Winair

This article is about the Netherlands Antilles airline. For the former United States charter airline, see WinAir Airlines.

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 eight aircraft serving 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. It is also the flag carrier airline of Sint Maarten.^[4] Since 1 March 2023, it has been a part of the Flying Blue frequent-flyer programme.^[5]

Winair

IATA ICAO Call sign WM WIA WINDWARD
Founded	24 August 1961; 63 years ago (1961-08-24)[1]
Commenced operations	5 July 1962; 62 years ago (1962-07-05)[1]
Hubs	Princess Juliana International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Flying Blue
Alliance	Caribsky[2]
Fleet size	8
Destinations	17
Headquarters	Princess Juliana International Airport, Philipsburg, Sint Maarten
Key people	Hans van de Velde (CEO)[3]
Founders	Georges Greaux Hippolyte Ledee
Website	www.fly-winair.sx

History

Windward 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

Winair operates services to the following scheduled destinations:^[9]

Country	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
Antigua and Barbuda	St. John's	V. C. Bird International Airport
Aruba	Oranjestad	Queen Beatrix International Airport
Barbados	Bridgetown	Grantley Adams International Airport		[10]
Bonaire	Kralendijk	Flamingo International Airport		[11]
British Virgin Islands	Tortola	Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport
Curaçao	Willemstad	Curaçao International Airport
Dominica	Marigot	Douglas–Charles Airport
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	Toussaint Louverture International Airport
Martinique	Fort-de-France	Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport		[12]
Montserrat	Brades	John A. Osborne Airport	Starting February 11, 2025	[13]
Puerto Rico	San Juan	Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport	Terminated
Saba	Flat Point (Zion's Hill)	Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport
Saint-Barthélemy	Saint-Jean	Gustaf III Airport
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport
	Newcastle, Nevis	Vance W. Amory International Airport		[14]
Saint Lucia	Castries	Hewanorra International Airport		[15]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	Argyle International Airport		[15]
Sint Eustatius	Oranjestad	F.D. Roosevelt Airport
Sint Maarten	Philipsburg	Princess Juliana International Airport	Hub

Codeshare agreements

Winair has interline and codeshare agreements with the following airlines:^[16][17]

• Air Antilles
• Air Caraïbes
• Air France
• British Airways
• Caribbean Airlines
• Copa Airlines
• Corsair International
• Delta Air Lines
• KLM
• United Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic
• Surinam Airways

Fleet

Winair de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter

A former Winair Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander (2006).

Current fleet

As of July 2024^[update], Winair operates the following aircraft:^[18]

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers	Notes
ATR 42-500	3[19]	—	48
de Havilland Canada Dash 6-300 Twin Otter	5	—	19
Total	8	—

Historic fleet

According 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.^[20][21][22]

See also

• List of airlines of the Netherlands Antilles

References

1. Norwood, Tom; Wegg, John (2002). North American Airlines Handbook (3rd ed.). Sandpoint, ID: Airways International. ISBN 0-9653993-8-9.
2. "Three regional carriers form CaribSky alliance: Travel Weekly". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
3. "WINAIR SAYS GOODBYE TO MICHAEL CLEAVER WELCOMES A NEW CEO | WINAIR". www.winair.sx.
4. "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. 30 March – 5 April 2004. 96.
5. "WINAIR, KLM Flying blue frequent flyer cooperation". The Daily Herald. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
6. Chilton, Nicola (8 July 2022). "What it's like to land on the world's shortest commercial runway". CNN. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
7. "Windward Islands Airways timetable". 1 December 1963.
8. "MSN 22 — Twin Otter World Database". Twin Otter World Database. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
9. "Destinations | WINAIR". www.winair.sx.
10. "Winair adds Barbados to our Caribbean Network | WINAIR". www.winair.sx. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
11. "Caribbean Airline Winair Just Returned to Bonaire". Caribjournal.com. 17 July 2023.
12. "Winair expands regional connectivity to Martinique | Loop Caribbean News".
13. "Winair to Launch Airlift to Montserrat for upcoming months | WINAIR". www.winair.sx. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
14. "Nevis Welcomes the Return of Winair Flights Commencing March 15th". March 2024.
15. "Fly with Winair to St. Lucia St. Vincent this winter | WINAIR". www.winair.sx. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
16. "Winair". www.fly-winair.sx. Retrieved 12 May 2018.^{[dead link‍]}
17. "Surinam Airways and Winair forge an interline partnership | Loop Caribbean News".
18. "Live Flight Tracker - Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flightradar24.
19. "WINAIR welcomes second ATR aircraft to fleet". Caribbean.loopnews.com. 28 October 2023.
20. "Civil Database". www.scramble.nl. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
21. reporter (10 March 2021). "Winair's 'Logo-in-a-hurry' still in use after 55 years". BES Reporter. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
22. "Aircraft Photo of N107MP | NAMC YS-11-111 | Winair - Windward Islands Airways | AirHistory.net #569919". AirHistory.net. Retrieved 25 June 2024.

External links

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