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In this October 2009 issue:

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1. INTRO: Shared Charters Revisited
2. SPECIALS: Why Book A Shared Charter With Us?
3. ARTICLE: Airlines Raking In Billion Dollars In Airline Fees
4. SPONSOR MESSAGE: CheapoAir
5. NEWS ITEM: Anguilla Refusing Private Jets Until Runway Extended
6. TRAVEL TIP: How To Avoid Paying Excessive Airline Fees
7. AGENDA: Le Select's 60^th Birthday Bash
8. ADVERTISEMENT: FotoSBH.com
9. CUSTOMER SERVICE: How To Book With AirStMaarten

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INTRO: Shared Charters Revisited
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Dear friends and clients,

For the many newbies, newcommers, new members and new visitors to St. Barths this coming week I have decided to re-explained the concept of shared charters as I do it.

Many of our St. Barths visitors are couples looking to get away for a week or two. If they are flying to St. Barths, ofcourse, most want to do it in style. However, the cost of a private charter can be prohibited. So the cost effective solution is to share the charter with others.

Since October 2006 I have been organizing shared charters for my St. Barths clients who want to share a charter but don't have the possibilities to reach others to get them to share a private charter. So I provide that service by publishing shared charters via www.sharedcharters.com.

Shared charters are only confirmed when I have at least 4 passengers booked. Usually the demand for a shared charter is greatest during the last week before the departure date. Depending on the season, I can get a request for seats on a shared charter up to the same day of departure. Or if my agents at the airport call and tell me that there are stranded passengers at the Transit desks (usually after getting bumped off a Winair flight) looking for a charter. My agents would then transfer these passengers to my shared charter plane. I have agents in St. Maarten and St. Barths who know the drill.
 
Shared charter flights are closed off for further bookings when I have 6 passengers + luggage on a chartered BN Islander 9-seater aircraft. If the demand is great enough, I charter a Cessna Caravan and put up to 9 passengers + luggage on it. The Cessna Caravan or the Cessna Grand Caravan are also 9-seater aircraft, but the Caravans can carry more loads. Therefore they are relatively more expensive to charter. But certainly worth the cost if I have up to 9 passengers.
 
The default aircraft I used for shared charters are the BN Islanders.
Islanders are owned and operated by Windward Express, St. Barth Commuter, Anguilla Air Services and TransAnguilla Airways. Cessna Caravans are owned and operated by Air Caraibes, Air Antilles Express, MN Aviation and Tradewind.
 
It is my sole discretion to close off a shared charter flight and send out the final confirmation with check-in instructions where to report in at the Transit Hall. The reason for that is real simple: I may choose to execute a shared charter with Windward Express, St. Barth Commuter, Anguilla Air Services or TransAnguilla Airways. Each operator have different agents, different desks and/or different operating procedures.
 
So I can only send out a final confirmation once I have determined which aircraft I will use and which operator. Sometimes I switch aircrafts or operators at the last minute due to demand or due to the fact that that operator has a better time slot available to execute the charter for me.
 
So if, for example, you are arriving on a 3pm inbound flight and the shared charter is scheduled for 5pm, I may switch operators because I can then get you out earlier on a 4pm charter flight.
 
I have 3 top agents at the airport assisting me. In the final confirmations, I will instruct you to either report in at the desks of one of these agents. There the agents will assist you further as they will know exactly what to do. I am always in direct contact with these agents.
 
All the charter operators know me and are always happy to provide aircrafts for my charters as I have proven over the past 3 years to be a reliable partner and supplier of business, even in the low season. Windward Express and TransAnguilla have been the main partners for AirStMaarten in St. Maarten.
 
Therefore, when you book a shared charter with me and I inform you that I will be sending you a 'final confirmation', please bear with me. You are always guaranteed a flight to St. Barths, no matter what. Even if I have to fly you myself to St. Barths in a 4-seater Piper Cherokee or a 5-seater Piper Aztek.
 
And if you arrive late after sunset into St. Maarten, no problem. I personally guarantee that you will get to St. Barths that same night. By sea ofcourse.

This November, especially, the coming weekend of November 6th to 9th - Le Weekend - will see a lot of my shared charters arriving in St. Barths with lots St. Barths lovers, newcommers and parrotheads. I wish you all an enjoyable time.

Happy 60th Anniversary, Marius!

Terrance Rey

Fired Travel Agent Reveals How To Get Dirt Cheap Airfare Tickets! I Was Fired By The Airlines, So This Is My Revenge! This Angry Ex-travel Agent Will Reveal The Deepest, Darkest Secrets Of The Airline Industry To Show How You Can Obtain Airline Tickets At Ridiculously Low Costs! Click here!

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2. SPECIALS: Why Book A Shared Charter With Us?
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Why book a Shared Charter to St. Barths with AirStMaarten?

Two words: NO HASSLE!!!

When you are booked on a shared charter with us, we will meet you upon arrival, clear you through immigration while you wait, pick up your luggage for you and transport them to the aircraft, then shuttle you to the waiting aircraft and fly you to St. Barths. The whole process should take about 20-30 minutes.

Check out the shared charter schedule for November 2009:
https://www.airsxm.eu/page.php?page=40#sxm-sbh

We are now taking reservations. So book now before the Le Weekend Madness begins. Trust me, you don't want to be taking the Great Bay Ferry Express to St. Barths if you want to enjoy Jimmy Buffett in concert on the Quai du Général de Gaulle in Gustavia. Visit www.sharedcharters.com today for more info.

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3. ARTICLE: Airlines Raking In A Billion Dollars In Airline Fees
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When I read that the airlines raked in a billion dollars in airline fees in 2008, I was curious what kind of fees these airlines were charging to earn this kind of extra revenues. What I learnt was that the revenues were not due to an increase in airline fees, but a direct result of the surcharges. These are the fees you have to pay after you have booked your airline ticket.

I am just naming a few of these surcharges because I am sure by the time I have completed this list the airlines will have invented more to charge you with. These fees are:

- Holiday Travel Fees
- (Early) Boarding Fees
- Seat Fees
- Bag Fees
- Pet Fees
- Unaccompanied Minor Fees
- Freguent Flyer Miles Redemption Fees
- Phone Reservation Fees
- Etc.

Click here to view the video about the new airline fees that are helping the airlines rake in billions. Two billion US dollars expected for 2009.

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4. SPONSOR MESSAGE: CheapoAir
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5. NEWS ITEM: Anguilla Refusing Private Jets Until Runway Extended
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Wallblake Airport, Anguilla -- The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has restricted private jets of a certain size from landing in Anguilla until the Government of Anguilla (GOA) extend the runway by another 500ft needed for in the eventuality these bigger aircrafts need to abort a take off for emergencies.

It is a CAA regulation that had to be enforced since 2007, but the CAA gave the GOA an entension of the deadline to finalize the extension, which has not materialize to date. So now the CAA has enforced the rules effective October 2009. The GOA is now feverishly working to get the runway extension completed as quickly as possible. According to sources, if they work day and night they will have the extension completed in two months. Not in time for the high season.

As a result, private jets are switching to St. Maarten to land. Therefore, transfers to Anguilla or St. Barths will have to be done via St. Maarten. Submit a reservation request via http://www.airsxm.com/request.php to secure your private charter to Anguilla or St. Barths are early as possible.

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6. TRAVEL TIP: How To Avoid Paying Excessive Airline Fees
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Here are tips to avoid paying excessive airline fees:

- Pack lighter
- Use carry-ons
- Courier your luggage to avoid overweight charges
- Learn the standby rules (to avoid ticket change fees)
- Travel on the earliest flight or on the latest flight
- Beat the airlines at their own game, play by their rules, read the fineprint

Source: CBSnews.com

Tim Siedel: "I've found a way around United bagage fees. I'm wearing all my clothes and packing everything else in my pockets."
http://twitter.com/badbanana

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7. NEWS ITEM: Le Select's 60^th Birthday Bash
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That was then (1949 - 1999)

(Photo by JEK)

This is now (1949 - 2009)

 Schedule Le Select's 60^th Birthday Bash

Friday, November 6, 2009

11am to 1pm: Gunslingers Steel Band
11am to 12pm: Complementary appetizers and happy hour
5pm: Chorale du bon Coeur, choir performance
6pm: Speech by Marius STAKELBOROUGH, followed by a cocktail reception
8pm: “Math’s Connection” and “The Tremendous Johnsons”

Saturday, November 7, 2009

11am to 1pm: Gunslingers Steel Band
11am to 12pm: Complementary appetizers and happy hour
6pm: Gunslingers Steel Band (Quai du Général de Gaulle)
8pm: Jimmy Buffet in concert (Quai du Général de Gaulle)
10pm: New Generation, live music at Le Select

Sunday, November 8, 2009

11am - 1pm: Gunslingers in concert
11am -12am: Complementary appetizers and happy hour
4pm: Film Screening: “The Friends Of Marius” + DVD Sweden, St Barth
at the Capitainerie (upstairs at Port Office)
For the benefit of the Marius Stakelborough Foundation
6pm -7pm: Gunslingers concert
8pm: Fireworks, closing party with dancing and live musical performance by the local band “Les Romantiques” at the Select

Monday, November 9, 2009

11am to 1pm and 4pm to 6pm
Marius invites one and all to discover the Back Street Gallery
in Rue Père Dugon, Gustavia

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8. ADVERTISEMENT: FotoSBH.com
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FotoSBH.com is a brand new online service that offers an eclectic range of high-quality stockphoto's of St. Barths and the rest of the Caribbean. Professional photographer Pierre Carreau has made a selection of his best pictures available for use on other websites or for fine art prints. Take the time to visit this virtual photo agency that celebrates Caribbean beauties. You will be amazed. Upon request Pierre Carreau will be happy to customize a wedding or architectural session for you.

Here is my favorite photo of St. Jean beach with the St. Barths Gustavia airport in the background and Eden Rock in the foreground with a cruise ship entering Gustavia harbour in the distance while an Islander aircraft is coming in for a landing. A perfect picture of an all in one bird's eye view showing that St. Barths offers all kinds of luxury vacation experiences that are accessible via land, sea and air.

 

Photo by Pierre Carreau - Visit www.fotosbh.com for more photo's.

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9. CUSTOMER SERVICE: How To Book With AirStMaarten
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Booking Procedure & Reservation Information

Submit a reservation request online at www.airsxm.com. Once we receive your request, we will send you a Reservation Offer for your consideration. Once you accept our proposal, we will require payment. You can use our credit card form to send us your credit card information. We accept all major credit cards such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express. You can also pay by bank transfer, check, cash or Paypal. Once payment is received, we will book the commercial flight or private charter and send you a Reservation Confirmation.

If you have requested additional services such as VIP Transfer Services, we will send you a Final Confirmation containing all details of your travel itinerary and services booked. And that's how you book with AirStMaarten.

Other Customer Service Resources:
Our Shared Charters concept explained in full detail
VIP Transfer Services through Princess Juliana Int'l Airport
Island Concierge Services on St. Maarten and St. Barths
Read what our satisfied clients are saying about our service
Ticket Insurance
We also accept payments via Paypal
St. Maarten Villa Rentals
St. Maarten Yachting and Sailing Charters
Sign up for our email newsletter service

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