Government of Montserrat Cuts New Deal with Winair

The Government of Montserrat says it has agreed a one year contract with Winair to continue providing air services to Montserrat. That means the airline will continue to provide scheduled flights in and out of Geralds Airport until July 2008.

WINAIR’s current contract for providing air services for Montserrat ends on July 10th 2007. The Government of Montserrat explained that in a laidback environment Winair has the right to request a fare adjustment and a flexible schedule,

After receiving advice from the Air Services Monitoring Committee the Government has agreed to a moderate fare increase with the airline, to take into account rising operational costs.

Under the contract Winair will operate four daily flights, with the option of reducing the number of flights to three per day, depending on the load factors. However, the airline will consult the Government of Montserrat with any proposed changes to its schedule.

The Minister of Communications and Works Idabelle Meade says the new arrangement with WINAIR will open up the market for other airlines to operate scheduled services in and out of Montserrat, and ferry operators to provide services.