USA/Caribbean Trip Part 4: Winair SXM-SBH-SXM (Photos)

[Brandon Giacomin]

Introduction:

Part 1: http://www.yssyforum.net/board/showthread.php?t=9280

Part 2: http://www.yssyforum.net/board/showthread.php?t=9283

Part 3: http://www.yssyforum.net/board/showthread.php?t=9291

Here is Part 4 of my report. This will include my flights from SXM- SBH and return, as well as what I did whilst in St Barths.

ST MAARTEN PRINCESS JULIANNA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

On our 3rd day in St Maarten we flew to St Barths for the day. We got to the airport at 8:30am for the 10am departure. Check-in was easy, we were given an arrival card for St Barths because it is an international flight! We then proceeded through security, grabbed something to eat and sat down at our gate. At 9:40am, Winair announced that boarding would soon commence. The departure time came and went and at 10:30am, employees from Winair walked around finding passengers travelling to St Barths. We were told that due to fires on St Barths the airport was closed and they would try to recommence flights at 12pm. So we had a look around the terminal.

Sunwing Boeing 737-800 C-FTOH from Toronto
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2866/9064978756_1539572a4b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9064978756/)

Sunwing Boeing 737-800 C-FLSW from Montreal
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/9062743419_7c0119d27f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9062743419/)

Finally staff announced that St Barths Airport had re-opened. Winair commenced boarding for the 11:20am service to St Barths, so we were just put on that flight.

June 6, 2013
Winair
WM619 (not sure what the flight number for the 11:20am service was)
SXM-SBH
PJ-WIJ DHC6
Seat 2A

We caught a bus out to the aircraft. Today, PJ-WIJ would take us to St Barths. The Dash 6-300 Twin Otter is a 19 seater, it is quite small inside! I was really looking forward to the flight to St Barths. The flight was scheduled to take 15 minutes.

Onboard, there were probably 10 people on-board
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/9063042281_211d35fb72.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063042281/)

Cockpit :)
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3764/9065266832_dd05428c12.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065266832/)

We taxied out to RWY10, Sunwing B738 C-FTOH took off before us
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2883/9063038099_bc634fd67c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063038099/)

Maho Beach
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7320/9063035075_780050e9f7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063035075/)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/9063032315_963fff9324.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063032315/)

Josh took a video of the takeoff and landing. Here it is…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM8MlFQvK4g

Takeoff roll
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3670/9063029383_d0d9e4a02d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063029383/)

And we’re up!
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2824/9063027153_bb8cb60203.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063027153/)

Got some beautiful views of St Maarten
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3704/9063024421_4c7bf7f3d0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063024421/)

En-route
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2844/9063021855_e27cc83f3a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063021855/)

St Barths
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7343/9065245400_c9a0f5b893.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065245400/)

Diving into RWY10
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7453/9065242908_cce219d71b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065242908/)

Over the road
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7401/9063013437_3cde6df2bd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063013437/)

[Brandon Giacomin]

Down the hill!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7431/9063011321_c8222e3f6b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063011321/)

We stopped so quickly we made the first exit rather than using the whole runway and backtracking. Very impressive! The runway at St Barths is 650m long.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2855/9065234884_587c497b61.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065234884/)

Taxiing to the terminal
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5511/9065232684_dc3af1e424.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065232684/)

WIS is here!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7437/9065228824_a21e64d958.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065228824/)

Parked at the gate. WIS is ready to go.
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3781/9065225858_90f5586f5e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065225858/)

The airport terminal
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2844/9062996297_3d31504908.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9062996297/)

WIJ
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7394/9065220512_ed4b7f11bb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065220512/)

The flight only took 12 minutes!
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5488/9062990269_0a1c3c66f0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9062990269/)

ST BARTHELEMY GUSTAF III AIRPORT

We walked to St Jean Beach first, which is at the end of RWY10 (start of RWY28).

St Barth Commuter Britten-Norman BN-2B-20 Islander F-OIJS
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2825/9062988141_8ae3cecbc0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9062988141/)

WIJ taking off on RWY10 after a 5 minute turnaround
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7284/9062985037_0e05a28d93.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9062985037/)

Back to SXM
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3764/9065208812_7457a32010.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065208812/)

St Jean Beach
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3825/9062976017_5d8e07bc29.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9062976017/)

Trans Anguilla Airways Britten-Norman BN-2A-21 Islander VP-AAA
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5445/9065193142_ccb40b85d4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065193142/)

Air Antilles Express De Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter F-OHJG
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7385/9065186676_4787db7c15.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065186676/)

St Barth Commuter Cessna Grand Caravan F-OSBH
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3834/9065170070_e23cd05e34.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065170070/)

[Brandon Giacomin]

St Barth Commuter Cessna Grand Caravan F-OSBM
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5519/9062944035_883ab96f59.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9062944035/)

RWY10/28
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3667/9065164812_60178e0c8e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065164812/)

We then walked up the hill; you get a great view from up there!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7312/9065693842_261ea0879d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065693842/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/9063465271_a1498ff13d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063465271/)

F-OIJS diving into RWY10
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3742/9063456411_cbae6b2264.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063456411/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3686/9065679554_1c4f186301.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065679554/)

F-OSBM diving into RWY10
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2886/9065667758_629ddee3ec.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065667758/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5498/9063439881_6313bdf880.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063439881/)

Awesome view!
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3785/9063436935_890b559c29.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063436935/)

Air Antilles Express Cessna Grand Caravan F-OIXJ lining up
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7406/9063429085_551e1ede0c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063429085/)

WIS is back
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2850/9063418817_f2774ac2ba.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063418817/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5489/9063417031_2901d6dba9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063417031/)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2868/9065640604_ea0b192064.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065640604/)

We then went back to the beach. St Barths sure is an awesome place!

WIS going back to SXM
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5505/9063399041_81a7eca5e8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063399041/)

F-OSBH backtracking RWY10
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3740/9063396571_aa6c5c6c90.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063396571/)

[Brandon Giacomin]

WIJ back in St Barths
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2861/9063390615_9eab874749.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063390615/)

WIJ departing
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3765/9065613350_8bea30c70f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065613350/)

Two Twin Otters leaving
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2840/9063385407_9b4910712d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063385407/)

We then went to the terminal and checked in for the flight back to St Maarten. We had to fill in an arrival card for St Maarten again. After that we went back up the hill.

Busy afternoon!
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2857/9065597502_399ebbf661.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065597502/)

F-OSBM departing
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3766/9063364853_f6721a25f8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063364853/)

After that we went into the terminal, no security screening. They have a security officer at the door to the departures lounge and they check your passport.

The very modern terminal at St Barths
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3682/9065587864_f6807c771a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065587864/)

WIS arrives to take us back to SXM
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2835/9065585468_d729dc6ff9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065585468/)

As soon as the plane arrived and the passengers disembarked, we were on our way out!

June 6, 2013
Winair
WM682
SBH-SXM
PJ-WIS DHC6
Seat 2C

Walking out to WIS
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3773/9063356349_8e421b31a6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063356349/)

Interior
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2846/9063352783_0f62576861.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063352783/)

Onboard in Seat 2C, the plane was about half-full
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5524/9063353493_91deb8ac92.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9063353493/)

Josh took a video of the takeoff and landing again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfZd5wLoIEM

Taxiing out to RWY10
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3752/9065574646_98a9307d07.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9065574646/)

Lining up on RWY10
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7387/9116295128_c4b332c840.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116295128/)

Over St Jean
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7449/9114063325_080761976c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114063325/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3735/9116289958_166dc21701.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116289958/)

En-route
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7402/9114052729_6d31e55961.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114052729/)

[Brandon Giacomin]

Nice view
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2849/9116279728_1684ecef2f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116279728/)

St Maarten
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2863/9116276600_d3b116be1c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116276600/)

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3688/9116274464_3e166d7b5c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116274464/)

Freedom of the Seas leaving St Maarten
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3828/9116271414_cc717c1547.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116271414/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5327/9114038319_87c9b0fdeb.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114038319/)

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2845/9114035765_79e5708c66.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114035765/)

Joining downwind
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2871/9114032477_ab176d92f4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114032477/)

SXM!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7359/9116259130_f9e58573a1.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116259130/)

Turning base
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3729/9114026147_cdce3da291.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114026147/)

Great view!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7373/9116253402_ec21563cf8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116253402/)

Turning finals
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/9116250122_a4b6bcfbc9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116250122/)

On finals for RWY10
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3770/9116247248_8aba57c2fd.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116247248/)

Over a very quiet Maho Beach
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5547/9116240990_15b9fd6b39.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116240990/)

Back in SXM, the return flight was only 9 minutes! Pretty short international flight!
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5522/9116237778_d75fd4a5aa.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116237778/)

WIJ, WII and WIL!
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3783/9114005685_fd2cea9d30.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114005685/)

[Brandon Giacomin]

Cockpit
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7335/9114001755_050f904f8c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114001755/)

Interior
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3806/9116226818_f3b4940254.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116226818/)

WIS
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3694/9116227722_c2579feeab.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116227722/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5458/9116220918_c02e2ac4f2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9116220918/)

We got a bus back to the terminal. We passed Insel Air MD-83 PJ-MDF on our way.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2872/9114123035_7b0b8bcafc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114123035/)

The terminal
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7414/9114126255_28c1891ccc.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandon301095/9114126255/)

We walked to the Sunset Bar and Grill for some dinner and then back to the hotel.

St Barths was fantastic, beautiful island and the airport is awesome. Really want to go back!!! The flights were great too. Even though it was 12 mins there and 9 back they were great. I was looking forward to flying Winair to Saba a couple of days later. That will be part 5 of the report, I will try to do that tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Brandon

[Greg McDonald]

Out of curiosity, how much was the fare between the two islands? This is a great trip report by the way Brandon! Keep up the good work...I find myself looking forward to the next episode! :)

[Brandon Giacomin]

Thanks Greg. I think it was about $140 return. Pretty expensive for two 15 minute flights but it was definitely worth it!

[Radi K]

Great shots!

[Ian Gains]

Nice. I'm with Greg - this is great stuff for anyone itching to go there. The flights are worth the $140 for the aerial views of both islands. It is a beautiful part of the world.

[Jacob L]

Great Stuff

It almost felt like you could touch the aircraft at the top of the hill. I need a trip over there sometime soon, its too cold here in Canberra

Keep them coming


Jacob