I got this message from Den Laman with information about the AA flights that will start in June 2018:
American Air Flights to Bonaire from Miami
- Thread starter KathyV
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It is appealing, and arrives/leaves on a decent schedule, but:
(1) it forces me to go through MIA, and
(2) it is basically the same price (for me not starting in Miami) as Delta through ATL, an airline I much prefer.
I had a bad experience with American earlier this year. We flew from MIA to Barbados (and then on to Bequia), and the flight into MIA was delayed so we had to race to get to the Bequia departure. As we ran up to the gate, the gate agents shouted out "What's your name?" and we told them, they said "Get on the plane, the door is closing!" When we got to Barbados, our bags were not there. No big surprise. AA and our Bequia flight said they'd send them on the next day. Nothing. Turns out, the bags were still in MIA, and had not been loaded on the flight to Barbados because -- they said -- we were not on that flight. Duh. They had not scanned our tickets when we boarded! We finally convinced them to send the bags to Barbados, which they wanted to charge us for since we were not on their manifest. I pointed out we'd paid for food on the flight with our AA credit card, so we and they had a record we were on their flight. In addition, I reminded them, they had flown us illegally since they had not scanned our boarding passes. We got our bags after three days, and paying for a lot of international phone calls, and a two-way taxi in Bequia to get to the airport, and missing some dives. The final insult was having to jump through multiple hoops to get mileage credit.
(1) it forces me to go through MIA, and
(2) it is basically the same price (for me not starting in Miami) as Delta through ATL, an airline I much prefer.
I had a bad experience with American earlier this year. We flew from MIA to Barbados (and then on to Bequia), and the flight into MIA was delayed so we had to race to get to the Bequia departure. As we ran up to the gate, the gate agents shouted out "What's your name?" and we told them, they said "Get on the plane, the door is closing!" When we got to Barbados, our bags were not there. No big surprise. AA and our Bequia flight said they'd send them on the next day. Nothing. Turns out, the bags were still in MIA, and had not been loaded on the flight to Barbados because -- they said -- we were not on that flight. Duh. They had not scanned our tickets when we boarded! We finally convinced them to send the bags to Barbados, which they wanted to charge us for since we were not on their manifest. I pointed out we'd paid for food on the flight with our AA credit card, so we and they had a record we were on their flight. In addition, I reminded them, they had flown us illegally since they had not scanned our boarding passes. We got our bags after three days, and paying for a lot of international phone calls, and a two-way taxi in Bequia to get to the airport, and missing some dives. The final insult was having to jump through multiple hoops to get mileage credit.
morecowbells
Contributor
Thanks for posting this! Perhaps the competition will start driving prices on these flights downwards. Bonaire has always been an expensive flight for us out of St. Louis. A while back I remember reading a trip report from someone who was traveling to Bonaire; unfortunately, their luggage didn't make the flight. It took 3-4 days since the next flight was midweek. Their luggage ended up getting flown to Amsterdam, then to Bonaire. Not to be a calamity Jane, it is good to think that the options for plan B may be less limited. While AA is not the best ,it is a massive improvement over United or Frontier
choiahoy
Contributor
This is great! Thanks for posting.
For anyone who has not gone through customs at Miami, be sure to schedule enough time on your returning flight if you're connecting. It's taken me around two hours every time.
For anyone who has not gone through customs at Miami, be sure to schedule enough time on your returning flight if you're connecting. It's taken me around two hours every time.
OP
DeputyDan
Contributor
OP
True, but I don't think the Klingons are a luxury carrier - and I would be fearful of the meal service!
I spend upwards of 200 hours a year in the air. I despise all the airlines and the fees they have fabricated to fly them. Where I live the closest large airport is a joke, SYR, flights are unreasonably priced and direct flights are few and far between. I either drive to BUF or ALB, which is 3 1/2 hours one way to have a far better solution. I normally travel with two bags, one is tools and safety equipment, the other is clothes. I try to use Southwest so as to not pay for bags. As for airports to avoid in connections, Newark, Atlanta, LAX, San Francisco, and Miami are at the top of my list. Is there any sure fire carrier, I doubt it. That's my $.05, (raised from $.02 due to inflation) , do yourself a favor and check all the options and carriers when traveling. HAPPY NEW YEARS ALL!!!!!
OP
Here's an article about the new AA flights to Bonaire and it says that if the route is successful they may add mid-week flights on Wednesdays.
American Airlines to Begin Miami-Bonaire-Miami Service in June, 2018 | InfoBonaire
American Airlines to Begin Miami-Bonaire-Miami Service in June, 2018 | InfoBonaire
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