Bonaire with Buddy Pass

[junkyard_dawg]

I'm looking to travel to Bonaire soon.....real soon. I've gotten a buddy pass so I have a stand-by ticket. I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck with accommodations with a buddy pass?

I'd hate to reserve and spend the money for a room and then not make the flight, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to get on a flight but there's no guarantee since it's stand-by.

Any suggestions besides actually purchasing a airline ticket?

Thanks!

Trey

 

[diversteve]

I'm confused - you have a buddy pass? Doesn't that mean you're traveling with your fare paying buddy? In the program I'm in (USAirways) I have to be on the same flight as my buddy. Might want to check that before you commit to a room.

If not, I would pick the oddest day/time that you can fly. In the last several years with all the airline consolidation most flights to the Caribbean that I've been on have been completely full. Several even oversold - to the point where they were offering compensation even before the plane started boarding. Being Non-Revenue you wouldn't have a chance. We used to fly red-eye's to save money also, the last two I've been on were similarly full. One of the best times seems to be Sunday late afternoon now. Except you might run into some last minute travelers trying to get home to go to work on Mon. morning - my dive buddy is one...lol.

I don't think you can camp out overnight at the Bonaire airport on your return if you get bumped there. So you might want to have a backup plan. Wannadive has some fairly cheap accommodations on their website. One option: http://www.divehutbonaire.com/?p=676

You might also look into flying into Curacao and paying for the flight over to Bonaire - it's relatively inexpensive. You can get to Curacao pretty late and still catch the last flight over to Bonaire - there's at least 2 after 6PM IIRC. Although it's contrary to my previous suggestion the best price is - Sat->Sat between Curacao and Bonaire - $54 R/T on Insel Air. Double that M-T, almost triple later in the week.

Bonaire typically runs on a Sat-Sat schedule as the red-eye from Houston arrives Sat. morning. So do the other United flights from the east coast. So the resorts/dive operations etc. are sort of set up for that. So maybe mid-week you might have a better chance of getting there.

Bonaire used to be a negative lift destination meaning that there were more available rooms than flights to fill them. IDK if that's still the case. If you're looking for budget accommodations - there's some options here: http://www.infobonaire.com/hotelbudget.html Anything off the water will obviously be cheaper.

The last time we were in the ABC's in Summer - actually Curacao - there were vacancies everywhere. Our experience with Bonaire a few years earlier was similar. Just don't go around the 4th, the weeks of the Kiteboard tournament or the regatta weeks in Nov.?

 

[herbdb]

The OP is talking about using a buddy pass provided by an airline employee. They travel standby at a pretty low priority level. My take on non-revenue travel is that you just need to be flexible. You should avoid connections as much as possible. The good thing about resort destinations is that most travelers are on a weeklong trip. If there are enough empty seats to get you there, there is a good chance they will be there a week later for the return.

 

[junkyard_dawg]

Like herbdb mentioned its a non revenue ticket that i get from an employee, not actually going with a buddy.Basically if there's a seat available I get to go. I'm learning it has it's pros and cons.

I'm flying delta so there won't be any connections as long as I get on the plane in Atlanta.

I've contacted a few resorts to see what they have done in the past. We will see.

I think if nothing else maybe I could book the same day from the airport.

Thanks for the responses.

 

[herbdb]

We are hoping to make a trip to Bonaire in August using nonrev travel. I have discussed this with Bonaire Pros and they can buy in on a package deal with 24 hours notice. They got us a better deal than we could get booking ourselves on our last trip. If the flight looks iffy, then we will just try again another day. We are lucky because my son is self-employed and I am retired. It would be much harder if you are locked into specific days.

 

[Doc]

I think you'll find the occupancy rates might be low enough to final commit with a phone call as you board the aircraft Southbound.

Ask the resort and some others that might interest you, explain your ticketing- they know how it works. Check their availability (and more importantly- their overall occupancy level). Be flexible in the choice of your accoms, that's the nature of airline pass freebies.

Non-rev tix are pretty low on the priority scale, but I often fly on something called "comp/non-rev" which was explained to me to be "lower than whale s#*t". Before all the 9/11 stuff, I often sat in a flight attendant fold-down or on the jump seat in the cockpit. A wee bit out of my element, either seat.

 

[jewelofnile69]

Wow, this sounds like flying Space A on a military flight. Do you have to be to work the Monday after your planned vacation? That might be the deciding factor for me.