Saint Lucia Welcomes First Flight of WINAir From St Maarten

Castries, Saint Lucia: WINAir touched down in George FL Charles Airport (SLU) for its maiden service to Saint Lucia on Saturday. The aircraft 873 has operated the first service to the country with a brief stop at Argile International Airport, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The inaugural flight has started new collaboration between WINAir and the tourism industry of Saint Lucia, providing greater access to regional connection. The airline which is based in Princess Julianna International Airport of St Maarten (SXM) will boost air collaboration between three island nations.  

WINAir will operate twice weekly service on Tuesdays with one of them will fly directly from St Maarten to Saint Lucia, while the second will offer service through St Vincent every Saturday. The flight will touch down in the country at 11:15 am on Tuesday and arrive at 1: 05 pm on Saturday.  

In addition to that, Saint Lucia will also receive twice weekly flight of WINAir from Barbados. Six flights will also be added to the country that will be operated from St Maarten, further connecting Dominica three times a week, Barbados two times a week and Martinique once a week.  The new service will also be operated by the airline’s modern ATR42-500 aircraft.  

It is considered significant for fostering regional accessibility for the locals as well as international passengers.  

Welcome Ceremony in Saint Lucia 

To mark the first arrival, Saint Lucia Tourism Authority hosted a welcome ceremony for the passengers and the authorities onboard WINAir. Passengers were offered special welcome packages, featuring the local products of the country.  

The airline was also welcomed by the authentic and local music of Saint Lucia with the performances of the artistes who promoted the traditions and culture. The steel pan music entertained the passengers and made them feel special about their touching down in the Caribbean Island nations.  

Passengers were also seen tasting the authentic cuisine of Saint Lucia in celebration of the commencement of new ties between the country and the airline. The collaboration has been looking forward to fostering air as well as tourism connection between the two countries.  

The welcome ceremony further featured the exchange of the dialogues and the presentation of the plaque where the Chairman of the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA) Thaddeus M Antonie and other officials welcomed the guests and the airline authorities.  

CEO of WINAir, Hans van de Velde led the delegation including Social Media Manager, Naomie Mazzola, CFO- Roberto Gibbs at the arrival of the first flight at Saint Lucia. They were lauded for commencing and adding new routes to their operations and fostering connections through the airlift sector.  

According to Antonie, the service has marked the position of Saint Lucia among the international tourists who are eager to visit the country for their unparalleled experience in the world’s leading honeymoon destination. He added that the travellers will get advanced accessibility to the Caribbean region, offering incredible sights and culture of Saint Lucia.  

WINAir’s new operations for Saint Lucia 

WINAir announced the new route in the starting week of September 2024 where the airline remarked that this is one of their greater expansions of the operations. Along with Saint Lucia, the airline also declared that the service will also be provided to Barbados and St Vincent, aiming to enhance regional connectivity.  

WINAir offers service to 16 destinations and 40 routes with improved connectivity and advanced aircraft, as per the CEO Velde. The airline also offers special introductory fares with a fee as low as $89 for the travellers booked their flights for the journey between November 15 and December 15, 2024.  

Services by WINAir 

WINAir is the regional airline of the Caribbean and increased its footprints over the years by expanding service to different countries. With an intent to add new services, the airline partnered with Air Caraïbes, British Airways, Air France and JetBlue. The collaboration assisted them in enhancing their reach to Europe and North America.  

Notably, in 2022, WINAir had acquired two aircraft of ATR42-500 series that will be used for the operations of the service to Saint Lucia, Barbados, St Maarten and other Caribbean countries. The aircraft landed in Princess Julianna International Airport in March and April 2023 respectively.  

The airline is known for its six year long partnerships with Air Antilles Airlines based in Guadeloupe, opening new routes for air connectivity.