Airport technology plays a crucial role in passenger safety and experience, Cleaver says.
~ A CEO’s ground-up approach to transforming PJIA ~
By Jacqueline Hooftman
SIMPSON BAY--From starting at American Airlines as a baggage handler at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico – with a Bachelor’s degree in business administration in hand – to now running St. Maarten’s national airport, Michael Cleaver’s forty-year career in aviation has come full circle. His journey began on the island he has called home since the age of fourteen. Cleaver at age 66 could not be happier to have been selected from among forty candidates to improve operations caused by Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 pandemic for the next five years.
Each workday at 6:00am, the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PJIAE – the airport’s operating company – makes his way through the new departure hall toward the elevator, dressed in classic business attire. Once he reaches his office on the second floor, the suit jacket comes off and is placed neatly on a stand – remaining untouched for the rest of the day, unless decorum demands otherwise.
“I have plenty of neat, almost-new jackets,” he says with a laugh, “but the pants – not so much.”
Cleaver likes to arrive early – before his staff – to prepare for the day. He also has a
habit of leaving his office at irregular intervals to walk around the airport, dressed in a collared shirt with his ID badge hanging from his neck, stopping to chat with employees and anyone else he encounters along the way.
“Nathalie Lambriex [his Executive Assistant – Ed.] often has trouble finding me,” he says with a grin. “I always tell her: check the shops.”
Cleaver was a collaborative partner behind the airport’s first-ever public shopping experience, scheduled for the evening of Friday, May 30. “The airport belongs to the people of St. Maarten, and we thought it would be a good idea for both young and old to come and discover their new airport,” he says. “Turns out the staff had the same idea – so we teamed up and made it happen.”
“The Daily Herald”: Many on St. Maarten know you as the retired Chief Executive Officer of Windward Islands Airways International NV WINAIR. On July 1, 2023, WINAIR bade you farewell by celebrating your success in steering the company from the brink of bankruptcy in 2011 to becoming a profitable airline – one capable of repaying its US $4.5 million loan from the Dutch government six months prior to your departure. Some may have assumed you would leave the island, thinking, “He’s not from here.”
Cleaver: “St. Maarten is my home. Fact is, I have often been mistakenly identified as a Deher through close association to the family. Many assumed I was part of the family of the late Michel Deher [co-founder of Dock Maarten] with his wife Kathleen Deher, who I am still very close to.
“I was born in Montreal, Canada. When I was nine years old, my stepfather retired at a young age and moved our family to Tortola, where he continued working in the marine industry. When an opportunity arose in St. Maarten, we relocated when I was 14.
“Upon relocation to St. Maarten, the language of instruction was limited to Dutch only. Not being a Dutch speaker, my parents elected to continue my education in Canada in the English language.
“Throughout my education in Canada, I spent a disproportionate amount of my time with my family in Montreal. During summer, Christmas and Easter I would go home to my parents in St. Maarten (a wonderful place to grow up). It was a small community where everyone knew each other. Many people still lived on Front Street – it was lined with
homes and had just one small supermarket, owned by the Wathey family. My friends and I would go to the beach and I often did odd jobs in Great Bay Marina.
“When I was 17, my stepfather became seriously ill, which forced my parents to return to Canada for medical treatment. I continued my connection in St. Maarten with the Deher family, who treated me as one of their own. Michel Deher to me maintained a fatherly image, which has today transformed into a brotherly one. After graduating from university in Canada, I returned to St. Maarten permanently.”
“The Daily Herald”: The passing of Mr. Deher in November last year must have had a profound impact on you.
Cleaver: “Indeed – it had, and it still has to this day. [Silence]. I gave a eulogy at his funeral. The entire Deher family was always very good to me. Michel’s parents Irene and Evans Deher treated me like a grandson, and I’m like a brother to his sisters and brothers. Most Sundays, the Deher family has dinner together. We maintain that tradition whenever possible. I often think of Michel more than I thought I would.”
“The Daily Herald”: You named your son after him.
Cleaver: “My son Michel is the godson of the late Michel Deher, my daughter is currently pregnant, whose son will be named Patrick Michel – in honour of her late uncle Michel Deher.”
“The Daily Herald”: What was your very first job on the island?
Cleaver: “Cleaning boats in Great Bay Marina. I would go into the water and scrub the sides of the boats, clean the decks and shine the bright work. After I graduated from university, I started working for the Deher family at Great Bay Marina, as it was known in those days, collecting rent from boat owners, charging them for electricity and water use. I also ran the small Texaco gas station at Great Bay Marina, owned by the Deher family.
“I did a lot of things, maybe none of them very well, but I was punctual. At the break of dawn, I’d bring construction crews to various sites, mix cement, fetch steel, take up my post at the gas station, and keep an eye on the marina. Michel must have seen some
potential in me. I loved it. I met a lot of interesting people and enjoyed talking with them, learning new things.”
“The Daily Herald”: How did you go from working at the marina to working at the airport?
Cleaver: “I met my future wife Pilar in St. Maarten, who is from Puerto Rico and was working for American Airlines in San Juan at the time. With the birth of my son Michel, we decided that I would move to Puerto Rico to be with my wife and son. Upon relocating to San Juan, I discovered an interest in the aviation industry and secured a job at American Airlines (AA) as a fleet service clerk. This meant loading and unloading baggage onto carts and transporting it around the airport.
“After becoming a supervisor and then a manager, my first major role with American Airlines came in 1990, when I was appointed Station Manager in St. Maarten. For almost five years, I was responsible for sales, marketing and operations for American Airlines on the island.
“With entrepreneurial spirit, I was promoted first as the AA Manager in Santo Domingo. Then I was appointed AA Managing Director in Los Angeles, followed by a promotion to AA Managing Director in Miami. I was offered early retirement, which I accepted, and decided it was time to return home to St. Maarten.”
“The Daily Herald”: You’ve postponed your retirement more than once, first when you took the helm at Winair.
Cleaver: “After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, Sarah Wescot-Williams became the first Prime Minister of the newly formed country St. Maarten. At that time, Winair was effectively bankrupt. Wescot-Williams and Michael Ferrier asked me to step in and try to save the airline. I wasn’t too keen on the idea at first, because the financial situation at Winair was dire.
“I am very proud of the work we did, not only in saving the airline but also in making it profitable. And when I say ‘we’, I mean a lot of people contributed. Not least among them was our CFO, Roberto Gibbs, along with Edwin Hodge and Claudio Buncamper. Once the staff saw that we were making real progress, it became a huge source of motivation for
them.”
“The Daily Herald”: What was it that turned Winair around, and what lessons from that experience can be applied to PJIA?
Cleaver: “At Winair, we focused on three things: reliability, the condition of our aircraft, and quality of service. When I first arrived, no one was even wearing a uniform due to financial constraints. We made sure everyone was trained, looked professional and presentable. We completely reinvented Winair.
“We revamped the entire flight schedule to better meet the needs of our passengers. For example, the airline had afternoon flights when most people wanted to travel in the morning. We created a customer-focused schedule and, just as important, we stuck to it. Leaving on time, arriving on time, and flying where and when people wanted us – that consistency was key.
“When I look around the region – at airports in places like Anguilla, St. Kitts, Dominica and Tortola – I see that they’ve made significant investments to modernise and expand their airports. St. Maarten needs to catch up and ensure we’re providing a better experience for our passengers.”
“The Daily Herald”: How do you plan to go about this?
Cleaver: “In the coming days, we’ll be opening a dedicated first-class lane at the security check point. This is just one of several initiatives aimed at improving the overall passenger journey – from check-in to departure, from arrival to connecting flights. Of course, implementing these changes requires the cooperation and approval of the St. Maarten Civil Aviation Authority, the Council of Ministers, our shareholders and the Supervisory Board of Directors.
“Let’s be honest: while the terminal building looks sleek and modern, there’s still a great deal of work to be done behind the scenes. We need to upgrade critical infrastructure – from the runway, hard stands, the fire station, air-conditioning systems, water chillers – there is a lot of deferred maintenance that requires attention.
“For example, we currently have 3,000 barrels of fuel stored near the runway. That’s not sustainable – they need to be relocated. The airport was not originally built to function as
a major commercial hub, but that’s what it has become. Departments like the fire service need to move to a new location to grow and evolve to meet those new standards.
“Of course, we can’t do it all at once, so we’re going to embark on a five-year plan. We’ll carry out maintenance work during the night and reopen the runway in the morning. A lot of the airport’s support systems urgently need improvement, and we’re going to tackle them one by one.”
“The Daily Herald”: Aviation authorities from St. Barth’s have formally complained about how travellers are treated at Princess Juliana International Airport. Has this issue been resolved?
Cleaver: “Their concerns are reasonable. PJIA experiences peak traffic between 11:00am and 4:00pm, when most flights arrive and depart. Most passengers to and from St. Barth’s are in transit, connecting to long-haul flights destined for Europe or North America. The transit portal they must pass through is too small to handle the volume, which results in long queues and lengthy processing times.
“We recognise the validity of these issues and have submitted improvement plans to the St. Maarten Civil Aviation Authority, streamlining the processes and reducing customer impediments.
“For passengers arriving in St. Maarten as their final destination from New York, Miami or Atlanta, we’ve already made significant strides. We have 10 PJIAE ambassadors stationed at the electronic immigration gates assisting customers, reducing processing times and [enhancing] the overall arrival experience.
“That said, the transit passenger experience still needs our attention. To address this, once approved we are adding an additional baggage screening machine to ease congestion at the transit gate. While passengers wait, we’re endeavouring to make the experience more pleasant – offering small treats, like Dutch cheese, as a gesture of our hospitality.
“Weekends are especially busy, so we’re also introducing unique initiatives to reduce travel stress. Through our partnership with SXM Paws, we will be bringing puppies to the departure gates for petting and possible adoption on Saturdays. It’s a creative way to promote animal welfare and offer passengers a light-hearted distraction while they wait.”
“The Daily Herald”: You recently announced the opening of a Fixed-Base Operator (FBO) handling private jets and charters.
Cleaver: “The private aviation market is extremely important: we need to ensure we’re serving that segment at the expected highest level. Just like commercial passengers, private travellers expect strong connectivity and a seamless, premium airport experience. We’re proud to have two world-renowned service providers – ExecuJet and Signature Flight Support – operating the new FBO. The new FBO is located at the former temporary arrival hall; this facility has been totally remodelled and repurposed to operate as a high-scale FBO with the requisite high-end amenities that these customers demand and expect.”
“The Daily Herald”: On Friday evening, from 6:00 to 9:00, you're opening the airport to the public.
Cleaver: “We’re waiving airport parking fees and the concession fees for shops, so prices will be very attractive. There will be bouncy houses and ice cream for the kids – it’s meant to be a fun, family-friendly event. It’s also a chance for those who haven’t travelled abroad recently to see the new airport from the inside.
“This is a joint effort involving airport staff, duty-free shops, restaurants, bars, St. Maarten law and Customs enforcement – everyone is coming together to give the people of St. Maarten an opportunity to rediscover their airport there will be chances to win great prizes, including airline tickets.”
“The Daily Herald”: What other surprises can the public expect from you?
Cleaver: “I’ve been asked by the shareholder to come up with unconventional ideas to enhance the traveller experience at PJIA; that’s exactly what I’m committed to doing. It’s all about service, anticipating customer needs and making sure our operations are safe, secure and reliable.”
“The Daily Herald”: You sound like the man who once turned Winair around – and still have the energy of the young man managing Great Bay Marina, always on the
move.
Cleaver: “Exactly. I believe everything I’ve done in my career has prepared me for the role as CEO of PJIAE. I see the next five years as the crowning achievement of my professional career – and I’m loving every minute of it.”
