Cayman Airways became the only airline to fly nonstop between Los Angeles and the Caribbean islands this month. While other carriers service the Caribbean side of Mexico and Belize with nonstops from LAX, flights to the islands from the West Coast have been rare.
The airline seeks to stimulate traffic with discounts and packages. The flights are weekly, further encouraging full vacation stays. Los Angeles departures occur on Sunday at 8 a.m., arriving on Grand Cayman at 5 p.m. with a flight time of about six hours. Return flights are scheduled to leave GCM at 3:45 p.m. and arrive in Los Angeles at 7 p.m.
The flights will be using new 160-seat Boeing 737-8 aircraft containing 16 seats in business class. Premium flyers will have lounge access at LAX and at the recently refurbished Sir Turtle Club Lounge at GCM, offering wired and wireless Internet connections, television, full bever-age service and such treats as cheesecake and rum cake. Only business-class flyers and Sir Turtle Club members can enter.
Los Angeles is the fifth U.S. city served by Cayman, joining Denver, Miami, New York and Tampa. A glance at fares from LAX show average costs of $600 round trip in economy and $2,000 in business. The island offers a choice of hotels, from Ritz-Carlton and Westin to Marriott and Kimpton.
The 102-square-mile territory harbors three islands: Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. The largest at 22 miles long and eight miles wide, Grand Cayman can be covered in just two and a half hours by car. But the economy of the island country is fueled as much by finance as it is by tourism. Certain loopholes in the U.S. tax codes allow banks in the Caymans and Switzerland to bypass reporting laws, making the islands a welcome place to do banking and have a great vacation at the same time.
