Winair increases its traffic between St-Barth/Juliana

Founded in 1961 by Saint-Barth native Hippolyte Lédée, Winair today belongs to the Dutch Antilles government and has accumulated a debt of 8.3 million US dollars. In spite of a 20% reduction of its staff last year, Winair is still struggling. On November 27, the court in Saint-Martin gave the management just three months to find a solution. Two lawyers, named as legal administrators by the judges, are looking at the possible privatization of the company. In the meantime, Winair has decided to increase the number of its flights in order to generate more income, while trying to keep operating costs down. With four Twin Otters and two Islander Britten Norman airplanes, this regional company flies as many as 95 flights a day, leaving from Saint-Martin to such destinations Saba, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Eustatius and Saint-Barth. The Juliana/Saint-Barth run represents more than 25 flights per day during the high season. Since December 15, Winair has added an extra flight from Saint Barth to Juliana at 10:30am every day, just to carry luggage. Passengers should go to the WinAir counter between 7:30-10:00am to check their bags and get a boarding pass. They can then come back to the departure lounge with their carry-on luggage 30 minutes before flight time.

New direct flight San Juan/St-Barth

InterIsland Express, an airline based in Puerto Rico, has been running a direct flight from San Juan to Saint Barth, twice a week since early December. It leaves San Juan on Friday and Saturday at 3:15pm and returns from Saint-Barth to San Juan on Saturday or Sunday at 8:30am.