appears that American Airlines has doubled down on capacity to the region.
Simple Flying previously reported that in the past fiscal year, which concluded at the end of March, US carriers have collectively increased their seating capacity to Caribbean destinations by nearly one million seats.
According to Nearshore Americans, Delta was credited for adding nearly 250,000 seats, representing an increase of more than 30%, while United expanded its capacity by 170,000 seats, roughly a 31% increase.
Frontier Airlines grew its capacity by 100,000 seats, which was equal to an increase of 29% over the past year, while JetBlue Airways had an 11% expansion in capacity. However, with Fall on the horizon, how are airlines performing now?Despite Summer peak travel winding down, four out of the top five airlines operating between the US and the Caribbean have more than five million seats scheduled this year, according to aviation data and analytics provider Cirium.
The statistics show that airlines have been focused on increasing their presence in the region as several travelers have chosen to travel outside of the continental US this year. According to The Currency, just under half of Americans plan to spend more on travel in 2024 compared to 2023. Nearly two in five people have planned for international travel this year.
1
American Airlines
90,072 flights
American Airlines is the top airline in terms of flights between the US and the Caribbean. The airline has scheduled just over 90,000 flights, according to Cirium.
Many of these flights originate from its hub at Miami International Airport (MIA). American uses the airport as its Caribbean and Latin American gateway and flies to destinations such as:
Aruba
Barbados
Grand Cayman
St. Maarten
St. Lucia
Martinique
Bermuda
Turks and Caicos
Austin Texas- FEB 12, 2023 Austin-Bergstrom International Airport American Airlines “Stand Up To Cancer Livery” Taxing to Runway 18L
Photo: lorenzatx | Shutterstock
Throughout 90,000 flights, American will offer a total of 14,199,878 seats this year, which equals to 15,220,854,672 available seat miles (ASMs).
2
JetBlue Airways
81,795 flights
JetBlue has been known to have a sizable Caribbean presence, but it has also increased its capacity to the region in recent years. The airline will offer more than 81,700 flights and a total of 13,947,367 seats this year. Its total ASM count is 18,651,049,399.
Notably, the airline is the only carrier to provide regularly scheduled flights to the Caribbean with lie-flat seats with its Mint-equipped Airbus A321s. This past May, JetBlue celebrated a decade of service to four popular Caribbean hotspots:
Santiago, Dominican Republic
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
JetBlue Airbus A321
Photo: JetBlue Airways
While the airline utilizes Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL) as a gateway to the region, it also operates several flights originating from the New York Area at its hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).
3
Delta Air Lines
36,451 flights
Although Delta boosted its capacity to the Caribbean, the airline is only third in terms of the number of flights it will operate this year. The Atlanta-based airline primarily operates flights to the region from its hub at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and at JFK. Throughout 2024, Delta will offer 6,484,864 seats across 36,451 flights. Its ASM count is 9,209,878,200.
Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 departing rainy LAX shutterstock_1677230287
Photo: Lisa Bronitt | Shutterstock
Delta Vacations, the airline’s vacation subsidiary, offers several Caribbean packages and travel deals. Travelers can book their flights, hotel, and rental cars all through its website. Some of its top vacation spots include:
Aurora Anguilla Resort & Golf Club (featured resort)
Antigua
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Curaçao
4
Cape Air
32,257 flights
Cape Air is not a mainline US carrier, but it still transports several thousand people between the US and the Caribbean annually. The airline specifically uses Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander turboprops to the region.
Across more than 32,000 flights, Cape Air will offer 6,486,864 seats this year and 9,209,878,200 ASMs.
Cape Air
Photo: Cape Air
The airline is also expanding its service in the region, inaugurating new service between Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in St. Croix and Antonio Rivera Rodríguez Airport in Vieques, Puerto Rico:
The flights started on August 1st
They will be offered twice weekly on Mondays and Thursdays
Flight times are “optimally timed for local travel”
5
United Airlines
31,867 flights
Chicago-based United has the fifth-highest number of flights between the US and the Caribbean. The airline serves several destinations in the region from its hubs at:
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)United will offer 5,476,404 seats across 31,867 flights, totaling 8,968,888,187 ASMs. Similar to Delta, the airline allows travelers to book an all-inclusive trip to the Caribbean with United Packages. As pandemic travel restrictions began to loosen in 2021, United began to expand its presence in the region.
The airline primarily uses its Boeing 737 aircraft, such as the -800, 900ER, MAX 8, and MAX 9 variants, on its Caribbean routes. Widebodies are rarely used, but can sometimes be deployed during peak seasons. Last winter, United had its 767-400ERs regularly scheduled to operate between EWR and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico.United will offer 5,476,404 seats across 31,867 flights, totaling 8,968,888,187 ASMs. Similar to Delta, the airline allows travelers to book an all-inclusive trip to the Caribbean with United Packages. As pandemic travel restrictions began to loosen in 2021, United began to expand its presence in the region.
The airline primarily uses its Boeing 737 aircraft, such as the -800, 900ER, MAX 8, and MAX 9 variants, on its Caribbean routes. Widebodies are rarely used, but can sometimes be deployed during peak seasons. Last winter, United had its 767-400ERs regularly scheduled to operate between EWR and Marín International Airport (SJU) in San Juan, Puerto Rico
