Flying from Texas

[BradMM]

In the past, it seemed that you could only fly in and out of Bonaire one day a week. That seems to have changed. However, looking at different sites shows me pretty widely different prices. Anybody have any suggestions for flying out of San Antonio?

 

[boat sju]

Delta flies ATL to Bonaire. United flies from Newark to Bonaire or Houston to Bonaire. I think AA goes through Miami. Since you can theoretically drive to Houston I would think that would be your first choice.

The days they fly varies throughout the year but I believe United sticks to Saturdays. Someone will correct me here shortly I'm sure

 

[ibj40]

Delta flies ATL to Bonaire. United flies from Newark to Bonaire or Houston to Bonaire. I think AA goes through Miami. Since you can theoretically drive to Houston I would think that would be your first choice.

The days they fly varies throughout the year but I believe United sticks to Saturdays. Someone will correct me here shortly I'm sure

You do realize it is over 200 miles from San Antonio to Houston, right?

 

[boat sju]

You do realize it is over 200 miles from San Antonio to Houston, right?

Yep. Three hour drive is doable. Or a commuter plane out of San Antonio.

I'm thinking about driving to Cleveland from Lansing rather than Detroit. Airfare is maybe $300 less. Per person that becomes significant.

 

[AggieDiver]

By the time you get to the airport early enough to park, check bags, go through security, board the plane, then fly to Houston and transit from Terminal B to one of the International terminals, you are going to take about as much time as driving to Houston would take.

 

[gopbroek]

Disclaimer, I work for an airline and the whole byzantine black art of revenue management sucks. We know it and you know it. Any attempts by individual airlines to unravel it have ended in flames. The only thing in its favor is it is not as ethically corrupt as the last billing from your friendly health care provider.

Travel from hubs is often more expensive than travel from an outlying city via a regional aircraft. This is due to market forces. If you live in the Houston area you will fly United, in Dallas American and Atlanta Delta. It’s a captive market and over time it’s been proven by bookings.

Away from a hub market forces come into play and it is typically cheaper if the city you depart from has multiple options for travel. As an example from SAT the options the weekend after next the prices run around $840, from IAH $909, from AUS 808, Killeen $830, DFW $1144, ATL 1132, MIA $749.

 

[Trailboss123]

Delta flies ATL to Bonaire. United flies from Newark to Bonaire or Houston to Bonaire. I think AA goes through Miami. Since you can theoretically drive to Houston I would think that would be your first choice.

The days they fly varies throughout the year but I believe United sticks to Saturdays. Someone will correct me here shortly I'm sure

Correct- United flies from Houston on Saturday only and returns from Bonaire to Houston on Sunday only.

 

[Altamira]

FWIW, San Antonio (SAT) is my closest airport, but rarely find the prices cheaper than flying to a destination if I have to connect through Houston anyway. For me, when I consider the usual extra cost, the time spent driving to SAT, getting there early enough to deal with security, etc., wondering if my originating flight is actually going to go as scheduled, planning backup contingencies, worrying if my checked bags will make the connection, and then when I get to Houston, having to wait again for my departing flight, I generally prefer the easy 3 hour drive to Houston. As a retired airline pilot, I would do almost anything reasonable to avoid connecting flights. I rarely get screwed when I do a 3 hour drive to take a non-stop flight instead of using connecting flights.

 

[AggieDiver]

I rarely get screwed when I do a 3 hour drive to take a non-stop flight instead of using connecting flights.

Give United a chance...they will find a way to screw up even a non-stop flight. Two years ago, we flew non-stop from Houston to Grand Cayman on United. We checked in about 2 hours ahead of the flight with 2 checked bags. Only one of them made it to GC. The other was apparently lost somewhere in Houston for 3 days before United could find it and get it sent to meet us. In the meantime, their superb Indian and Ukrainian customer support team members were absolutely no help whatsoever in telling me where my bag was or what was going to be done to get it to me. They were terribly confused by the fact that I had flown in to one island (Grand Cayman), but was now at a hotel on a different island (Little Cayman), and kept insisting that a driver would bring the bag to my hotel as soon as it arrived in Grand Cayman. They didn't get the joke when I told them he had better be driving a submarine.

 

[Altamira]

Give United a chance...they will find a way to screw up even a non-stop flight. Two years ago, we flew non-stop from Houston to Grand Cayman on United. We checked in about 2 hours ahead of the flight with 2 checked bags. Only one of them made it to GC. The other was apparently lost somewhere in Houston for 3 days before United could find it and get it sent to meet us. In the meantime, their superb Indian and Ukrainian customer support team members were absolutely no help whatsoever in telling me where my bag was or what was going to be done to get it to me. They were terribly confused by the fact that I had flown in to one island (Grand Cayman), but was now at a hotel on a different island (Little Cayman), and kept insisting that a driver would bring the bag to my hotel as soon as it arrived in Grand Cayman. They didn't get the joke when I told them he had better be driving a submarine.

United is not very different from any other airline, including those higher rated like SW. Without question, all airlines are going to screw up things on occasion with cancelled/late/oversold flights, lost/delayed/damaged/pilfered bags, etc. We have all been there! However, you have a significantly reduced opportunity for problems on a non-stop flight, and I can say that with certainty having had to do a two leg commute to domicile for many years.