Island Birds, BVI, Caribbean aircraft charter service, Caribbean private aircraft charter

Island Birds

Category: Local Airline
Location: Beef Island, BVI

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www.islandbirds.com

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Island Birds, Caribbean aircraft charter service based in the BVI

Bob Lemire with a Piper Aztec

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Island Birds Fleet at Terrence B Lettsome International Airport, Tortola or Beef Island Airport, BVI

Island Birds fleet, Caribbean aircraft charter service, Caribbean private aircraft charter, Caribbean air charter

Pilots and crew with Island Birds, Caribbean aircraft charter company, Caribbean aircraft charter operator, Caribbean aircraft charter rental

Island Birds over the Caribbean Sea

Piper Aztec, Island Birds, Caribbean aircraft charter service, Caribbean private aircraft charter

Flying low over the sea, Island Birds, BVI

Scheduled and charter airline based in the BVI

Island Birds is a small but very reliable local charter airline with three Piper aircraft based in the BVI. Their hanger and offices are in the BVI’s main airport, Cyril E King Airport on Beef Island, just off Tortola. Much of their work involves transfers for people arriving in and leaving the Caribbean, between the regional hubs and the BVI, but they also offer inter island transfers, day trips and some excellent airborne sightseeing around the Virgin Islands themselves. Island Birds are certainly not limited to links between the BVI and regional hubs, though. They can land in almost all the islands between San Juan in Puerto Rico and Grenada at the southern tip of the Lesser Antilles, including St Barths.

Island Birds is headed up by Bob Lemire, an American who built up 36,000 hours of piloting experience during a career with US Airways. He took early retirement in order to set up a Caribbean airline in 1994 and has since flown over 1000 hours in the islands now, becoming one of the area’s most experienced pilots. He is also one of the few pilots based in the BVI who is qualified to land in St Barths, so if you are setting up a two centre holiday with BVI and St Barths, then Island Birds can fly you direct (please see Routes for current destination information).

The two other pilots in the fleet are Marshall Hodges, a Canadian who has spent many years flying VIP jets, and Steve Pelletier, a Frenchman who has been flying a plane since before he was old enough to drive a car. He has worked as a Flight Instructor in the States and importantly he is also licensed to fly into St Barths. The pilots are backed up by FAA licensed mechanic Jonathan Ettienne from Dominica, who maintains the fleet, and the efficient Nadia. It is to Nadia that you will most likely speak when arranging a charter because she oversees the flight schedule and the general running of the office.

The advantage of a private charter is that you travel at your convenience. You are not constrained by regional schedules, which in the Caribbean do quite often get delayed. However, if there is a delay on your incoming international leg, Island Birds will find out about it and be there for your arrival. If you are travelling in a group, say as a family or friends travelling together to join a yacht, then once you fill the plane, it becomes quite an attractive option. Other conveniences are that the pilot can meet you airside. You will be collected at Immigration, escorted to collect your bags and then taken back out onto the apron rather than your having to go through into the Arrivals Hall. And then your charter simply leaves when you are ready, which in turn means that you are able to reach your destination more quickly. Finally, in case you are a budding pilot, one of you gets to fly up at the front of the plane.

The main hubs for incoming passengers from the States and Canada are St Thomas and San Juan and these are very regular runs for Island Birds. They also meet passengers flying in from Europe, principally in St Maarten and in Antigua. In addition to transfers, Island Birds can assist if you are island hopping (see below). Some of their business is also airborne sightseeing, see below. Very occasionally Island Birds offer share charters when things are busy. They will take requests to share from the person making the booking so It is worth asking, but it is rare because it is hard to schedule and clients often charter an aircraft for the convenience of having the plane to themselves.

It isn’t all people and cargo, though. Island Birds gets some unexpected and occasionally strange requests for transportation. They have flown a dolphin before now, the occasional dead body, and on one flight, a small herd of very large pigs. Imagine getting them into the back of a plane!

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Fleet
Island Birds Fleet consists of 2 Piper Aztecs and a Piper Navajo. The Aztec carries 5 passengers and has 2 large carpeted baggage compartments, each holding up to 150 pounds of luggage. The Navajo carries 7 passengers and has a carpeted luggage compartment in the nose. Luggage can also be stored in the cabin, behind the rear seats as well as the wing lockers. Aircraft are equipped with first class interiors including leather seats and curtains. The Navajo is fully air-conditioned

Both aircraft have twin Lycoming engines and cruise at 160 knots (184 mph). All are fully radar and GPS equipped. Island Birds operates under a certificate and is closely checked by the FAA (U.S. Federal Aviation Administration). Safety briefings and briefing cards are as required by the FAA, and, although not required, all aircraft are equipped with life rafts

The aircraft take a maximum of 350lbs maximum of luggage. This is made clear at the time of booking and the only circumstances under which they accept more is if there is another of their planes with sufficient space covering the same route soon after.

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Routes
Island Birds cover all the islands between San Juan in Puerto Rico in the North-west and Grenada and Barbados at the south-eastern limits of the Lesser Antilles.

Due to Caribbean regulations, either the start or the finish point of your journey must be in the BVI or in American territory (the USVI and Puerto Rico). Of course you can link these places with almost all of the islands in the Eastern Caribbean, both the hubs and all the very different islands farther south.

Currently Island Birds is unable to make the link to St Barths because of bureaucracy. For the time being no US-registered plane is permitted to land on the French territories and vice versa.

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Island Hopping
One of the fun things about the Caribbean is that islands so close to one another can have a completely different atmosphere, which makes it fun to travel about a bit. In the Virgin Islands themselves, many of the islands can be visited by boat, but where there are no links a plane is obviously the best way to get there.

A few examples of islands that you might visit are Anegada, which is just a 12 minute flight, or possibly St Croix, which has the strongest Danish heritage remaining in the USVI. Or the islands off Puerto Rico, Vieques or Culebra, about 25 minutes away. Much further and you’ll need to spend the night, but of course if you wish to have a two centre holiday, then Island Birds can help with the internal transfers too.

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Sightseeing
The Virgin Islands are wonderfully attractive from sea level, but they are equally beautiful from above and Island Birds is happy to take you on a sightseeing flight. Their itineraries are entirely custom made, but a thing they often do is to add 10 minutes of flying time (cost US$200) to a charter that you have already taken. Typically, on arrival in the BVI they might fly closer than normal to the islands in the chain, then across to the Dogs and up to Necker Island, across the North Sound and then back along Virgin Gorda before heading across to Beef Island airport.

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Prices

Destination

Navajo

(7 seats)

Aztec

(5 seats)

Flight

Time

Anegada (NGD)

Anguilla (AXA)

Antigua (ANU)

Barbados (BGI)

Culebra (CPX)

Dominica

Fajardo (FAJ)

Turks & Caicos

(GKT or PLS)

Grenada (GND)

Dominican Rep

(La Romana)

Nevis (NEV)

Ponce (PON)

San Juan (SJU)

St Croix (STX)

St Kitts (SKB)

St Lucia (SLU)

St Maarten (SXM)

St Thomas (STT)

St Vincent (SVD)

Montserrat (MON)

Ft Lauderdale (EXE)

460

105

1925

4620

805

2530

885

5250

4930

2750

1365

1125

1075

720

1350

3000

1150

675

4400

N/A

10500

351

766

1396

3331

581

1751

636

3851

3851

2001

976

911

826

521

951

2076

851

486

3026

1351

7001

12 min

38 min

1 h 7 min

3 h 20 min

25 min

1 h 32 min

28 min

3 h 30 min

3 h 30 min

1 h 28 min

50 min

47 min

37 min

26 min

48 min

1 h 48 min

42 min

16 min

2 h 45 min

1 h 05 min

7 h 30 min

· Flights directly to/from Virgin Gorda, add US$50 to above rates

· Flights directly to/from Anegada, add US$150 to above rates

· Flights East of the BVI from SJU, add US$750 to above Aztec rates and US$850 to Navajo rates

· Flights East of St.Thomas, add US$300 to Aztec rates and US$400 to Navajo rates

· For flights to/from STT or STX, add US$8 per passenger for airport tax

· For flights inbound to SXM add US$5 per person for airport transfer fee

· For flights outbound from SXM add US$10 per person for airport security screening tax

· For Sunday and BVI Holidays, add US$25 for government overtime fees

· For Day Trips: The one-way rate applies plus US$100 per hour of wait-time/first hour free.

· Co- Pilot US$150

· San Juan Dog Handling or Wheelchair service US$15

· PM Pilot Overtime Surcharge after 7pm US$50

· PM Flights after 6pm are subject to overtime charges of US$20hr (US$35hr for San Juan only)

All prices subject to change without notice.

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How to Book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with Island Birds, or if you wish to telephone them, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number.

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