InterCaribbean To Launch U.S. Routes This Year Amid Fleet Shake-Up

Turks and Caicos-based interCaribbean Airways is on track to launch flights to the U.S. this fall using Embraer 170 aircraft, according to CEO Trevor Sadler.

The carrier—currently only operating services within the Caribbean—has purchased eight used E170s configured with 76 seats, the first of which will join the fleet late in the northern hemisphere summer, Sadler said. He added the first U.S. route will likely be launched in the fall from Providenciales, Turks and Caicos.

InterCaribbean is phasing out older E145 aircraft configured to carry 50 passengers, replacing them with the E170s. The larger aircraft have a seating capacity and range that gives the carrier new, longer-distance route opportunities—including potentially flights to as far as Canada. InterCaribbean has already sold three of its six E145s, and expects to retire and sell the remaining three in its fleet as the E170s join its lineup.

“We've looked for some time at an entry into the U.S.,” Sadler told Aviation Week. “The E170s obviously have much longer range than the comfortable range ability of the E145 aircraft. So, we basically take our central three hot points, which are Providenciales, Tortola [in the British Virgin Islands] and Barbados, and we draw circles around each of those, effectively giving us a 2,000- nm [2,300-mi.] range. We are comfortably then able to fly up into Canada, into the northeastern U.S. states and a slice of the eastern side of the U.S. midwest.”

The carrier is also eyeing using the E170s to fly to Central America and perhaps even South America. Sadler declined to reveal which U.S. cities could become part of interCarribean’s network, but said an announcement of the first U.S. route will likely come “relatively soon.”

Sadler expects all eight E170s to enter the carrier’s fleet within 18 months of the first delivery.

Flights to the U.S. are “a natural opportunity for us,” Sadler said. “We've monitored the U.S. market very carefully over the years. The demand from the Caribbean has increased.”

He added a key element interCaribbean can bring to the Caribbean-U.S. market is price stability. Sadler noted the price of airfare to travel from a Caribbean island to the U.S. is wildly inconsistent.

“On a decent day, you might pay $300 and, on some crazy days, airlines are asking [thousands of dollars],” he explained. “It’s a roller coaster pricing model. We'd like to bring price stability. Folks around the Caribbean appreciate a more stable pricing model.”

InterCaribbean currently operates to 22 cities across 17 countries in the Caribbean. The network spans from Georgetown, Guyana, in the south, Barbados to the east, Havana to the west and Nassau, Bahamas, to the north.

Sadler said the carrier is looking at around 10 cities spread across the U.S., Canada, Central America and potentially South America for E170 routes.

In addition to retiring its E145s, the carrier is also phasing out 30-seat EMB120s as it focuses on operating larger aircraft, including a 68-seat ATR 72-500 that was recently added for flying within the Caribbean.

The airline has retired two of its 10 EMB120s so far. It plans to retire the remaining eight gradually. Some will still be in the fleet at the end of 2025, according to Sadler, but how many has yet to be determined.

InterCaribbean also operates nine 48-seat ATR 42-500s, giving it 10 total ATRs including the 72-500. Sadler said the carrier would like to add as many as eight more ATR aircraft, a mix of 42s and 72s, to its fleet.

The carrier is also operating one leased Bombardier CRJ-900 aircraft with 90 seats for high-demand Caribbean routes.

InterCaribbean’s “evolution to larger aircraft with that longer range capability gives us the ability to begin to do some things we simply couldn't do previously,” Sadler said. “The evolution changes where you can go.”