Newport, RI (PRWEB) September 28, 2006 -- Wimco, the Newport, RI, villa rental and hotel reservations company, announces new scheduled daily inter-island air service between the San Juan and St. Barts, dramatically improving access to this formerly hard-to-access island.

Wimco is the authorized air charter agent for Tradewind Aviation that will operate the scheduled daily inter-island service departing San Juan at 3 p.m. and St. Barts at noon. Tradewind is the only US turbine air carrier certified to fly commercial flights into St. Barts.

From now to Nov. 15, 2006, Wimco and Tradewind are offering an introductory rate of $350, a 29 percent savings off the posted fare of $495 one-way.

“Our affiliation with Tradewind Aviation means that Wimco can now offer all of our villa and hotel clients, upon arrival in San Juan, a first-class plane experience typical of a private jet charter,” says Stiles Bennet, Wimco’s Director of Marketing.

The inter-island flight is 60 minutes in air-conditioned comfort. In San Juan, Wimco clients and their luggage are taken directly to Tradewind Aviation’s waiting eight-passenger private turbo-prop. The planes have executive club seats, laptop power outlets, in-flight phone / data links and DVD players with wireless or personal headphones.

Bennet says this new service builds on “the tremendous success of the charter air service from Tradewind Aviation that Wimco introduced last year.”

Normally access between San Juan and St. Barts is via St. Martin with transfer time and waits of at least four hours for passengers from such hubs as Chicago and Boston. Now the transfer takes place from start to finish in just over an hour. Tradewind Aviation rates for the scheduled service are also significantly less than the cost of chartering a flight for eight passengers.

In addition to booking the villa and clients’ air tickets, the reservations staff at Wimco can also book on-island activities including rental car, boat charters, villa provisioning, babysitters, including accommodation, air, transfers, rental car and even dinner reservations. To book vacations on St. Barts, including Tradewind Aviation reservations, please call 1-800-932-3222.

About Wimco Villas

Wimco is the leading marketer of private villa rentals in the Caribbean and Europe. For over 23 years, the company has been sending clients to its exclusive portfolio of select private villas and distinctive hotels in St Barts, St Martin, Barbados, Italy, France, and many other desirable vacation destinations.

Fortune Magazine recently rated Wimco amongst the top five villa specialists in the world as the result of its strict selection standards for high-quality properties, the largest exclusive portfolio of properties in the Caribbean and Europe and its award winning client service. Forbes Magazine recently rated Wimco’s online villa rental service “Best of the Web.”

View Wimco’s villa rental portfolio at www.wimco.com or call toll-free 1-800-932-3222 (US) or 44-0870-850-1144 (UK).

Posted on September 29, 2006 6:56 AM| Permanent Link: Tradewind Aviation and Wimco Villas Introduce First Premium Scheduled Daily Service Between San Juan and St. Barts| Comments (2)

Travel Weekly is reporting:

Tradewind Aviation will launch daily, scheduled service between San Juan and St. Barts on Nov. 1. The 60-minute flight will depart San Juan at 3 p.m. and St. Barts at noon. Service is aboard an eight-passenger turbo-prop plane with executive club seats, laptop power outlets, in-flight phone and data links and DVD players with wireless headphones. Through Nov. 15, introductory rates are $350 one way or $700 roundtrip; after Nov. 15, the fare increases to $495 one way or $990 roundtrip. Wimco, a Rhode Island-based villa rental and hotel reservations firm, is the authorized air charter agent for Tradewind. The air service is available through Wimco to anyone wishing to fly between San Juan and St. Barts, not limited to villa/hotel clients. For further information on Wimco and Tradewind Aviation, call (800) 932-3222.

Posted on September 24, 2006 7:51 AM| Permanent Link: Tradewind Aviation increases airlift between San Juan, St. Barts| Comments (0)

The peak of the dengue fever epidemic has been reached. Since the beginning of the year, 112 people on St. Barth have caught dengue fever, with 46 of those cases occurring between mid-July and mid-August. However, the number of reported cases during the last three weeks has decreased. The island has been sprayed rigorously with malathion in an attempt to kill the virus-carrying mosquitoes. But, because the mosquito Aedes Aegypti is still present and each rainfall increases its chances of multiplication, measures to curtail its proliferation should still be taken.

Posted on September 15, 2006 4:05 PM| Permanent Link: Update on the Dengue Fever Mini-Epidemic| Comments (0)

A few more closings for the next two months have recently been announced. Bacchus, a wine and spirits boutique in Gustavia, will be closed from September 14 to October 15. The restaurant K’fé Massai in Lorient will be closed from September 11 to October 20. Le News will stop its daily publication from September 11 until October 3. However, Le Journal has resumed publication and the daily publication L’Essentiel is still available.

Posted on September 15, 2006 3:55 PM| Permanent Link: A Few More Seasonal Closings| Comments (0)

According to the Daily Herald of St Maarten, the opening of the new Princess Juliana International Airport has been postponed from September to November. Plans are that Her Majesty Queen Beatrix will conduct the inaugural ceremony. Several concession stands have already stopped operating at the airport in preparation for its closing.

Posted on September 15, 2006 3:54 PM| Permanent Link: St. Maarten Airport Update| Comments (0)

easyCruise is one of the most recent ventures launched by Stelios, the company who started Europe’s low-cost airline easyJet in 1995. The company is targeting travelers in their 20s, 30s and 40s and will allow passengers to embark or depart at any port so long as they stay on board at least two nights. The ship has a capacity of 170 passengers with a crew of 54. During the summer of 2006, easyCruise was based in the French and Italian Rivieras. During the winter months of 2006 and 2007, it will be based in the Caribbean, making 40 port calls to St. Barth, Anguilla, Antigua, St Kitts and Nevis and returning to its home port of St. Maarten twice a week. Below is the three-day weekend itinerary that includes St. Barth. The lowest-priced cabins start at 44£.

Itinerary

Posted on September 15, 2006 3:43 PM| Permanent Link: easyCruise to Visit St. Barth| Comments (0)

Because the Rapid Explorer is temporarily out of commission due to mechanical problems, the Voyager has decided not to suspend its service as it normally does during September. Instead, they have actually added trips between St. Barth and St. Martin. The schedule from September 4 through October 1 is as follows:

• St. Barth ->Marigot, St. Martin
  Monday, Friday, Saturday
  7:15 am and 4:30 pm

• St. Barth -> Oyster Pond, St. Martin
  Wednesday
  7:15 am and 4:30 pm

• St. Barth -> Oyster Pond, St. Martin
  Sunday 5:30 pm

• Marigot, St. Martin -> St. Barth
  Monday, Friday, Saturday
  9:00 am and 6:15 pm

• Oyster Pond, St. Martin -> St. Barth
  Wednesday 9:00 am and 6:15 pm

• Oyster Pond, St. Martin -> St. Barth
  Sunday 6:45 pm

Posted on September 15, 2006 3:38 PM| Permanent Link: Voyager Remains Operational throughout September| Comments (0)

Special rates can be found throughout the Caribbean during low season and St Barth is no exception. Below are two “high-end” specials.

• Tradewind Aviation is offering direct flights from San Juan to St Barth for $350 per person if you book before November 15. The regular fee is $495 per person. You can call 800-932-9222 or book your flight online at www.wimco.com/charter.

• The Hotel Guanahani & Spa is offering a one-euro-to-one-dollar exchange rate until the end of October. This is a savings of 20% to 25% over their normal rates. Two popular packages are the Spree package and the Romance package. The five-night Spree package includes daily breakfast, daily lunch or dinner, car rental, airport transfers and a choice of two of the following activities: two facial treatments, two windsurfing or tennis lessons, jet skiing for two or a beginner’s scuba lesson. Rates start at $2,875. The 7-night Romance package includes includes extras such as a lunch of langouste, a gourmet dinner, massages, a cooking class and wine tasting, and either a half-day cruise with picnic or a sunset cruise with champagne. Rates range from $4,144 to $6,895. For complete details, you can contact the Guanahani at 590 590 27 66 60 or visit their web site at www.leguanahani.com.

Posted on September 15, 2006 3:35 PM| Permanent Link: Special Rates for Low Season| Comments (0)

A site called HotelChatter has a headline up this morning:

Is Europe *gasp* Over?

A recent survey by Wimco, the purveyors of posh, private villas in highly desirable destinations, says that jet setters, nearly 75 percent of 'em, prefer the Caribbean over Europe. Well, duh! Europe is cold 3/4 of the year and those old buildings are such a drag.

In fact, those surveyed specifically cited the islands of St. Barts, Barbados and St. Martin as their top three favorites.

However if you actually read the survey results, the question was where do you plan to travel in December - having 72% of the people say the Caribbean should not be that big a of surprise, nor do I think it means that European travel is "over".

Posted on September 14, 2006 3:32 AM| Permanent Link: Hotel Chatter?| Comments (0)