AirSXM News

Printed in Amigoe.com, Fri 9-Dec-2005

DAE launches official logo, company name and new routes

After months of speculation, Dutch Antilles Express (DAE) today finally launched the company's new logo and official name DAE, coinciding with the airline's first flight to Valencia, Venezuela. This morning's take-off is the first in seven new regional routes that DAE plans to fly on. This was officially announced by the company's managing director, Mr. Floris van Pallandt, in the Hato's departure lounge on Curacao

DAE ATR aircraft with the company's new name and logo

Valencia is the first choice to start with as the route could be easily incorporated into the present inter-insular schedule. The long range routes require bigger aircrafts. The company plans to expand the fleet next year with jet aircrafts that will be able to service the longer routes.

After the Venezuelan city of Valencia DAE plans to fly to Caracas, Port of Spain (Trinidad), Port au Prince (Ha'ti), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Bogota (Colombia). It is unclear at present if the local airline will be competing against American Airlines (AA) on the route to Miami. In the days when DCA used to fly to Valencia, many customers used this opportunity to fly to the United States via this route through Curacao.

DAE has gone through rapid changes this past year. The company had to change it's legal status as a Dutch Antilles Exel subsidiary of the Exel Aviation Group with the brandnames BonairExel and CuracaoExel to avoid being dragged down into the quagmire of bankruptcies that plagued the parent company and all it's Holland based sister companies.

The Bonaire Beleggings- en Participatie Maatschappij (BBPM), owned by the Bonaire-based retired Dutch multi-miljonair, Niek Sandmann, was able to restart Dutch Antilles Express within 24 hours with a new Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), issued by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) with the cooperation of the Minister of Transportation, Mrs. Omayra Leeflang. The latter was praised by both the company's owner and CEO for her support in processing the permit procedure expeditiously.

With the demise of the Dutch Caribbean Airline (DCA), DAE is now the only airline providing inter-insular flights between the Dutch Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Curacao, St. Maarten and Aruba. AirSintMaarten, the first virtual airline to the island of St. Maarten and the rest of the Dutch Caribbean (The Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and Suriname), is proud to be a partner in booking passengers with DAE and will continue to support DAE in her ambitions to expand on regional routes to Venezuela, Trinidad, Hati, Colombia and The Dominican Republic. AirSintMaarten will be feeding DAE daily flights out of St. Maarten with charters from Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Barths, St. Kitts & Nevis and Anguilla. Customers can book flights with DAE via our local handling agent.

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