Bonaire Express

Bonaire Express

IATA ICAO Callsign 9H BXL
Commenced operations	18 August 2003
Ceased operations	30 April 2005
Operating bases	Flamingo International Airport, Bonaire Queen Beatrix International Airport, Aruba Hato Airport, Curaçao
Fleet size	See Fleet below
Destinations	See Services below
Parent company	Bonair Bellegings Participatie Maatschappij
Headquarters	Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Bonaire Express was an airline based in Bonaire, Netherlands. It was the regional airline for the Netherlands Antilles and also acted as a feeder to KLM for its long-haul services to Europe. Its main bases were Flamingo International Airport (BON), Bonaire, Queen Beatrix International Airport (AUA), Aruba and Hato Airport (CUR), Curaçao.

Code data

• IATA Code: 9H
• ICAO Code: BXL

History

The airline was established in 2003 and started operations on 18 August 2003. It was formerly known as BonairExel and was wholly owned by Bonair Bellegings Participatie Maatschappij. On 30 April 2005 BonairExel was merged with Curaçao Express and both companies assets and personnel where transferred which together formed Dutch Antilles Express.

Services

Bonaire Express operated the following services (at January 2005):

• Domestic scheduled destinations: Bonaire, Curaçao and St Maarten.
• International scheduled destinations: Aruba.

Fleet

The Bonaire Express fleet consisted of the following aircraft (at January 2005):

• 2 ATR 42-320
• 1 ATR 42-320 (Leased from ArubaExel
• 1 ATR 42-320
• 1 ATR 42-500
• 1 Embraer ERJ 145MP

PJ-XLM,PJ-XLL,PH-XLI,PJ-XLN,PJ-SLH.

Incidents and Accidents

In the month of September 2004, a BonairExel ATR 42-320, Registration PJ-XLM, had to make an emergency landing due to a small fire that started in the number 2 engine. The plane was flying from Bonaire to Curaçao when the passengers sitting on the left side of the aircraft noticed that smoke was coming out of the engine. The aircraft landed safely at Hato International Airport. No one was hurt. A few weeks later, the ATR aircraft was successfully restored and continurd flying with DAE until irs bankruptcy