Alor to LBJ flight reliability

[jeremyl]

I am spending some time in Alor before my Komodo LOB - and wondering how worried I should be about getting from ARD to LBJ. Lion/Wings shows/sells a flight same day - the 9:30a-10:30a from ARD->KOE and 10:50a from KOE->LBJ. Some booking agencies don't even sell this second flight, and require an overnight. Flightstatus shows 60% cancellation rate in the last 2mo. I plan to leave Alor one day before my trip (June 11) in case I need to overnight in KOE... but still have a little concern. The ARD->KOE seems fairly reliable. There are a morning flight on Wings as well that is 70% canceled. The morning flight (with stopover in ENE) seems reliable - it flys 2X/day (both 80% on schedule)... but the later one departs at 1030a - the same time as the arrival from ARD. So I would likely not get on it - or would they delay it for me???

Anyone with experience on this route? I hate to spend another day of buffer to make sure I have an extra extra day - esp since my friend joining me in Alor is only there for 5D as it is (I am getting 11D).

Also seems Wings charges for bags (quite a bit actually) tho I 'think' the 7KG carry-on is still included.

 

[matts1w]

Wings Air is the little prop plane division of Lion Air which flies to the most remote airports in Indonesia. I loathe Lion Air's customer service, but using them is sometimes the only option, such as getting to/from Alor. My experience pretty much dictates you can pretty much count on the following...pretty much:

1. They will probably charge you for every ounce of overage.
2. Should things go bad, their customer service will be far, far less than stellar.

If you were just headed to Komodo to dive land-based, I would say go for it. However, since you are making a liveaboard the next day, here are some things to consider:

A. I would NEVER book Lion/Wings/Batik/Super Value Jet through a third party if I had a strict schedule outside major Indonesian airports. That adds another layer to the quagmire should things fall to pieces. I'm guessing you can't get a transaction on the Lion site to work from outside Indonesia, but this is a real concern with that 20-minute connection.

B. Flying on from Kupang to Bali isn't a horrible idea. You could stay overnight near the airport and will have a bunch of options to get to LBJ the next day. Obviously, this stinks for one's wallet and, compared to the two Wings flights, is inconvenient as can be. It's just that 20-minute connection is pretty darn scary, and I would do everything possible not to enter the abyss of Lion Air's customer service agents.

C. "...or would they delay it for me???." See #2 above.

Anyway, just my two cents.

 

[jeremyl]

Yes - I am very aware of how bad Lion (and it's subs) are - and would never choose to fly them. I have avoided them in a lot of my Indo travel, but as you know they are the only choice sometimes... and for Alor 'This is the way'. I looked a little more and found even the ONE flight off Alor has been cancelled sometimes for multiple days in a row. Guessing broken equipment. I can only envision sitting on Alor for 3 days as my LOB floats away.

I am now debating cancelling both to/from trips and just going to Alor after the LOB. Fortunately my schedule allows this, but it means no Alor for my partner. And $65+ in fees. Just wish I thought of all this 2 days ago before booking.

The other option is still a risk - but I would dive one day less on Alor, overnight KOE to fly to LBJ and 'plan' to be in LBJ a day before my LOB. Still some risk of multiple cancellations but I would only need to change one flight. And still no partner since she was only joining for 1/2 the time - this would make it not worth it for her.

Also - I did book via Tiket.com as you cannot book direct with a USA credit card. I have done this in the past and it is one of the few advised agencies to use... I have not had any issue (tho I think the cancellation fees are higher than they are supposed to be).

I will give props to Hansen at Nautika - he has been very patient and helpful in all my booking inquiries. I hope I eventually get to dive with them.