08-25-2019
08:01 AM
Southwest was planning to begin flying to SXM in 2018. Hurricane Irma delayed and then terminated that decision. I spoke with a Southwest executive shortly after Hurricane Irma and he indicated that deals like the Southwest/SXM deal were many years in the making and couldn’t be easily cancelled. However, the long delay in fully reopening Princess Julianna airport (SXM) and the long delay in opening the island hotels forced Southwest to reconsider as SXM couldn’t keep up with their end of the arrangement. PJI airport is still not fully reopened. St Maarten is just now requesting bids for the contract to fully renovate the terminal and get it back to pre-storm shape. Hence it will be at least another year before the terminal is back to pre-Irma shape. I would imagine Southwest won’t reconsider until 2021 or even 2022. That’s pure speculation on my part. Now is a good opportunity for airlines to obtain market share as the currently servicing airlines aren’t providing expansive, consistent coverage to SXM. Personally I’m hoping Southwest renegotiated with SXM and begins flying there as soon as possible!
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