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| Founded | 1993, operational since 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs | 4 | |||
| Focus cities | 3 | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | Insel Star Miles | |||
| Airport lounge | Plesman Lounge | |||
| Alliance | Pan Caribbean Alliance | |||
| Subsidiaries | Insel Air Aruba | |||
| Fleet size | 11(+2 used for parts) | |||
| Destinations | 16 | |||
| Company slogan | Reaching Higher | |||
| Headquarters | Curaçao | |||
| Key people | Edward Heerenveen (CGIA), Albert Kluyver (CEO), Jurgen Lippinkhof (CCO),Charley De Meza (CFO),Henry van der Kwast (President of Supervisory Board) | |||
| Website | http://www.fly-inselair.com/ | |||
Insel Air International B.V. (Insel Air) is an airline based in Willemstad, Curaçao. It has Hato International Airport in Curaçao as its home base. Insel is German for island. Insel Air was incorporated as a private limited liability company (Dutch: Besloten Vennootschap) on September 8, 1993 and is registered with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Curaçao under number 64577.
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Insel Air is a private initiative of various businesses and financial institutions who recognized the need and importance for a Curaçao-based and owned airline to provide reliable quality service to regional destinations for a reasonable price.
The airline started operations in August 2006 with one Embraer 110-P1 Bandeirante flying from Curaçao. The first flight was to the neighboring island of Aruba. Soon after the daily scheduled flights to Aruba, Insel Air started with flights to the other neighboring island of Bonaire and also Las Piedras in Venezuela.
Since January 2007, Insel Air serves the Eastern and Northern Caribbean islands through Sint Maarten with a McDonnell Douglas MD-83 and since June 2008 also with a McDonnell Douglas MD-82. They have also added services to Miami via Curacao and Bonaire.
In September 2009, Insel Air took delivery of a second MD-82 aircraft. The aircraft arrived at Curacao as N434AG also featuring the new logo and being the only MD-80 with the known "screwdriver tail" (at the time). The aircraft was later re-registered as PJ-MDC.
Insel took delivery of its fourth MD80 (third MD82) on December 4, 2009 and a fifth MD80 (fourth MD82) in May 2011. Insel Air started in 2011 with four destinations – Medellin in Colombia, Charlotte in the US and Barquisimeto and Caracas in Venezuela.
Following the introduction of new service to Medellin and Bogota in Colombia and Charlotte in the USA, the airline's plans were underway to add a fifth MD-80 during the first quarter of 2011, which arrived on the 12th of May 2011. This aircraft was rumored to be registered as "PJ-MDE" (and was later revealed to be true), seeing as the current MD-80 fleet registrations end with the first four letters of the alphabet, for each aircraft (i.e. PJ-MDA, PJ-MDB. PJ-MDC, PJ-MDD). Insel Air supervisory board member Niko Kluyver, says the flights should begin in the April timeframe. The Medellin flight began on April 15, 2011. Insel Air currently has an interline agreement with Charlotte-hubbed US Airways, covering service to Curaçao and Bonaire. Apart from the new flights to Charlotte and Bogota and Medellin, Insel Air is also looking to introduce service to Brazil and Argentina. Acknowledging the carrier's MD-80 fleet doesn't necessarily have the range to reach Argentina, Kluyver says the carrier might consider another aircraft type, "depending on what type of work we do with others".
The Company also completed the IATA operational safety audit (IOSA) and has joined ALTA, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association, in November 2011. [1]
Insel Air and KLM have reached an agreement for mutual interline cooperation.
InselAir International InselAir and Royal Dutch airline KLM have entered into an interline agreement on Insel Air destinations, thus expanding their services to their passengers.
As of March 27, 2011, passengers carrying a KLM ticket can now also fly to all Insel Air destinations. Passengers will be transported 'comfortably and quickly' on one ticket and with automatic baggage transfer via InselAirs hubs in Curacao and Sint Maarten. Due to this agreement, KLM passengers can now connect seamlessly and continue their flights to more and to different destinations via InselAir’s flights.
For Kingston (Jamaica), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, Port au Prince (Haiti) and Las Piedras (Venezuela), KLM and Insel Air have reached a special agreement making it even more attractive for the passengers to reach these destinations.
InselAir is in the process of acquiring 3 Fokker 50 aircraft, (50-seater Turboprop) which will be incorporated into InselAir’s fleet to enhance connections and increase the flights on existing and new destinations.
Due to the interline agreement with US Airways, passengers can get ticketed through on US Airways flights and vice versa, making it possible to connect to 58 US Airway destinations within 2,5 hours of the InselAir arrival and departure time in Charlotte.
Insel Air uses Sita airline management system.
Insel Air's frequent flyer/loyalty program is called "Insel StarMiles" in which members earn points for miles flown, with benefits such as priority check-in and free bagagge allowances. Membership levels include Basic, Silver, Gold and Diamond.
Insel Air has a very simple livery on all of its aircraft. The fuselage is all white with the logo next to the main exit. The tail has a blue color with a yellow curved line flowing horizontally on the tail, it also includes two white stars representing Curaçao and Klein Curaçao "small curacao". The tail entirely represents the national flag of the island of Curacao. The Embraers have a darker colored tail and a thicker and more curved line than the MD80s and the MD80's also feature the new logo update, while the Embraers are still unknown if they will receive this update.
The new fleet consisting of 3 Fokker 50 will also receive a new logo containing the Arubian official logo (The resembling that of Tiara Air, as part of the agremeent of the two airlines and the Arubian government), as these aircraft will operate under the new company Insel Air Aruba.
Insel Air serve the following destinations, as at December 2011:
Future planned destinations *
Insel Air previously served the following destination.
| City | Country | Airport |
|---|---|---|
| Port of Spain | Trinidad and Tobago | Piarco International Airport |
As of December 2011, the InselAir fleet consists of the following aircraft.[2]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Registration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Embraer 110-P1 Bandeirante | 3 | 0 | 15 | PJ-VIA PJ-VIC* PJ-VIP |
Currently the only one in service* |
| Fokker 50 | 3(+1^) | 0 | 50 | PJ-KVG PH-KVH^ PH-KVI* PJ-KVK |
Used for Parts^ Temporary registration* Operated by Insel Air Aruba |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-82 | 1(+1^) 3 |
0 | 152 | PJ-MDB N431LF^ PJ-MDC PJ-MDD* PJ-MDE |
Cone Tail Used for parts^ Screwdriver Tail Operated by Insel Air Aruba* |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-83 | 1 | 0 | 152 | PJ-MDA | Cone Tail |
The fleet age for Insel Air's MD-80's is 24.7 years. The airline is also the only operator of the Fokker 50 in the Caribbean region.
2 Bombardier Dash 8-300
Leased from Voyageur Airways (Registration: C-FNCU & C-FEYG)
2 Dash 6-300 Twin Otter
Leased from Windward Islands Airways (Registration: PJ-TOD)
Leased from Grenadine Airways (Registration: J8-VBS)
1 McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Leased from World Atlantic Airlines (Registration: N802WA)
On October 21, 2011, one of Insel Air's McDonnell Douglas MD-82's performing flight 7I 904 from Miami International Airport to Curacao's Hato International Airport with 144 passengers, was en route at FL330 near Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) when the crew diverted to Santo Domingo's Las Américas International Airport due to a smoke indication in the cargo compartment. The aircraft landed safely, with no injuries. A replacement aircraft reached Curacao with a delay of 9 hours. The airport had reported, the aircraft diverted because of mechanical problems with an engine.
The airline later explained that the crew received a cargo smoke detector indication, discharged the fire suppression system of that cargo compartment and diverted to Santo Domingo. The aircraft is undergoing thorough examination before returning to service.[3]