Winair has pretty much taken over the ABC islands route since the demise of JetAir, pending the start of announced service to Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) by Curaçao-based Z Air. The latest expansion, a weekly direct flight from Bonaire to St. Maarten (see related story), solidifies the local carrier’s position on that market.
What Curaçao was in terms of governance to the former Netherlands Antilles, Bonaire has become to the Caribbean Netherlands. The latter island’s connection with St. Eustatius and Saba via PJIA is therefore of increasing significance to authorities in both Kralendijk and The Hague.
The route is now operated with the company’s own planes rather than on a so-called wet lease with Air Antilles like in the past, allowing for greater profitability. That’s important also because Winair not only has St. Maarten as majority shareholder but provides considerable employment on the island.
The extent to which the airline contributes to PJIA’s hub function should not be underestimated either. With Tortola, St. Barth, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Dominica, Martinique and Barbados among its destinations, Winair has truly become a premier regional carrier.
Prudence is nevertheless advised going forward, especially considering recent Antillean aviation history and other predecessors on the ABC islands route such as ALM, DCA, DAE and InselAir, but also Air Aruba and Aruba Airlines. Overstretching available resources is always a risk especially regarding maintenance, unforeseen equipment malfunctions and urgent repairs.
Reliability and safety are paramount to the industry. Growth is good, sustainable growth even better.
