# Winair

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. Since 1 March 2023, it has been a part of the Flying Blue frequent-flyer programme.

## History

Windward Islands Airways was founded in 1961 by Georges Greaux 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. The 1 December 1963, Windward Islands Airways timetable lists flights between St. Maarten and Saba operated with STOL-capable Dornier Do 28 aircraft. Winair began flying de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otters in January 1967.

## Destinations

Winair operates services to the following scheduled destinations:
| Country | City | Airport | Notes |
| Antigua and Barbuda | St. John's | V. C. Bird International Airport | |
| Aruba | Oranjestad | Queen Beatrix International Airport | |
| Barbados | Bridgetown | Grantley Adams International Airport | |
| Bonaire | Kralendijk | Flamingo International Airport | |
| 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 | |
| Montserrat | Brades | John A. Osborne Airport | Starting February 11, 2025 |
| 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 | |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Newcastle, Nevis | Vance W. Amory International Airport | |
| Saint Lucia | Castries | Hewanorra International Airport | |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Kingstown | Argyle International Airport | |
| 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:
* 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
### Current fleet

As of July 2024, Winair operates the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers |
| ATR 42-500 | 3 | — | 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. Additionally, Winair has previously operated Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders, Fokker F-27s, Beech Twin Bonanzas, and NAMC-YS 11s.