St. Eustatius, CN-Express solidifies connection of the BES islands. The BES islands are made up of Bonaire, St. Eustatius (Statia) and Saba, but the process of travelling to Bonaire from Statia, Saba or St. Maarten has been rife with multiple connecting flights, long layovers and plenty of frustration. With the inaugural flight of CN (Caribbean Netherlands)-Express, this has alleviated some these issues.
Speaking with one business passenger who took the first flight from Bonaire to St. Eustatius. He said that previously for him to for him to travel from Statia to Bonaire or vice versa, he would sometimes have to travel all the way to Miami, or Curacao which included long waiting times, this manner of travel he would take part in sometimes 2x per month according to his workload. He said CN-Express is so much more convenient.
The service on board, he said is excellent, and the flight was a smooth as if though someone was riding on a newly paved street.
Another passenger that was a ZVK patient also spoke of how it was so good of not having the hassle that she had to go through before, where she would have to go from island to island to get home this was said with all smiles on her face. The flight, she said took just under 2 two hours and then she is home, she expressed with the look of joy on her face.
Many of the passengers said that the staff onboard were professional, and the flight was divine.
Winair says to be proud of the successful launch of the CN-Express, a flight operated by Winair in partnership with the Kingdom of the Netherlands to connect St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Bonaire. The flights will be executed by wet-leased planes from Air Antilles.
The flights between Bonaire and St. Eustatius with an onward connection between St. Eustatius and Saba has been made possible through a partnership between Winair and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The flights will operate Mondays and Fridays connecting St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Bonaire with direct air service. The flights, according to Winair, will prove to be beneficial for tourism, business development and the employees of RCN.
The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) joined forces to establish a direct air link between Bonaire and the Windward islands. Ruud Peters (Head of the Shared Service Organization RCN) signed the agreement with Winair on behalf of BZK.
After hurricanes Irma and Maria, he said that the important international hub of St. Maarten experienced difficulties. Saba and St. Eustatius, he said are in need of extra accessibility to support economic development, medical referrals and commuter traffic.
Under the name of CN-Express, there’ll be flights every Monday and Friday for a period of three months. After six weeks, Peters continued that the CN-Express will be evaluated whether it meets the needs. The first flight took place on February 26, 2018. An ATR42 aircraft from Air Antilles will be used to fly the new route. This 48-seat aircraft will fly between St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Bonaire. A Winair Twin Otter feeder is then used to connect Saba with St. Eustatius. The direct flight between Bonaire and Statia will take about 2 hours.
RCN will purchase a number of seats on each flight for medical referrals and employees. In addition, a fixed amount of seats will be sold on the free market. Tickets are priced $300 for a one-way trip. This price applies to the flights BON-EUX, BON-SAB and BON-SXM (or vice versa). The rate doesn't include airport tax and booking fees. The CN-Express had originally started two months later than hoped. A lot of effort was done to finalize the agreement with WinAir, which in the months after the two hurricanes was focus on restoring the existing routes.
The Fire Department upon arrival at the Flamingo Airport: Bonaire International Airport gave the CN Express the inaugural tradition of wetting the aircraft.
Then dignitaries all boarded the flight and met with the crew of the aircraft. Members of the press were given VIP treatment of just entering the building to the location of the ceremony, where the snacking and toasting took place. The personnel at the airport including the RCN and others. Their friendliness was shown by their smiles and greetings of welcome.
