Caribbean Airlines

Caribbean Airlines is the flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago, flying from its Port of Spain base across the Caribbean, to North America and to London. Its network mixes short inter-island hops with longer runs up to Toronto and New York, so the same passenger might meet a turboprop one week and a narrowbody jet the next. The fleet is built around the Boeing 737 MAX 8 for the medium-haul work and the ATR 72-600 for the short island sectors.

The 737 MAX 8 is the carrier's long-thin workhorse and the only aircraft that carries a proper premium cabin, a small recliner Business at the nose ahead of a single-aisle economy. The ATR 72-600 handles the inter-island network, a two-by-two turboprop with no separate class, where the seat choice comes down to noise, view and how quickly you want to be off. Between them the two types cover almost every route Caribbean flies, from a 40-minute hop to a five-hour transcontinental leg.

On the 737 the experience splits cleanly. Business is a two-by-two recliner with real width and a quiet forward position, useful on the longer North American runs. Economy behind it is a standard three-by-three that rewards the usual homework, forward of the wing for less engine noise and a seat away from the mid-cabin galley. The ATR is a simpler proposition, one class, propellers and a cabin short enough that no seat is far from a door.

On the 737 MAX 8, the front economy rows board and leave quickest and sit clear of the rear galley traffic. If you want the most legroom without paying for Business, look to the exit rows rather than the bulkhead, which trades stretch-out space for a fixed armrest and no under-seat stowage. On the ATR 72-600 the propellers line up with the mid-cabin, so the rows ahead of the wing are the quietest, and the front pairs give you the fastest walk to the stairs on a tight island connection.