PHILIPSBURG--In an effort to keep its head above water, Winair has slashed salaries across the board by 25 per cent effective April 2020.
The reduction includes the salaries of members of the airline’s Supervisory and Executive Boards, management and staff. Additionally, management and staff were placed on mandatory two-week vacation immediately after cessation of Winair’s operations and their bonuses and allowances were discontinued. The company’s maintenance team is also performing required future maintenance on Winair’s aircraft and equipment to avoiding more costly repairs at a later date.
In addition, Winair has also renegotiated and/or reduced its handling costs in all 14 destinations it serves by 20 to 30 per cent, redistributed its fuel costs and renegotiated aircraft leases and received discounts on key components on these leases. Winair is also currently in negotiations with Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) to find the best solutions “in these cash-crunching times.”
The airline has also applied for payroll support from government and has reached out to all destinations’ Tourist departments and government authorities to coordinate cost reductions and discounts to Winair and its customers.
“Winair is currently working with all regional airports to achieve cost reductions for flights operated by the company. In other key areas, purchasing of goods and services has been limited to only those of absolute necessity during this period, and rental deferment of our sales facility on Walter Nisbeth Road has been received. Winair will continue to seek ways to reduce operating costs for its limited restart when it is safe and prudent to do so,” the airline said in a press release on Sunday.
Winair said it is grateful to its service providers, customers, the government of St. Maarten and the Netherlands for their continued support, as well as its Board of Directors, the management and staff who carry the weight and continue to perform on the front lines.
“Moving forward Winair will proceed with enhanced safety protocols which remain i.e., enhanced aircraft sanitation (performed after every flight), providing personal protective equipment to ensure the safety of its employees and reengineering its facilities to conform with ongoing safety protocol. In short, many tasks have been accomplished; our thanks and appreciation to all our partners and stakeholders who continue to work with Winair.”
The airline said the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has and continues to affect St. Maarten residents. “In these times of uncertainty, we are tasked with planning our path forward, ensuring our health and well-being. Winair’s continued survival as a critically important business contributing to the economic engine of St. Maarten and the region must be maintained. Throughout this pandemic Winair is aware of its mission to facilitate assistance by performing repatriation flights and providing relief flights to bring needed supplies and essential personnel to assist St. Maarten with combating this pandemic.”
“By repurposing Winair, we ensure the safety of our critically important employees, who are on the front lines in these endeavours. Winair faced the reality of conforming to the evolving new world norm of post-COVID-19 and continues to plan and coordinate a safe and responsible start-up of operations for the continuation of its vital role in the post-COVID-19 environment by working together with our stakeholders, our company, our country and the region, so that we can slowly return to some degree of normalcy. Our focus on the restoration of social, cultural and economic relations remains our priority in St. Maarten and our region.”
The current shutdown of routes has resulted in a near total loss of all revenue, therefore it is most critical for Winair to assess itself financially in order to remain in existence post-COVID-19, the airline noted.
