The legally-binding agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) originally announced in 2010. This will enable the airline to become the newest ATR operator in the region.
First deliveries will start in October 2011, according to a statement on ATR’s website.
“With its fleet of new planes, Caribbean Airlines will replace its current fleet of five Dash-8 300 aircraft in its domestic routes, and add new frequencies linking Trinidad and Tobago and surrounding destinations,” the statement said.
In addition, some of the new ATRs will be operated in the route network of Air Jamaica, which was recently acquired by Caribbean Airlines.
The aircraft are configured with 68 seats and equipped with the new ATR -600 series avionics suite and with the new Armonia Cabin, which features new lighter seats and larger overhead bins.
ATR has today more than 160 aircraft in operation and on order with nearly 30 airlines in the Caribbean and Latin American region.
(Content for this article was obtained from a Caribbean360 news release)