Departure fee?

I'm trying to recall, if we stop for a few days in St. Martin, before we fly Winair from SXM to SBH, will we have a departure fee on top of our air fare? Thanks

OK, I found this:[h=3]DEPARTURE TAX[/h][FONT=&quot]When you depart from St. Maarten / St. Martin there is a departure tax to pay…Those leaving on an international flight must pay US$30.00 per person, unless the arrival and departure are on the same day. If you are traveling to another island within the Netherlands Antilles, the departure tax is US$10.00 per person. Payment is required before boarding and they will only accept cash or traveler’s checks. Certain airlines have already incorporated the departure tax into the price of the ticket to include American Airlines, Air France, Continental Airlines, CorsAir, Delta Airlines and KLM. If you are not sure, check with the individual carrier.[/FONT]

You pay whether you owe or not, and it’s already included in your ticket price. There is no coordination between the ticket for your SBH-SXM flight and your SXM-Home flight. The US airlines assume that everyone owes the departure fee, and include it in the ticket price. Years ago, when I still transited through SXM, I would sometimes argue with the AA checkin counter that I was in-transit, and didn’t owe the fee. Once I actually got a cash refund.

KevinS said:

You pay whether you owe or not, and it’s already included in your ticket price. There is no coordination between the ticket for your SBH-SXM flight and your SXM-Home flight. The US airlines assume that everyone owes the departure fee, and include it in the ticket price. Years ago, when I still transited through SXM, I would sometimes argue with the AA checkin counter that I was in-transit, and didn’t owe the fee. Once I actually got a cash refund.

Click to expand...

Right- I got a refund once too and then USAIR started listing the fee as a non-refundable fee.

Guess the airlines keep the money if it is same day arrival and departure. C’est la vie I guess- although you both received refunds.

The airline doesn't keep the money. They don't know (or care) that you are in transit and don't owe. The un-owed fee gets paid to the airport, or perhaps, as was reported recently, it is now passed on to the bondholders.

There was a time at SXM — briefly even in the “new” airport — when one could go to an “Intransit” window & get a refund of the tax upon showing US arrival / departure boarding passes & boarding passes of the same day from a local airline going to / from SBH or other nearby island. Its hours, however, were very limited . . . so much so as to make it nearly impossible to be useful. Being tenacious, I did get the refund on various occasions . . . paying for a couple of rounds of beverages with proceeds of my patience!