InselAir (Curaçao) has said that it will consider taking Winair (WM, St. Maarten) to court over its recently launched Curaçao – St. Maarten – Port au Prince service, if an agreement cannot be reached with the Curaçao Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA). InselAir Deputy CEO Juni Sluis told Amigoe newspaper that he believes in competition, but only when it is 'fair'.
Winair commenced the route on June 3 using an MD-82 wet-leased from PAWA Dominicana (Santo Domingo Las Américas). InselAir's objection stems from the treatment it itself received in the past, when it attempted to launch a route using an aircraft wet-leased from Surinam Airways (PY, Paramaribo International). At that time, InselAir's application was rejected by the CCAA, as it would have caused commercial harm to the then-incumbent now-defunct airline Dutch Antilles Express (Curaçao).
However, the CCAA has so far not agreed with InselAir's objection. In a response, the CCAA said that the current situation cannot be compared to the situation between InselAir and Dutch Antilles Express.
"We will have a dialogue on this until we can reach an agreement, but we will not discard the possibility of going to court and letting an impartial judge make a decision on this case. We still haven't decided yet," Sluis said.
As previously reported, InselAir has received a ANG33 million (USD18.5 million) loan from the government of Curacao to assist it in its financial difficulties, pending the implementation of a stabilisation plan. Following reports of its subsidiary InselAir Aruba (Aruba) filing for bankruptcy, InselAir this week released a statement distancing itself from the Aruban company and saying that it is "very much on track with the Stabilization Plan".
