Air Jamaica sucks!!

[crgoode]

Flew from Atlanta to Bonaire on Air Jamaica leaving on Mar. 7 and due to return on Mar. 15. The flight out of Atlanta was supposed to leave at 8:50 AM. We got there 2 1/2 hrs early only to find out the flight was being delayed for 3 hrs. due to the lack of a spare part that was being flown in. This caused us to miss our connecting flight from Montego Bay to Bonaire. AJ gave us $250 vouchers to be used on future flights and said they would put us up in Jamaica and pay for our meals so we were feeling a little bit better. Called the travel agent and got everything in Bonaire shifted ahead a day so we would still get in our weeks worth of diving. When we got to Montego Bay AJ put us in a van and sent us to the Holiday Inn. Nice place, but they said they didn't know anything about us. We wound up hanging out in the lobby for almost 3 hrs. before they finally gave us rooms. By this time it's too late to do anything. The flight on to Bonaire the next morning was 1 1/2 hrs late leaving and due to a "communication problem" the plane boarded at the original time and we all had to sit there and sweat through the delay. Coming back our flight from Bonaire to Montego Bay was an hour late arriving and hence an hour late leaving which would have caused us to miss our connecting flight at Montego Bay back to ATL, but since about 1/3 of that flight was on our plane they held it for us. So basically every leg of the flight both there and back was at least 1 hour late if not more. 1 late leg wouldn't have bothered me, but not even one on time makes me wonder if it's worth $250 to fly with them again.

 

[raxafarian]

Only had a delay one time with AJ. I think they are one of the better airlines I've flown with. Delays can happen with all airlines, but they can become magnified when there is only one flight per day.

 

[raxafarian]

the one time we had the delay.... I wrote to AJ customer relations (yes...an actual letter) and received 2 free roundtrip tickets to Bonaire.

give it a try... explain all your problems, etc.

 

[crgoode]

You think I could get roundtrip tickets to somewhere else? Frankly I was underwhelmed by Bonaire. I had fun and really liked the laid back atomosphere, but I thought the quality of the dives left something to be desired.

 

[Sandfill]

Could you elaborate on your disapointment in the quality of the dives you did on Bonaire. Just curious.

 

[SubMariner]

We've been to Bonaire about 6 times. With the exception of this time, we flew AJ. (We live in Atlanta.) THIS time we flew DCA (which replaced ALM). Despite all it's "warts", AJ wins.

Yes, AJ has been late on several occasions. However, since the connecting flight from Montego Bay is pretty much exclusively for the people coming from Atlanta, they hold the plane. And yes, we've had to sit & wait several hours on the way back from Montego Bay to Atlanta. But it beats the DCA mess.

There is no direct flight to Bonaire via DCA. So we went Delta to Aruba; DCA from Aruba to Curacao then on to Bonaire. The people manning the desks for DCA have no clue whatsoever as to what they are doing. And despite showing up with tickets & PC printout from the travel agent in hand, they still spent huge amounts of time sorting things out. On the way back we were so late that we almost missed our connecting Delta flight in Aruba to get back home.

Like it's predecessor ALM, DCA cancels or changes flights WITHOUT NOTICE. On the way back if we hadn't called the day before to DCA we would never have known our flight had been cancelled and we needed to be at the airport for an earlier flight.

So, next time it will be back with AJ.

~SubMariner~

 

[crgoode]

Sandfill once bubbled...
Could you elaborate on your disapointment in the quality of the dives you did on Bonaire. Just curious.

First off, don't get me wrong, we enjoyed Bonaire, but after reading posts from Bonaire lovers and on the Bonaire talk board, maybe we were expecting too much. We liked being able to dive when we wanted to dive instead of on a schedule. And we only have Cozumel and West Palm Beach to compare to. But the reefs didn't seem to have the color of the ones in Cozumel, and we know now we're not into macro-life. Also, the island itself is pretty desolate looking, not that that would matter much if the diving appealed to me more. However, my wife, a vet-tech by profession, loved the donkeys, I think we spent as much feeding them as we spent on ourselves. I could go back to Bonaire again, but not before I've been everywhere else I want to go. Just not my cup of tea.

 

[Kat]

Working in the airport, I've seen a ton of differet reasons for a delay. We've had a flight go perfectly from check in to boarding only to have the catering truck leave another aircraft, at the next gate & hit our plane. That now becomes a delay that is hours, as we wait f/ another plane to be flown in. Any little thing can cause a delay and it downlines all day long. Just getting worse & worse.
Being a traveler myself, I know how frustrating it can be. And depending on connecting flights, it can ruin the whole darn trip.
I do not work f/ AJ, and have never even flown on them-but they are considered a good carrier, in the airport.
Write a letter of complaint, explain all the details & facts. Don't get nasty, just state the facts. I would think that you'd receive some additional compensation, besides $250. AJ also owns the Sandals/Beaches resorts. Maybe you can get a weeks stay.