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In this March 2011 issue:

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1. INTRO: The Race Is On!!!
2. SPECIALS: The "Best of SXM" Vacation Video Guide
3. ARTICLE: Air Show To Celebrate 25 Years St. Barths Bucket
4. SPONSOR MESSAGE: CheapoAir
5. NEWS ITEM: St. Barths Immigration Officers At St. Maarten Airport?
6. TRAVEL TIP: Share A Charter To St. Barths
7. AGENDA: St. Barths Bucket Regatta 25-27 March 2011
8. ADVERTISEMENT: FarmVille Secrets Revealed
9. CUSTOMER SERVICE: How To Book With AirStMaarten

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INTRO: The Race Is On!!!
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Dear friends and clients,

The race is on folks and the Bucket Regatta in St. Barths from Friday, March 25th, to Sunday, March 27th, will be spectacular as this year the action will not only be on the waters but also in the air. You can't miss this year's Bucket races with the great airshows planned for the occasion over Shell Beach.

Read the news below about the four legendary airplanes that will be participating in this year's Airshow for the St. Barths Bucket Regatta. If you don't want to miss the action and you haven't booked yet, then submit a reservation request online at http://www.airsxm.com/request.php.

Now the thing about these four legendary aircrafts is that they won't be able to land in St. Barths because the runway is too small for them. So they will be stationed on St. Maarten for the duration of the show's downtime. The airport at St. Maarten will come alive for certain with these historical aircrafts parked on the ramp at Juliana International Airport and hosted by Arrindell Aviation Services.

If you have never been to St. Maarten for any longer than it takes for us to get you back up into the air on your way to St. Barths after you arrive on your inbound flight or private jet, then check out a new video vacation guide featuring the "Best of SXM" with great landings at and shots of the St. Maarten airport, officially known as the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) with the airport code "SXM" (IATA) or "TNCM" (ICAO).

In this video film you can check out the PJIA airport, where you will be landing on your way to St. Barths. The video guide offers some interesting background information and helps you to get to know one of the biggest attractions on the island of St. Maarten that you simply have to experience. 

Finally, by now I’m sure you've heard of FarmVille if you are on Facebook. If you have started your own farm, spent a few moments a day trying to figure out how to load up on the right materials and resources to do better, then let me tell you about the new guide I saw the other day and which I think will be great for any FarmVille farmer to have. It’s called FarmVille Secrets, it’s the only thing of its kind out there and the reviews are fantastic.

Here’s the deal – FarmVille Secrets is as good as it comes – it shows you everything you need to launch your farming career through the roof and from there it keeps you powering through everything at the top levels.

If you’re playing FarmVille, wasting cold hard cash on FarmVille Cash, and still not getting anywhere and wondering how anyone gets ANYWHERE in this game, you’ll need to figure this stuff out and FarmVille Secrets is going to put you way over the top.

Don’t waste another moment – get on the top of the charts and create the ultimate plantation. There is a way and it’s calling. Act Now: Check out FarmVille Secrets today.

Have fun and Happy Readings!

Terrance Rey

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2. SPECIALS: The "Best of SXM" Vacation Video Guide
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Make Your St. Maarten Vacation Just Perfect With Our "Best of SXM" Video Guide. Watch The New and Inspiring SXM Video Vacation Guide Now. Click here>>>

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3. ARTICLE: Air Show To Celebrate 25 Years St. Barths Bucket
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4. SPONSOR MESSAGE: CheapoAir
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5. NEWS ITEM: St. Barths Immigration Officers At St. Maarten Airport?
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St. Barths Asks St. Maarten To Host Immigration At PJIA Airport

St. Barths asks St. Maarten Goverment to host immigration officers at PJIA

PHILIPSBURG--St. Barths and Anguilla authorities have asked the St. Maarten government for permission to place their immigration officers at Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIA) to assist with the processing of persons who travel through St. Maarten to get to those destinations.

Justice Minister Roland Duncan told Members of Parliament (MPs) during a meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament held on Wednesday, March 9th, that he is supportive of such an initiative to "work together."

He said cooperation in this area is necessary and is in keeping with St. Maarten's status as a hub.

Duncan said Anguilla's ministers of Infrastructure and Home Affairs and a delegation met with him earlier that week and made the request. St. Barths, he said, had made its request earlier. Duncan said he will be taking the proposal to the Council of Ministers the following week.

"I think it's an outstanding proposal," Duncan told the MPs. "I support it 100 per cent."

Duncan said the Anguillan authorities had identified several "problem" areas such as the "lack of full service" to the people who pass through St. Maarten, en route to Anguilla. In outlining the tedious process these travellers face, Duncan said the visitors are subjected to multiple immigration checks. "We are a tourist island and we need to be able to take measures," he said.

"I think we can arrange and upgrade services. We are a tourist island. We are a hub and as a hub we now need to also provide the services to the islands we [cater to]."

The minister said he had started discussions for the expansion of the immigration area at the airport to accommodate the additional immigration officers. "We are looking at a situation where we may even end up having three sets of immigration at the airport. It may sound big, but [it is] in keeping with [our] role as a hub. We welcome this cooperation with our neighbours."

On a related subject, Duncan said the first joint exercise in execution of the Franco Dutch Treaty was successfully held at PJIA. "As you know, the Franco Dutch Treaty calls for joint control of risk flights at the airport – in Grand Case and [at PJIA]; not at the harbour as yet. This was left for future matters."

He said such an exercise was not yet done at the French side airport, but he indicated that "this will soon come." 

Source: The Daily Herald 

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6. TRAVEL TIP: Share A Charter To St. Barths
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With reduced capacity on the St. Maarten - St. Barths route, our travel tip for this month remains the same as last month: Share A Charter to St. Barths.

How does our Shared Charters work?

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 prohibitive. So the cost effective solution is to share the charter with others.

Since October 2006 we have been organizing shared charters for 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 we provide that service by publishing shared charters via www.SharedCharters.com.

Shared charters are only confirmed when we 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, we can get a request for seats on a shared charter up to the same day of departure.
 
Shared charter flights are closed off for further bookings when we have 6 passengers + luggage on a chartered BN Islander 9-seater aircraft. If the demand is great enough, we charter a Cessna Caravan and put up to 9 passengers + luggage on it. The Cessna 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 we have up to 9 passengers.
 
The default aircraft we 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 St. Barth Commuter and Tradewind. We can also charter 16-seater Twin Otters from Winair for large groups.
 
It is our 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: We may choose to execute a shared charter with Windward Express, St. Barth Commuter, TransAnguilla Airways, Anguilla Air Services or Winair. Each operator have different agents, different desks and/or different operating procedures.
 
So we can only send out a final confirmation once we have determined which aircraft and which operator we will use. Sometimes we 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 us.
 
So if, for example, you are arriving on a 3pm inbound flight and the shared charter is scheduled for 5pm, we may switch operators because we can then get you out earlier on a 4pm charter flight.
 
We have top agents at the airport at our disposal. In the final confirmations, we 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. We are always in direct contact with these agents.
 
All the charter operators know AirStMaarten and are always happy to provide aircrafts for our charters as we have proven over the past years to be a reliable partner and supplier of business, even in the low season. Windward Express, St. Barth Commuter, Winair and TransAnguilla have been the main partners for AirStMaarten in St. Maarten.
 
Therefore, when you book a shared charter with us and we inform you that we will be sending you a 'final confirmation', please bear with us. You are always guaranteed a flight to St. Barths, no matter what.
 
And if you arrive late after sunset into St. Maarten, no problem. we guarantee that you will get to St. Barths that same night. By sea ofcourse. :-)

For more information and to see the constantly updated Shared Charters schedule online, visit http://www.SharedCharters.com. 

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7. AGENDA: St. Barths Bucket Regatta 25-27 March 2011
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The St. Barths Bucket + Air Show will be held on the weekend of March 25th through 27th, 2011, from Friday to Sunday, celebrating 25 years of sea, sun and fun. Submit a reservation request to secure your flights to St. Barths now.

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8. ADVERTISEMENT: FarmVille Secrets Revealed
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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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