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79-508: The company announced on 8 September 2006 that the airline would be shut down on 31 December 2006. All of the approximately 1700 employees were separated from the company but applied for new contracts with a new entity, Caribbean Airlines . British West Indian Airways was established on 27 November 1939 by New Zealander Lowell Yerex . Operations started on 27 November 1940 with a piston powered Lockheed Lodestar twin engine aircraft on daily services between Trinidad and Barbados . By 1942,

158-427: A Boeing 747-100 jumbo jet at one point. By 1994, the airline had become partially privatised. A substantial reorganisation of its route network left London and Frankfurt the only European destinations. The airline ordered Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft, then canceled the order in favor of Airbus A321 and Airbus A340 jets; in turn, this order was dropped after only two A321s were delivered. On 22 February 1995,

237-464: A national Panorama competition has been held in the United Kingdom as part of the annual Notting Hill Carnival celebration. Brooklyn, NY, home to a large West Indian population, has hosted an annual Steelband Panorama since 1972 as part of its annual Labor Day Carnival festivities. Steelpans were introduced to the genre of jazz fusion by players such as Dave Samuels and Othello Molineaux in

316-583: A pan , steel drum , and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra ) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago . Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 2023, the United Nations General Assembly declared August 11 as World Steelpan Day. The following year, the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago officially recognised the steelpan as

395-474: A steelpan , cricket balls , fruits , corals , fish and butterflies . Caribbean Airlines has a theme song arranged in a traditional Trinidadian calypso music style. It was originally recorded by Explainer and the song is called "Lorraine". The original lyrics, which talk about a man who needs to escape the cold United States and get back to the Caribbean, were modified to fit Caribbean Airlines. In 2020,

474-524: A Panorama steelband is that of the captain. These large ensembles often include section leaders: accomplished pannists that monitor the various voices in the band. Influential pannists include Ellie Mannette , the "Father of the Modern Steel Drum" and an accomplished panman, and Winston "Spree" Simon , the inventor and a skilled player of the "Ping Pong" pan. Musicians Jimmy Buffett and Lord Kitchener are known for composing music later adapted to

553-664: A bar was used to sink the pan. While this did create pre-sunk pans, a problem was that there would often be scratches and grooves in the steel. A Swiss steelpan manufacturer (PANArt) researched the field of fine-grain sheet steel and developed a deep-drawn raw form which was additionally hardened by nitriding . This process, and the new instruments they called pang , were presented at the International Conference of Steel pan and Science in Port-of-Spain in 2000. Electronic steelpans have also been developed. One such version

632-625: A daily direct service to the Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas , using the Dash 8 aircraft. In May 2008, Caribbean Airlines acquired a seventh Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline added a new U.S. route on 22 May to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport from Piarco International Airport . This route began operations on a four times per week schedule and later in July of

711-707: A daily service to ten flights per week. The route was operated by the Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 , configured for 50 passengers in an all economy service. Daily flights to its gateways Fort Lauderdale and Miami continued. Services to Toronto and New York City remained at twice daily and 20 weekly (up to 28 weekly in peak season), respectively. On 27 July 2009, Philip Saunders announced his resignation as CEO of Caribbean Airlines, for personal reasons. Caribbean Airlines appointed Captain Ian Brunton in October 2009 as CEO of

790-674: A merger with Trinidad and Tobago Air Services (which had been formed by the government in June 1974), becoming the national airline. BWIA aircraft livery had the 'Trinidad and Tobago Airways' adjacent to the 'BWIA International' after the merger. The same year also saw the Boeing 707s replaced on the London service with long-range Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar wide-body jetliners. In 1986, BWIA bought its first McDonnell Douglas MD-83 . The airline also operated stretched McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50 jetliners as well as

869-466: A streamlining exercise to remove unprofitable routes. In 2018, the airline posted an order for 737 MAX-8 aircraft, to replace the aging fleet of 737-800 aircraft. The order was initially placed in 2018, and put on hold after the grounding of the 737 MAX family . Also in 2018, the services Caribbean Cafe and Caribbean Plus were launched for the first time. Caribbean Plus served as an upgraded economy class with larger seats and extra legroom, but with

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948-451: A subsidiary of BOAC. Vickers Viscount four engine turboprops were introduced in 1955 with Bristol Britannias leased in 1960 to fly the long-haul route to London , via New York City . In 1960 BWIA had its head office in Port of Spain , Trinidad. On 1 November 1961, the government of Trinidad and Tobago acquired 90% of the shares in the airline and achieved complete ownership by 1967. For BWIA

1027-502: A test piece (sometimes specially composed, or a selected calypso); a piece of choice (very often a "classic" or European art-music work); and calypso of choice, in a concert-style venue. Panorama, the largest steelband contest in the world, occurs during Carnival celebrations in Trinidad. In 2020, the world's first online steelpan competition, PanoGrama , was launched by Nevin Roach. Since 1978

1106-472: A tradition of performing classical music which dates back to 1946, both in calypso tempo (known as "The Bomb") and straight (generally in concert or music festival contexts). In these contexts, accuracy and faithfulness to the original are highly prized. An international festival, the World Steelband Music Festival, has been held intermittently in Trinidad since 1964, where steelbands perform

1185-454: A travel pact for Trinidadians travelling to India. In October, the airline announced a fleet renewal consisting of fifteen (15) Boeing 737-800 Next Generation jets and nine ATR 72-600 turboprop aircraft. The new Boeing jets were intended to replace Air Jamaica's operating fleet of Airbus aircraft. On 27 May 2011, the acquisition of Air Jamaica was completed, with Finance Minister Winston Dookeran and Jamaican Finance Minister Audley Shaw at

1264-425: A way that it did not previously. There are several ways in which a steelpan may become out of tune (most commonly this is caused by playing the steelpan with excessive force and incorrect handling) and it is quite common that steelbands arrange to have their instruments tuned once or twice a year. A tuner must have great skill in their work to manage to make the notes sound both good and at the correct pitch. Much of

1343-532: Is affiliated to IFALPA . TTALPA is also part of the regional Caribbean Airline Pilots Association (C-ALPA). The other recognised Unions at BWIA were: Airline Superintendents Association ; the Aviation, Communication and Allied Workers Union , which represented ground staff and flight attendants, and the Communication, Transport and General Workers Union which organised middle management and engineers. BWIA served

1422-527: Is the E-Pan, invented by Salmon Cupid, who holds utility patents for it. Another is the Percussive Harmonic Instrument (PHI). The note's size corresponds to the pitch—the larger the oval, the lower the tone. The size of the instrument varies from one pan to another. It may have almost all of the "skirt" (the cylindrical part of the oil drum) cut off and around 30 soprano-range notes. It may use

1501-523: The Pythagorean musical cycle of fourths and fifths. A pan is played using a pair of straight sticks tipped with rubber; the size and type of rubber tip varies according to the class of pan being played. Some musicians use four pansticks, holding two in each hand. This grew out of Trinidad and Tobago's early 20th-century Carnival percussion groups known as tamboo bamboo . The pan is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago and will soon appear on

1580-498: The circle of fifths . This has become the standard form of note placement for lead pans. Other important developments include the tuning of harmonic overtones in individual notes, developed simultaneously and independently by Bertie Marshall and Alan Gervais. In the United States, steelpan instruments were marketed as early as 1961. The Caribbean Research Institute CARIRI investigated possibilities to mass-produce raw forms with

1659-464: The hummingbird , the logo of Caribbean Airlines. BWIA's logo was a steelpan . Caribbean Airlines' image is a hummingbird in flight. The image is a reference to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, where the island of Trinidad is known as "the land of the hummingbird". All aircraft in the fleet carry the flag of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the flag of CARICOM . The airline had four designs on

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1738-440: The 1780s, French colonists arrived in Trinidad and Tobago and brought street festival traditions. In 1785, plantation owners held the first Carnival in Trinidad . Many white plantation owners masqueraded as slaves (presumably in blackface ) and marched down the streets mocking African slave dress, singing, and dance customs, including banging on talking drums . Though they were mimicked, enslaved Africans were not allowed to join

1817-481: The 18th century, people from countries in West Africa were forcibly abducted to Trinidad to be sold at slave auctions. Persons of the same tribes and languages were deliberately separated and sold to different enslavers in an attempt to eradicate their traditions. In most cases, enslavers did not allow them to speak in their native tongues, forcing them to give up tradition and learn the enslaver's own language. In

1896-405: The 1954 Broadway musical House of Flowers . When Trinidadian-born dancer Geoffrey Holder was hired for its cast, he suggested the incorporation of three drummers from his dance company, Michael Alexander (who made the instruments), Roderick Clavery, and Alphonso Marshall; the three doubled as dancers in the show. Anthony Williams designed the "fourths and fifths" arrangement of notes, known as

1975-479: The 1970s, and Jonathan Scales in the 2000s. They are featured in the early fusion album Morning Dance by Spyro Gyra . A pannist (sometimes panist or panman ), is a person who plays the steelpan. A professional pannist may perform solo, play with a steel band, or accompany singers or solo instrumentalists. Pannists may play with their respective bands in large competitions, and generally memorize everything that they perform. The pannist's top position in

2054-510: The ACAWU, CATTU, Superintendent's Association and BWIA's management. CEO Peter Davies, who joined BWIA in March 2006, said that a new airline, Caribbean Airlines , based in Trinidad and Tobago, would replace BWIA after 66 years of flying the Caribbean skies. Caribbean Airlines remains in current operation. BWIA's Pilots were represented by the Trinidad and Tobago Airline Pilots Association (TTALPA), which

2133-489: The ATRs as "not mission capable" after they suffered from frequent AOG (Aircraft On Ground) occurrences. On his recommendation, efforts were made to sourcing Dash 8-400 aircraft to replace the carrier's fleet of five ATR72-600s. Also in early 2016, the airline returned its two Boeing 767-300ER aircraft to their lessor, coinciding with termination of its only European route to London Gatwick Airport on 10 January 2016, as part of

2212-506: The Canboulay music contests. In 1941, the U.S. Navy established a presence in Trinidad. The pannists, who were associated with lawlessness and violence, helped to popularise steelpan music among the soldiers, which began its international popularisation. At the time of the steelpan's popularity in Trinidad it was seen as being associated with a violent or derelict crowd. It was unacceptable for women to be involved in such activities. Culturally

2291-478: The Caribbean. In July 2023, it was announced that new flights to Tortola, British Virgin Islands and San Juan, Puerto Rico were tentatively approved. An Eastern Caribbean route expansion, including flights to Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis , was also announced with new flights from Barbados , St. Lucia-Castries , St. Vincent-Argyle , Dominica-Douglas Charles and Antigua . This route expansion coincided with

2370-579: The ICC 2007 Cricket World Cup, all out of its hub at Piarco International Airport . Peter Davies resigned from his position as CEO, effective 30 September 2007, but remained as a strategic advisor to Caribbean Airlines. In the first half of 2007, two Airbus A340-200 planes and a Boeing 737 Next Generation Boeing 737-800, 9Y-GND, were returned to International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) and GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS), respectively. On 1 October 2007, Philip Saunders, Star Alliance VP Commercial,

2449-504: The Port of Spain-London Gatwick route effective 27 March 2010 thus paving the way for a nonstop service to be operated by Caribbean between Piarco International Airport and London, UK. On 28 April 2010, Caribbean Airlines Limited and Air Jamaica signed a final agreement for the purchase of Air Jamaica by Caribbean Airlines Limited, following the signing of a letter of intent to merge in January of

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2528-592: The Prime Minister' St. Clair office, signing the shareholding agreement. This agreement allows the Jamaican government to own a 16% stake of Caribbean Airlines Limited. On 28 October 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation fined Caribbean Airlines $ 60,000 for limiting reimbursements for lost, damaged and delayed baggage to less than consumers were entitled under the Montreal Convention. According to chairman of

2607-472: The airline had three aircraft of this type. In 1947, BWIA was taken over by British South American Airways (BSAA), after a few months operating as British International Air Lines the 'BWIA' name was restored on 24 June 1948 for operating routes among the Caribbean Islands using Vickers Viking twin piston-engined airliners. In 1949, BSAA merged with British Overseas Airways Corporation and BWIA became

2686-485: The airline operated a fleet of eight Boeing 737-800 aircraft and five Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 aircraft, out of its main hub at Piarco International Airport, Trinidad. The Dash 8 aircraft have since been replaced with new ATR 72-600, a larger turboprop aircraft. Caribbean Airlines Limited, through the government of Trinidad and Tobago, announced plans to operate a base in Jamaica following the divestment of Air Jamaica which

2765-427: The airline operates flights to the Caribbean, North America and South America from its base at Piarco International Airport, Trinidad . Presently Caribbean Airlines employs more than 1,600 people and is the largest airline in the Caribbean. The company slogan is The Warmth of the Islands. Caribbean Airlines was incorporated in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on 27 September 2006. In September 2006, following

2844-548: The airline rebranded itself by launching a new logo and livery. The first aircraft to receive the new livery, is the airline's 9Y-TTI ATR aircraft. The new logo retains the iconic hummingbird while infusing fluid lines and brighter hues to embody the spirit of flight, the vibrancy of Caribbean culture and connectivity within the region. Caribbean Beat Magazine , established in 1992, is Caribbean Airlines' complimentary, bi-monthly in-flight magazine. It has been produced since inception by Media and Editorial Projects Limited . When

2923-409: The airline to increase flight frequency to meet demand for the peak travel periods. The lease was contracted to be in effect until 15 April 2009. The aircraft was returned in June 2009, and Sun Country Airlines , a U.S. air carrier, then leased a Boeing 737-800 to Caribbean Airlines. In April 2009, the airline increased its frequency of service to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Caracas from

3002-455: The airline was given further clearance from the government to acquire additional aircraft for expansions into North and South America. As of October 2024, the TSA PreCheck program announced that Caribbean Airlines has been added to the list of new participating airlines. The colors of Caribbean Airlines are blue, green and purple and are represented in the new staff uniforms, all featuring

3081-420: The airline's order for additional ATR 72-600 aircraft. In July 2024, the airline began nonstop service between Port of Spain and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Flights to Tortola, British Virgin Islands were announced for October 2024 operating on a milk-run service between Trinidad, Antigua/Barbados, Tortola and San Juan. In October 2024, flights to both Martinique and Guadeloupe were announced for December 2024, and

3160-478: The airline. Also in 2009, Caribbean Airlines operated services from the southern Caribbean to Jamaica , as well as South America, including Suriname , Guyana and Venezuela . The airline also continued to serve the United States and Canada, in Miami , Fort Lauderdale , New York City and Toronto , having also established a codeshare agreement with British Airways , for services to London and beyond. As of 2009,

3239-426: The board of Caribbean Airlines George Nicholas III, Caribbean Airlines is pursuing a relationship with Star Alliance , the world's largest airline alliance, in an effort to support Jamaican hoteliers. It is also reported they are preparing to start a route to Mumbai, but no date has been given. Also, Nicholas announced that Johannesburg, Nigeria, and Brazil are possible contenders for new routes. Chicago and Atlanta are

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3318-426: The country's national instrument. The modern pan is a chromatically pitched percussion instrument made from 200-litre industrial drums . Drum refers to the steel drum containers from which the pans are made; the steel drum is more correctly called a steel pan or pan as it falls into the idiophone family of instruments, and so is not a drum (which is a membranophone ). Some steelpans are made to play in

3397-414: The country's redrawn coat of arms . Steelpans developed in the early to mid 1900s, but with roots going back much earlier, including the talking drums of West African cultures. The hourglass-shaped drums were used for communicating messages at a distance with drum language . For example, the rhythm and pitch could indicate the location, time, and even type of dancing during an upcoming ceremony. In

3476-406: The entire drum with only three bass notes per pan, in which case one person may play six such pans. The length of the skirt generally corresponds to the tessitura (high or low range) of the drum. The pans are usually either painted or chrome plated . Other processes such as nickel plating , powdercoating , or hardening can also be applied as a finish. Despite being a relatively new member of

3555-525: The festival. After this, stick-fighting and African percussion music were banned throughout the 1880s. They were replaced by bamboo sticks beaten together, which were themselves banned in turn. In 1937 they reappeared in Laventille , transformed as an orchestra of frying pans , dustbin lids, and oil drums . These steelpans are now a major part of the Trinidadian music scene and are a popular section of

3634-485: The festivities. In response, the Africans organized underground Carnivals of their own, taking place in cabins and backyards. Inspired by ancient traditions, Africans incorporated masks, feathers, beads, and drumming. In 1789, Spanish governor of Trinidad José María Chacón issued a directive that all Africans (the majority of the population) would observe Roman Catholic religion and all Christian holy days . The purpose

3713-575: The following aircraft in August 2006: In addition, BWIA's regional airline affiliate, Tobago Express, operated de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q300 Dash 8 turboprop aircraft. The following aircraft types have been operated by BWIA: Caribbean Airlines Caribbean Airlines Limited is the state-owned airline and flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica . Headquartered in Iere House in Piarco ,

3792-474: The following destinations during its existence although not all of these destinations were served at the same time: Through a codeshare agreement with United Airlines , it offered connecting service to Boston , Denver , Chicago–O'Hare , Los Angeles , San Francisco and Seattle/Tacoma . BWIA also had an alliance with another Caribbean airline, LIAT , with both carriers providing combined service to over 30 regional destinations. The BWIA fleet consisted of

3871-669: The government of Trinidad and Tobago completed the privatisation of BWIA by turning over majority control of the common stock and management of the airline to a private group of US and Caribbean investors. In the early 2000s (decade), BWIA changed its livery to a new Caribbean green and blue color scheme with its famous steelpan trademark, the national musical instrument of its home base. The fleet had been upgraded to seven Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, two Airbus A340-300s , and two Bombardier de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Q300 Dash 8 twin turboprop regional aircraft flown by BWIA's sister airline Tobago Express , which provided service on

3950-407: The ground and with other sticks in order to produce sound. Tamboo bamboo bands included percussion of a (gin) bottle and spoon. By the mid-1930s, bits of metal percussion were being used in the tamboo bamboo bands, the first probably being either the automobile brake hub "iron" or the biscuit drum "boom". The former replaced the gin bottle-and-spoon, and the latter the "bass" bamboo that was pounded on

4029-522: The ground. In 1939 the first all-steel band, Alexander's Ragtime Band , emerged, and by 1940 it had become the preferred carnival accompaniment of young underprivileged men. The 55-gallon oil drum was used to make steelpans from around 1947. The Trinidad All-Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra (TASPO), formed to attend the Festival of Britain in 1951, was the first steelband whose instruments were all made from oil drums. They performed July 26, thus introducing

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4108-743: The jet age began in 1964 with the introduction of new Boeing 727-100 jetliners billed as the Sunjet, which replaced the Viscount turboprops on the New York route. According to its timetable, in 1968 the airline was operating nonstop Boeing 727 flights from New York to Antigua with continuing no change of plane 727 service to Barbados , St. Lucia and Port of Spain as well as nonstop 727 flights from Miami to Grand Cayman and Montego Bay with continuing no change of plane 727 service to Kingston , San Juan, Puerto Rico , Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados and Port of Spain, and

4187-518: The music and rhythms of the skin drums and gourd rattles ." In 1834, slaves were emancipated in Trinidad and Tobago following the Slavery Abolition Act , but segregation and indentured servitude continued. After emancipation, Africans annually celebrated Canboulay , a harvest festival involving calypso drumming. In 1881, the Canboulay riots occurred, which were a series of revolts during

4266-404: The next few months, the airline received 9 of these aircraft, ultimately phasing out the 737-800 entirely by 2023. The new aircraft were painted in the rebranded livery, with a vastly modernized cabin. The cabin configuration was very similar to that of the 737-800, albeit with slightly more seats. Caribbean View, a stream-to-your-device onboard entertainment system was implemented previously, but

4345-409: The percussion family, steelpan tuning techniques have advanced rapidly. Strobe tuners are ideally suited for the task. The need to see the first few overtones further makes a strobe tuner a necessity for steelpan tuning. Steelpan makers have used strobe tuners since it was discovered that, by adjusting the overtones (first (fundamental), second, and third partial), the pan's sound seemed to sparkle in

4424-451: The print magazine had to be temporarily removed from flights because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a digital-only version was introduced in July 2020, followed by a digital-only brand extension called Wanderer by Caribbean Beat in October 2020. Caribbean Beat Magazine returned to print format in March 2021. The airline's frequent-flyer program is called Caribbean Miles . The three tiers of

4503-485: The program are called Silver, Gold and Executive Gold. Caribbean Airlines operates scheduled services to the following destinations. As of November 2023 , the Caribbean Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft: Caribbean Airlines previously operated the following aircraft: [REDACTED] Media related to Caribbean Airlines at Wikimedia Commons Steelpan The steelpan (also known as

4582-504: The recommendation of Peter Davies, the CEO of BWIA West Indies Airways , Caribbean Airlines got approval from the Trinidad and Tobago government to begin operations, after the failed negotiations between the unions and the management of its predecessor, BWIA. As a result, it was announced on 8 September 2006, that BWIA was to be shut down before the launch of Caribbean Airlines. During the last quarter of 2006, in an effort to scale down operations for

4661-618: The remaining routes of BWIA. Caribbean Airlines began operations with a fleet of six Boeing 737-800 aircraft and one Airbus A340-313, operating the London Heathrow route until May 2007. The airline offered two classes of service, first/business class and economy class on both the Boeing and Airbus aircraft. Caribbean Airlines operated daily direct services to Miami, Toronto, New York, Jamaica (with stops in Barbados and Antigua/St. Maarten), Guyana, Suriname and London Heathrow till May 2007 due to

4740-439: The same service. Caribbean Cafe offered buy-on-board local snacks, drinks and amenities. In 2019, the airline posted its first profit of four million ($ 4,000,000 U.S.) dollars. In 2020, the airline began a rebranding exercise, introducing a new logo and livery. The first aircraft to receive the new livery, was an ATR 72-600, 9Y-TTI. The new logo retains the iconic hummingbird while infusing fluid lines and brighter hues to embody

4819-426: The same year, the frequency was increased to daily service. On 15 November 2008, Transavia Airlines agreed to operate a wet-lease operation on behalf of Caribbean Airlines, it increased its fleet to eight Boeing 737-800 . The aircraft was re-fitted to the standard 16/138 configuration including an extra nine inches of seat pitch in the business class cabin, due to a different galley and closet placement. This allowed

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4898-428: The same year. The agreement stated that Caribbean would continue operating Air Jamaica's routes and also retain 900 of Air Jamaica's employees. Financing was provided by the government of Trinidad and Tobago, which contributed around $ 50 million to complete the merger, and Jamaica, which assumed more than $ 800 million in costs related to the closure of Air Jamaica. In August 2010, Caribbean Airlines and Air India signed

4977-523: The short hop between Port of Spain and Trinidad's sister island Tobago as well as other destinations in the region. By 2003, BWIA had become one of the leading Caribbean airlines, carrying over 1.4 million passengers a year with over 600 departures in the Caribbean and another 60 international departures every week. BWIA earned roughly US$ 276 million per year, employed 2,350 staff, had 70 daily flights, and carried 8,100 tonnes (17,900,000 pounds) of air cargo per year. Its inflight magazine, Caribbean Beat ,

5056-453: The spirit of flight, the vibrancy of Caribbean culture and connectivity within the region. The rest of the existing ATR fleet was repainted gradually, with the last aircraft being repainted in 2024. In late 2021, the airline began receiving the first of 12 737 MAX-8 aircraft, ordered previously in 2018. The delivery came a year after the 737 MAX was cleared for service by the FAA. Over the course of

5135-575: The start of Caribbean Airlines, BWIA's management cut routes such as Manchester Airport , London Heathrow Airport , New York City and Toronto , with intermediate stops at Barbados or Antigua , ceased services to and from Saint Lucia , cut its fleet to six Boeing 737-800 aircraft retrofitted with wingtip devices (winglets) and reduced its staff to 800, with a majority of the staff former BWIA workers now contracted. The new airline's capital included funds to close and settle BWIA's operations. The company commenced operations on 1 January 2007, servicing

5214-529: The steelband is extensive. Steelbands in Trinidad have a tradition of re-interpreting the current year's calypsos for carnival performance; rarely will a calypso from a previous year be heard at carnival or the Panorama music competition. Bands that perform all year round (both in Trinidad and world-wide) have long prided themselves on being able to perform many types of music, particularly Latin and jazz numbers, film music and other popular tunes. Pannists also have

5293-835: The steelpan and a new music genre to the world. 2022 Google Doodle commemorated the event. Members of TASPO included Ellie Mannette and Winston "Spree" Simon . Hugh Borde led the National Steel Band of Trinidad & Tobago at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in England, as well as the Esso Tripoli Steel Band , which played at the World's Fair in Montreal, Canada, and later toured with Liberace . They were featured on an album with him. Three steel pans were used onstage in

5372-419: The stigma was focused on the idea that women belonged in the home or with the children and not out in the street with the pan players. As the instrument became more mainstream women were allowed to join and the stigma that went along with playing the instrument subsided. The first instruments developed in the evolution of steelpan were tamboo bamboos , tunable sticks made of bamboo wood. These were hit onto

5451-473: The tails of its de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 regional aircraft before these twin turboprops were phased out of the fleet (9Y-WIT was not painted). One of the designs raised controversy, due to its usage of the Balisier flower , the symbol of the former ruling People's National Movement political party. The logo was subsequently redesigned without the flower and replaced with fruits. The tail designs featured

5530-437: The tuning work is performed using hammers. In the beginning of the steelband movement, players would play a single pan only, now commonly called around the neck instruments. Later on, some steelpans became chromatic by using multiple pans, particularly for the bass registers, which have fewer notes per pan owing to the larger sizes of the lower note areas. Following are some of the most popular instruments: The repertoire of

5609-584: The two new U.S. gateways that are being considered, Nicholas stated. On 29 March 2013, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) fined the airline $ 100,000 for not providing passengers with an opportunity to leave a plane that was delayed on the tarmac at New York's JFK Airport for more than four hours. In early 2016, the management of Caribbean Airlines has set as an agenda to consider replacing its ATR fleet with comparable turboprops sourced from Bombardier due to persistent reliability problems. The former chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Di Lollo described

5688-502: The use of pressing machines in the 1970s. Much of this project took place in Sweden in collaboration with the Saab Company. Although first results were promising, the project has been abandoned due to lack of finances and support by local pan tuners in Trinidad. Another method of shaping the pan was attempted: by spinning. The pan was spun on a lathe -like device, and a roller on the end of

5767-467: Was also serving Caracas , Guyana , Suriname and Tobago with the 727. In early 1971 four second-hand Boeing 707 series 200 airliners were purchased from Braniff International Airways and operated on US and intra-Caribbean services until their disposal in late 1975. The London route was restarted in 1975 using Boeing 707 jets. In 1976 Peter Look Hong replaced Sven-Erik Svanberg as CEO of BWIA. BWIA became BWIA International Airways in 1980 after

5846-407: Was appointed the new chief executive officer of Caribbean Airlines. Subsequently, the airline took over operations of Tobago Express , its domestic arm at a cost of US$ 24 million with the intentions to upgrade the fleet of Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 to international standards and also adding new Caribbean destinations to be served via this regional airline subsidiary . In March 2008, the airline added

5925-518: Was improved on the new aircraft including personal touchscreens for Business Class Passengers. In 2023, the airline announced that flights to Caracas, Venezuela would be restarted on a weekly basis, with frequency expected to increase. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caribbean Airlines began flights to Dominica , restarted flights to Ft. Lauderdale and Caracas, introduced a temporary route from Georgetown, Guyana to Houston and stated their plans for fleet expansion and additional destinations in

6004-437: Was rescheduled from 12 April 2010. On this day, it was planned that Air Jamaica would cease operations and Caribbean Airlines will then acquire the airline's most profitable routes and their remaining six aircraft. Plans were also announced to replace the aircraft fleet with all Boeing 737-800 Next Generation jets. On 4 March 2010, Caribbean Airlines announced they would terminate their codeshare agreement with British Airways for

6083-463: Was slated to occur between 30 April 2010 to that same period in 2011. Caribbean Airlines provided a seamless transition following Air Jamaica's closure. When the deal was finalized, Caribbean Airlines Limited became the largest airline in the Caribbean with a new hub in Kingston Jamaica's Norman Manley International Airport . The divestment was scheduled to become effective on 30 April 2010 after it

6162-467: Was to further erase West African culture and religious beliefs. However, the enslaved Africans were able to preserve their traditions by camouflaging them within Christian holidays. For example, on Sundays, enslaved people would "put on their best clothes and go to drum dances held in different yards or on the land away from the plantation where they were allowed to grow their own crops...[They] would dance to

6241-620: Was well regarded. However, BWIA had also been plagued by losses and had a history of continuous injections of funds from the government of Trinidad and Tobago . The airline had filed for an IPO, although no date was set. The airline was owned by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (75%) and private shareholders (25%) and had 2,588 employees (in January 2005). It also had holdings in other airlines: Tobago Express (45%) and LIAT (23.6%). On September 8, 2006, BWIA West Indies Airways announced its demise, after failed negotiations with

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