Winair is very much in the news these days, for several reasons. Prime Minister Luc Mercelina said on Wednesday that his caretaker Cabinet had decided to no longer continue existing plans to sell shares of the local carrier. Since three of the four current governing parties are again in the next coalition to take over when the newly-elected Parliament is installed on September 20, this is not likely to change any time soon.
It’s important to note that although St. Maarten owns 92.05% of the company, the other 7.95% belongs to the Netherlands, on behalf of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (also known as the BES islands). For the latter two islands Winair is basically the only regular, daily air connection.
That plays a role in considering earlier-announced intentions of the Dutch government to sell its minority stake and possibly pursue a Service Level Agreement (SLA) instead. Keep in mind that the Netherlands provided Winair with – already repaid – loans to overcome effects of the COVID-19 crisis. based on a mortgage for its property at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA).
The Hague subsidises the “Makana” ferry linking Saba and Statia with St. Maarten by sea too. Experience shows that these two forms of transportation can co-exist.
As Winair undertakes a notable expansion of its regional network, the carrier still faces long-term uncertainty (see related story) regarding the so-called ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao). After Curaçao-based JetAir went bankrupt, Winair requested a flight expansion to compensate for lost capacity on the route, but was granted such for only a very limited time by authorities in Willemstad.
This had to do with issues also Curaçao-based Z Air confronted in getting permission to start flying to St. Maarten. Ultimately agreement was reached between the responsible ministers of the two Dutch Caribbean countries, but – as it now turns out – the result apparently remains unbalanced.
While Winair is allowed only nine flights per week from September 19 to October 31 and 10 from November 1 until April 1, Z Air received unlimited rights for the latter period. A legal process to fight this discrepancy is ongoing, but hopefully parties can settle in the near future.
After all, any civil aviation treaty should in principle be based on reciprocity.
