By Chris Kahl on Tuesday, April 3, 2001 - 6:01 pm: |
I would have expected some of the other travelers who were similarly stranded to have beaten me to the punch on this board, but since no one else has started a similar thread of late, here goes...
|
By Kerri Freeman on Tuesday, April 3, 2001 - 8:40 pm: |
Chris, you absolutely have me riveted! I suspect I'm not going to be enamoured of your airline..but so far, I like your style, and the dialogue fairly crackles to a punchline. I think I may collect these stories as Folktales from the Edge.Apparently sane people on the brink! Think of them sort of like fish tales of the one that got away.They get b-i-g-g-e-r and l-o-n-n-n-g-g-er as time goes by.So far, though, happy endings. :-)
|
By Kerri Freeman on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 2:49 am: |
Chris....So you're on an old Macdonald/Douglas with a Red Stripe on your mind and.......?
|
By Chris Kahl on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 11:29 am: |
To my only fan, Kerri:
|
By Cecil Berry on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 12:01 pm: |
Chris, for every overt fan there's 10 lurkers. Looking forward to the rest of the story. If we have to wait to long you'll have to give out comp tickets.
|
By Kerri Freeman on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 12:19 pm: |
Cec is right. And drinks,too. Jut that when us kids come out to play an occasional victim er...newcomer is whelmed,over or under, by us. You,however have the right 'tude. We'll turn on 'island mode' and idle our engines........
|
By James K. Andrews on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 1:15 pm: |
Chris, times up. Lets hear it.
|
By Margy Kahl on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 2:19 pm: |
I have to agree. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds. Especially since I was with him. It makes the whole ordeal seem much more humorous.
|
By Gail Currie on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 3:22 pm: |
Margy - with bated breath (or is that baited) we await - but your posting brought a "LOL" from me -glad everyone else is out at lunch as I read.
|
By Glen Reem on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 3:50 pm: |
Actually, they were in the Twilight Zone. Maybe still
|
By Chris Kahl on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 3:52 pm: |
OK so where was I...
|
By Chris Kahl on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 4:05 pm: |
Oh and by the way, I still have a couple complimentary drink tickets from Air Jamaica that I probably won't be using. I'd gladly let them go in exchange for an ice cold Amstel Bright next time I'm in Kralendijk!:)
|
By Margy Kahl on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 4:18 pm: |
Well, as my husband has so eloquently expressed our experience in Montego Bay was less than enjoyable. We had visited Jamaica for a day last summer only to swear never to return. To our dismay we found ourselves again at the mercy of these natives. Chris failed to say, that he and another member of our bunch, swear that this entire ordeal was orchestrated by Jamaica to keep us in there country to spend money & be treated as dogs. We were extremely relieved when we got back & found that American Eagle will begin to fly to Bonaire. I'd hate to miss going to that wonderful island just because of the airline. I agree that he did make this event sound entirely comical it didn't feel that way at the time. With a party of 9 including 2 small children & a grandmother it was very tense at best. I look forward to going back in the fall as long as it's any other airline & through any other country.
|
By Cecil Berry on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 4:49 pm: |
Wow, what a nightmare. One thing I've heard but not tried is to call the airline to get a flight instead of waiting in line. Anybody tried this trick?
|
By Jake Richter - NetTech on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 5:15 pm: |
That sometime sworks in the U.S. where you can call the toll free number of the air line in question (or your travel agent), and works better when you have some sort of premiere status with the airline in question (generally gets you to an agent more quickly).
|
By nancy edison on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 5:57 pm: |
Methinks I detect several closet (or not so closeted) writers on this board....
|
By Chris Kahl on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 5:59 pm: |
Regarding the phone charges, I neglected to mention that we got nailed for a $28.00 telephone call to the US once at the mercy of our Jamaican hosts. It is emblematic of the kind of institutional thievery that I have encountered in Jamaica before. I'm not sure why the country continues to spend so heavily on tourism ads when it seems they have such obvious contempt for the people who come to their country.
|
By Kerri Freeman on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 8:37 pm: |
Margy. Of course he doesn't listen. It's positively genetic. I say this coming from a tribe that celebrates, yea, verily, commemorates, a man who spent 40 years wandering through the desert. You think you had a group? He had 12 tribes!!. If they'd listened to the women, phht..outta that sand pit in a New York minnit! And I'm not sure Moses had Chris's sense of humour. I can't remember a single 'Thou shalt not' that was fun! :-( Nancy's right. Chris writes like a pro.
|
By Hazel Scharosch on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 8:51 pm: |
Yeah, and that's comin' from a pro, too, Chris. BTW, Kerri, have you ever heard of the WEIR or WIER program out of Toronto, i.e., writers helping students become better writers? There was a brief bleep about it in today's Casper paper...
|
By Richard Deurer on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 9:50 pm: |
Bonaire was nice, but it wasn't worth the hell
|
By Virginia L. Stokes on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 9:53 pm: |
Gee, and I was thinking we would try Air Jamaica on our next trip to Bonaire!! Our recent trip via AA and ALM was idyllic compared to Chris et al's nightmare.
|
By Kerri Freeman on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 10:10 pm: |
Yup, coulda sworn he was talkin' about the palms on that tropical isle called New Yawk. Thought Josie had a good idea. Don't pay the money for departure tax, and the island folk might keep you. Hazel: WEIR or other raises only a faint tinkle, and I may be wrong. Was the group largely for immigrant writers? To find their way around the language and the publishers? That's the last one I remember, a few months ago. Oh, wait...to interest the kids in English studies in school?
|
By Jake Richter - NetTech on Thursday, April 5, 2001 - 10:14 pm: |
Ginny,
|
By Lorraine Meadows on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 7:49 am: |
The"luck of the draw" like I say, traveling Alm in June with my fingers crossed, we seem to make out ok with them. Chris ,I loved your writting style, kept me on the edge of my seat :),such a collective group of artists here!!
|
By Jason on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 11:26 am: |
This is for Ginny as a response to Jakes message.
|
By Niki Harris on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 12:42 pm: |
Chris and Margy, deeply troubling but all too familiar airline saga. Thanks for the dose. Superb writing. I re-read it today just to drop the pit of my stomach, again. Masochist? No, just the holder of a reservation on AJ and a dream of 3 glorious weeks, unspoiled. Oh, yes, please, please... Let us be lucky...
|
By Glen Reem on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 2:34 pm: |
The Nineties weren't such a bad decade after, were
|
By Chris Kahl on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 3:17 pm: |
First of all, I’d like to thank all the regular contributors to this board for their unselfish sharing and help. I was spending far too much time reading the board prior to my trip to Bonaire, eagerly absorbing all I could to make the best use of my short time on the island. This board is a real treasure and I will likely be a regular reader, if not contributor. Thanks for making me feel so welcome!
|
By Jake Richter - NetTech on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 4:17 pm: |
Thanks, Chris :-)
|
By Kerri Freeman on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 5:26 pm: |
Chris. No 'wannabe' about it. You're a writer! Maybe as yet unpaid or unpublished, but hey, you're in good company. Just before Scott Turow became a gazillionaire author, he was a gazillionaire lawyer. It isn't easy breaking-in, but you've got the key, talent. Don't have any inside edge but watch mag, newspapers for writing and essay contests.Maybe do a small scene/story on a vidcam. Shmooze with local writers or head for Sundance festival if you can. You never know what you'll pick up.Maybe work at an ad agency or PBS affiliate if you don't already. The important thing is keep writing. I have worked with lots of junior ad writers who kept going with a lot less than you have shown. If you've heard all of the above before it's because they work. Got something more inventive? Try it. I once got someone to comment that his lawyers didn't let him read stuff, but if he had read my stuff he would do so and so.Here's one easier target, (no laughing) . Romance pocket book types.Quick, formulaic, pays. Not Shakespeare, but not heavy lifting. Detective stuff is very popular with educated ladies,and others. Not sure of the connection. Don't have a scuba hero detective yet as far as I know. You wannit it's yours. If I can help, drop an e-mail.
|
By Kerri Freeman on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 5:32 pm: |
Jake, a cold? in Bonaire? What will I have left to believe in? Gezhundeit, Diver Boy. Get better soon. Your brain looks like it's working fine to me. But, how would I know about such a thing?
|
By Glen Reem on Friday, April 6, 2001 - 5:47 pm: |
The a/c does it every time!!!
|
By Anonymous on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 4:43 am: |
I've got preflight jitters and totally can't sleep. After reading Chris's nightmare with Air Jamaica, I may never sleep again...I'll be flying to Bonaire 4/28 in the early AM with AJ from JFK to Montego Bay then(ALM)to Bonaire. I've already experienced some problems with their customer service dept the other day, when I called to confirm carry-on regulations...(When we purchased the tickets by phone, I asked about carry-ons and the rep told me that we were allowed (2) per person...I was delighted!! We hate checking our luggage) Anyway, she continued to ask if I was in first or economy and I said what difference does it make, I was purchasing tickets from the person, they knew which class I was booking. I was still misinformed and her reply was "well, we can't allow everybody in economy to bring 2 bags on board we wouldn't have enough overhead room then she accused me of misunderstanding what the initial rep told me...I was not about to argue with her, but I was furious and demanded to speak to a supervisor, after being on hold for 15-20 minutes, I was not about to hang up, I was on a mission to set the story straight...when the supervisor finally came on...I told her the whole story and I assured her that I know the difference between a carry-on and a checked bag and didn't think that some of their reps did nor convey themselves properly. She quoted FAA regulations and said each person is allowed 1 carry-on item and 2 checked bags. So I said "1 item?" why did the rep tell me otherwise if this is regulation, shouldn't they know this when asked...no reply. What if a person had a regulation sized carry-on and a mid-sized purse - Her reply was "that would be more than 1" I said to her I'm glad you can add and that she should pass a word to the higher-ups about their training techniques...I got an apology..but it was a non-winning battle. Thanks for reading...I hope I have better luck than Chris on dates of depart and return.
|
By Scott Saltsgaver on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 8:00 am: |
Just flew back Air Jamaica last Sat. no problems, holding connecting flight to BWI for 4 people. No problems with any carry ons, I had 2(back pack and computer case). Would say that Mo Bay airport is a dump, but a bar near the gate where you board for Bonaire. I will say that the crews on Air Jamaica could take some personality lessons from the flight crews of Air ALM, I could really see the difference in how the crews interact with the passengers, Air ALM's crews win hands down.
|
By Jason on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 3:16 pm: |
Just a thought on baggage.. I belive the general rules are covered by the Geneva Convention which had something like three total (checked and carry on)Domestcially most airlines allow two of those to be carry ons which has lead to our airline zoo of monster bags..
|
By Kelly Hirsh on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 4:35 pm: |
I clearly remember the argument "if she can carry a purse so can I" !!!
|
By Jason on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 5:51 pm: |
I AM NOT GIVING UP MY PURSE!!!!!
|
By Brian J. Walsh on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 11:04 pm: |
I have to echo what Scott said above, I think we shared a flight from Bonaire to Mo Bay on 4/21. They also held the Phila flight for 27 passengers from Bonaire. On AJ I got to Philadelphia at the same time as I got in last year 10 PM. But on ALM I left Bonaire at 0730 vs 4 Pm on Air Jamaica. I also noticed a lot of folks with 2-3 carry on bags on all 4 legs of my flight. My group did feel that service was better on ALM as was the food.
|
By Kelly Hirsh on Wednesday, April 25, 2001 - 11:28 pm: |
I don't blame you Jay, they would never think to look in there for the 95's..
|
By Meryl Virga on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 7:03 pm: |
Chris,...we travel to Bonaire twice a year...either Alm or lately switching to AJ...with ALm we have learned to expect "something" and arrange to have a just in case day later arrival......just in case....we have experienced lost luggage at Christmas time....arriving in Bonaire in Winter Wear! and no gear....and finding no gear for rent on the island cause it was the holidays...! We had to buy new gear...(we now have two sets...one we pack one we take with us in carry on) but it makes for a little more "flavor of the islands" if you expect something to happen....and if it doesnt...you can sit back and watch the stress build quickly at the customer service isle....
|
By Carole Baker on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 7:33 pm: |
Herman Wouk's book, "Don't Stop the Carnival" is "MUST"/required reading for anyone who travels the smaller islands of the Caribbean. Definitely worth reading! Carole
|
By Chris Kahl on Friday, June 22, 2001 - 10:53 am: |
To Carole and Meryl....(wait a minute- wasn't there a Carol Merrill on "Let's Make a Deal"??)
|
By Carole Baker on Friday, June 22, 2001 - 3:03 pm: |
You're kids are OK in my book! I want to move to Bonaire too!! Hopefully your next trip to Bonaire will not be as "eventful" as this past one. Try to remember the "good times" on the island and block out the ordeal on the way back to the Mainland. Ayo. Carole
|
By Dave Krause on Friday, June 29, 2001 - 3:50 pm: |
Air Jamaica treated us fairly well when we missed our connection in Montego Bay to Philly. They put us on a plane to Newark and said they would have cars waiting to deliver us home. We were all skeptical about finding an agent let alone a car after customs in Newark, but lo and behold they delivered. My only problem was the cab driver barely spoke English, asked ME how to get to Philly from Newark, and his gas guage dropped towards empty as we honed in on the Philly area! All said and done we wandered into our front door at 2am instead of say 11pm. I've seen worse.
|
Visit: The Bonaire WebCams - Current Bonaire images and weather!
The Bonaire Insider - the latest tourism news about Bonaire
The Bonaire Information Site, InfoBonaire
Search Bonaire - Search top Bonaire Web sites