Released on = December 12, 2005, 11:12 am

Press Release Author = Corporate2000

Industry = Accounting

Press Release Summary = The owner of the longest running airline in the US Virgin
Islands is calling it quits.

Press Release Body = Air St. Thomas owner Paul Wikander made his final scheduled
flight last week, ending the airline\'s 35 years of operation in the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Piloting a nine-seat Cessna 402, Wikander flew Wednesday afternoon from Fajardo,
Puerto Rico, touching down at King Airport on St. Thomas. He was greeted by friends,
family and business associates.
Wikander and his wife, company vice president Margaret, retired from the family
business and plan to sell it. Air St. Thomas is the longest operating carrier based
in the territory, he said.
\"It\'s the hardest decision I\'ve ever made,\" Wikander, 65, said. \"I enjoy flying
between the islands. I\'ve always loved aviation since I was a little kid. But I\'d
like to spend more time with my family.\"
Born in Detroit, Mich., Wikander moved to St. Thomas in 1963 \"with just $35, my wife
and child, and one small suitcase,\" he said.
Before moving to the territory Wikander served with the U.S. Coast Guard Search and
Rescue in Puerto Rico, and before that he worked in Civil Air Patrol on the U.S.
mainland. On St. Thomas he held a variety of jobs, some in aviation, before founding
his business.
Wikander launched the airline, which he called Virgin Air, in 1970, but because of a
trade name dispute with Virgin Atlantic, the airline changed its name to Air St.
Thomas in the early 1990s.
The airline grew and began offering daily scheduled flights between San Juan,
Fajardo, Virgin Gorda, St. Barths and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with charter
and commercial service, with its two twin-engine aircraft.
Air St. Thomas stopped flying to St. Barths last year after it was named among five
airlines that were \"blacklisted\" by the French government because of alleged
maintenance violations. Wikander believes the ban is \"political\" and has touted his
airline\'s strong safety record of just one minor injury in 35 years.
He credits Margaret with making the business a success: \"She\'s the backbone of Air
St. Thomas,\" he said.
Now, the couple will have more time to spend with their two daughters and three
grandchildren.
Paul and Margaret Wikander plan to stay busy during their retirement, however. They
are preparing to open a villa for short-term rentals in the Scott Free neighborhood
of St. Thomas.


Web Site = http://x.discount-travel-planner.com/

Contact Details = Auckland Semper Jr