Winair (short for Windward Islands Airways International NV) is a government-owned Dutch regional airline based in Sint Maarten. Founded in 1961 by Georges Greaux and Hippolyte Ledee, It has a fleet of six aircraft serving twelve destinations, mostly within the Leeward Islands group of the Lesser Antilles in the North East Caribbean. It has its headquarters on the grounds of Princess Juliana International Airport.[4] Since 1 March 2023, it has been a part of the Flying Blue frequent-flyer programme.[5]
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| Founded | 24 August 1961[1] | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 5 July 1962[1] | ||||||
| Hubs | Princess Juliana International Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Flying Blue | ||||||
| Alliance | Caribsky[2] | ||||||
| Fleet size | 8 | ||||||
| Destinations | 16 | ||||||
| Headquarters | Princess Juliana International Airport, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten | ||||||
| Key people | Hans van de Velde (CEO)[3] | ||||||
| Founders |
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| Website | www | ||||||
History
editWindward Islands Airways was founded in 1961 by Georges Greaux[1] with additional investments from Hipployte Ledee, Chester Wathey, Louis Richardson, and a handful of others. The airline required short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft to service certain airports such as Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on Saba, which has the shortest commercial runway in the world.[6] The 1 December 1963, Windward Islands Airways timetable lists flights between St. Maarten and Saba operated with STOL-capable Dornier Do-28 aircraft.[7] Winair began flying de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters in January 1967.[8]
Destinations
editWinair operates services to the following scheduled destinations:[9]
Codeshare agreements
editWinair has interline and codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[15][16]
Fleet
edit
Current fleet
editAs of July 2024[update], Winair operates the following aircraft:[17]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATR 42-500 | 3[18] | — | 48 | |
| de Havilland Canada Dash 6-300 Twin Otter | 5 | — | 19 | |
| Total | 8 | — | ||
Historic fleet
editAccording to the 1 December 1963 Windward Islands Airways timetable the airline was operating STOL-capable Dornier Do-28 as well as Piper Apache aircraft.[7] Additionally, Winair has previously operated Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders, Fokker F-27s, Beech Twin Bonanzas, and NAMC-YS 11s.[19][20][21]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
- ^ "Three regional carriers form CaribSky alliance: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ "WINAIR SAYS GOODBYE TO MICHAEL CLEAVER WELCOMES A NEW CEO | WINAIR". www.winair.sx.
- ^ "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. 30 March – 5 April 2004. 96.
- ^ "WINAIR, KLM Flying blue frequent flyer cooperation". The Daily Herald. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
- ^ Chilton, Nicola (8 July 2022). "What it's like to land on the world's shortest commercial runway". CNN. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ a b "Windward Islands Airways timetable". 1 December 1963.
- ^ "MSN 22 — Twin Otter World Database". Twin Otter World Database. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ "Destinations | WINAIR". www.winair.sx.
- ^ "Winair adds Barbados to our Caribbean Network | WINAIR". www.winair.sx. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "Caribbean Airline Winair Just Returned to Bonaire". Caribjournal.com. 17 July 2023.
- ^ "Winair expands regional connectivity to Martinique | Loop Caribbean News".
- ^ "Nevis Welcomes the Return of Winair Flights Commencing March 15th". March 2024.
- ^ a b "Fly with Winair to St. Lucia St. Vincent this winter | WINAIR". www.winair.sx. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
- ^ "Winair". www.fly-winair.sx. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ^ "Surinam Airways and Winair forge an interline partnership | Loop Caribbean News".
- ^ "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24.
- ^ "WINAIR welcomes second ATR aircraft to fleet". Caribbean.loopnews.com. 28 October 2023.
- ^ "Civil Database". www.scramble.nl. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ reporter (10 March 2021). "Winair's 'Logo-in-a-hurry' still in use after 55 years". BES Reporter. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ "Aircraft Photo of N107MP | NAMC YS-11-111 | Winair - Windward Islands Airways | AirHistory.net #569919". AirHistory.net. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
External links
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Media related to Winair at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- Landing Saba WinAir Twin Otter, Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport (TNCS / SAB) landing video on YouTube
- ✈ Shortest runway in the world ! (HD 1080p) ✔ landing and takeoff video on YouTube
