On Friday, Caribbean Airlines' Boeing 737-8 made its inaugural flight to Norman Manley International Airport, Kingston, Jamaica, after it announced the arrival of the aircraft last year.

In a media statement CAL said a brief ceremony was held at Piarco International Airport for the launch. It said its "refleeting" also coincided with its 15th anniversary.

CEO, Garvin Medera said the new aircraft offered passengers exceptional levels of convenience and comfort.

“The introduction of this new aircraft into service represents CAl’s initiative to ‘REset Expectations’ for 2022. "The 737-8 is the most technologically advanced aircraft in the world and it brings a range of benefits for CAL, our customers, and the environment. Fuel and maintenance costs are lower, each plane has ten more seats than its predecessor, with a total of 160 seats, and the aircraft offers state-of-the-art technology and an upgraded level of comfort in both the business class and economy cabin, including in-seat power for mobile devices, a new sky interior, sleek modern seats and much more.

"We’re really excited about the plans and improvements for the coming year, all done with you in mind.”

To mark the event, CAL said customers on the inaugural service won an extra 15,000 miles and all customers received bags of goodies and other memorabilia.

There were concerns over the safety of the Boeing 737 Max 8, which was grounded by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) after crashes in 2018 and 2019,

In 2018, a crash which involved Lion Air flight 610 occurred 12 minutes after take-off from the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia. It plunged into the Java Sea and all 189 passengers and crew died.

In 2019, a Max 8 owned by Ethiopian Airlines crashed six minutes after take-off. All 157 passengers and crew on board were killed.

In November 2021, US regulators cleared the aircraft to resume flights.

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