ST MAARTEN: Winair Goes To St Maarten

Regional carrier Winair has announced the launch of several additional services from Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) in St Maarten.

First, the successful launch of the CN-Express, a flight operated by Winair in partnership with the Netherlands to connect St Maarten, St Eustatius and Bonaire.

This flight was made a reality through partnership between Winair and the Netherlands.

These flights will operate Mondays and Fridays connecting St Maarten, St Eustatius and Bonaire with direct air service, which will prove to be beneficial for tourism, business development and the employees of RCN.

Winair also relaunched services to Curacao, Santo Domingo and Port-au-Prince utilizing the ATR-500/600 state of the art aircraft.

Winair will offer daily direct service to Curacao, five direct flights per week to Santo Domingo and two direct flights per week to Port-au-Prince.

These flights will fill the current void and lack of service in these markets. Winair is reintroducing service to these important markets from its hub in St Maarten at Princess Juliana International Airport.

These flights will enhance tourism, business development and have offered employment to our people after the devastating effects of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Winair thanks their shareholders, its employees, PJIAE, the various Civil Aviation Authorities and most of all our customers by offering safe and dependable air transportation to these vital markets, said M.D. Cleaver, president and CEO of Winair.


Tourism Observer

PANAMA: Copa Airlines Restarts Flights To St. Maarten

Copa Airlines will resumed its twice-weekly operations June 2, 2018 to and from St. Maarten, which were suspended following Hurricane Irma back in 2017. Tthe company it’s compromised to add more frequencies during peak travel season.

Likewise, flight CM134 between Panama’s Tocumen International Airport (PTY) and St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) will take off at 7:24 a.m., to land at 11:30 a.m. on Mondays and Saturdays.

Meanwhile, return flight CM133 will leave SXM at 12:29 p.m. to arrive in PTY at 2:46 p.m. local time.

With Copa Airlines resuming operations we will promote the island’s economic, commercial and touristic growth, shared Christophe Didier, Copa Airline’s Sales Vice President.

Since the airline started flying to St. Maarten eight years ago, it has become one of our passengers all time favorite Caribbean destinations, according to Didier.

According to Copa Airlines, St. Maarten’s resume of operations restates its commitment with the Caribbean’s economic, commercial and touristic growth, which is a region that received support from the carrier after Hurricane Irma’s impact with resources such as food, equipment, medicines, among others.

Therefore, the Panama flag carrier, along with tourism authorities from St. Maarten, Saint Martin, and Anguilla, will increase the number of travelers offering flights to these islands which are also connected to over 60 destinations in South America, Central America, and North America.

Rolando Brison, St. Maarten’s Director of Tourism Office, established, For many years, Copa Airlines has been literally a bridge connecting us to Central and South America.

We expect that Copa Airlines will carry thousands of passengers to St. Maarten, one of the most beautiful and unique destinations in the Caribbean.

Copa Airlines has agreements and codeshares with other international carriers, such as Lufthansa, Air France, and KLM, allowing its customers to reach over 1,300 airports in 191 countries, with more than 18,400 daily flights.

Currently, the airline offers service to more than 70 destinations in 31 countries, in North, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean with 89 aircraft: 77 Boeing 737 Next-Generation and 12 Embraer-190.


Tourism Observer

ST MAARTEN: At St Maarten’s Sonesta Ocean Point, A New Kind of All-Inclusive

ST MAARTEN — The hotel room.

There are so many, big and small, in the Caribbean, and to this day no one really seems to be able to define what a “Caribbean” hotel room should look like.

At the end of the day, though, does it really matter? What a traveler wants is good design, functional design and the little things that make him or her feel special. That and a spectacular view, of course.



That brings us to the new Sonesta Ocean Point, the high-end all inclusive that opened just a few months ago in the Maho corner of St Maarten.

And this 129-suite hotel, located in a cliffside behind the famous Sonesta Maho, is a stunner — and it all begins with a new take on the all-inclusive bracelet — instead of irritating paper, it’s a soft cloth. But it also doubles as the room key.

Because, here, it’s all about design — from the high-backed chairs in the lobby to the modern, striking cliff-side restaurant called Azul to one of the coolest pools in the Caribbean: a sloping, flat pool edged with sand that just nigh replicates the feeling of a beach.

And then there are the suites, which are, by far, this hotel’s party piece: large, modern, crisp, but with all the little touches that take things the extra mile.


That means a Nespresso machine in every room; Molton Brown toiletries; a slick flat screen; a wine cooler that, if you stay more than five nights, is stocked with a different bottle each night; four full bottles of top-shelf liquor like Appleton VX; a large, beautiful soaking tub. And instead of a table and chairs, a big clamshell cushion that feels like your own private cabana.

The rooms have an immense build quality, whether you’re in a rooftop butler suite or the rather clever swim up suites on the first floor.


And then there’s the view – a shot of the teal waters of Maho and the always entertaining landings at Princess Juliana International Airport.


This is a well designed hotel, which comes with a jaw-droppingly cool sunset bar and some unexpectedly great food like snapper cooked in coconut milk.

The verdict? This is a very cool all inclusive, and makes a big statement about what the all inclusive category should look and feel like.