Quick, name every airline that flies into JFK! How many did you get? We bet you didn’t get a good majority of them. While most people will rattle off Delta, JetBlue, American, Lufthansa, and British Airways, how many smaller airlines at JFK did you probably miss? Lets take a look at some of the lesser known airlines that serve JFK on a somewhat regular basis.
The mysterious Arik Air departing JFK off runway 4L
There is a pretty good chance that you have never heard of Arik Air, probably haven’t ever seen their aircraft, or even have any idea where they fly to. Arik Air is a Nigerian airline that flies to JFK three times a week, with direct service to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria. Up until this year, Arik Air ran only night time operations at JFK, coming in and departing again under the cover of darkness. This year, however, Arik Air arrives early morning, and departs at about noon, meaning spotters can finally get decent shots of the airline. Arik Air uses two Airbus A340-500 IGW’s, leased from Hi-Fly, but in full Arik Air livery.
Cayman Airways 737
You probably don’t need many (any) guesses to figure out where Cayman Airways flies to, but we’re going to tell you anyway. Cayman Airways flies four times weekly from JFK to Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman Island. Cayman has a small medium-haul fleet of just four Boeing 737-300’s, and a pair of de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Series 300’s for domestic routes. Cayman Airways has a mascot named “Sir Turtle,” which inspired the name of their frequent-flyer program called “Sir Turtle Rewards.” Why don’t more airlines have a mascot? We wonder if Cayman Airways has ever been delayed departing JFK due to turtles on the runway?
One of the youngest airlines at JFK is Fly Jamaica, who started service earlier this year. No, not Air Jamaica, Fly Jamaica! Fly Jamaica is still a tiny start-up airline, with a total fleet of one Boeing 757. Their one aircraft, N524AT, has quite a few miles on it with several airlines. The airframe started life with ATA in 1999, was stored in 2005, put back into service in 2006 with VIM Airlines, then to Aurela, Thomas Cook UK, back to Aurela, and now finally Fly Jamaica. The airline has only one route right now, from JFK to Kingston, Jamaica. The service started with four flights a week, but recently expanded to six over the summer. Fly Jamaica hopes to start service to Toronto and Guyana in the future, pending government approval. We wish them the best of luck!
Another relatively new airline to JFK is Mexican carrier Interjet, a direct competitor to Aero Mexico. With once daily service to Mexico City, Interjet brings in an Airbus A320 with a few unique features. Most of the airlines aircraft are fitted with nose cameras, which are activated during takeoff and landing. This is a very unique feature on a narrowbody aircraft. There is also a designated lavatory for women, which is not something you see very often. Keep an eye out for their bio fuels special livery!
Minneapolis based Sun County is a low cost carrier with service to Minneapolis (MSP) between one and four times a day, with connections to west coast destinations such as Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Sun Country has a modest fleet of 18 Boeing 737’s, a majority the 800 variant, with some 700’s. Sun Country is a quiet airline, but you may find them handy when you need to get out to the west coast in a pinch, and all other airlines are a bit expensive. Keep an eye out in the winter for the Sun County / Transavia hybrid planes. In the winter, Sun Country will lease additional 737s from Transavia, and partially paint it with their livery.
Transaero can be thought of as the “other” Russian airline at JFK. Transaero is….different. Take a look at their English website, and you will see a lot of odd translations, such as “Geography of domestic and international flights enlarges constantly.” The airline has a pretty diverse fleet, bringing either a Boeing 777-200ER or 747-400 to JFK. They currently have 787s, A380s, and 747-8i’s on order, so who knows what they bring in the future. Depending on which side of the aircraft you see, the livery either reads Transaero, or Tpahcadpo, because….Russia. Even more awesome, their callsign is Trans Soviet. Whatever?
Want to catch a shot of Eva Air in daylight? Try LAX.
Taiwan based Eva Air comes into JFK five times a week, but only at night. Recently joining Star Alliance, Eva Air operates Boeing 777-300ER’s to JFK, with flights over 15 hours. Eva Air is known for their special Hello Kitty liveries, but unfortunately, none of their 777’s have such a paint job. In addition to their regular passenger service, Eva also operates significant cargo flights out of JFK, using Boeing 747-400s, and very rarely a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F.
The Port Authority maintains an up to date list of all airlines at JFK, which you can find here. See any others you don’t recognize? Let us know in the comments and we will tell you all about them!
