Seems like AA is the only choice out of EWR and an arrival time on BON of 8:45!!! UGH.. any other suggestions out there??? I really dont like that late arrival time..

Yes, Air Jamaica. They fly via Montego Bay. They leave NY area around 8am and arrive Bonaire about 2:15pm. On the return you leave Bonaire about 3pm arrive NY/NJ about 9:45pm.

Is AJ a Safe Airline?? The arrival time is perfect, but i'm a bit leery, to convince my wife to fly them..

i hope they're safe, we bought tickets for our son and daughter in law to fly down and visit us in march. i haven't heard many bad things about them (the airline, not the kids)...just the usual lost luggage complaints that happen with all airlines on occasion. i have heard that they will hold the plane in mobay until the connecting flights arrive...good news if you are delayed by weather.

Joe, AJ is great. They are a port o call so you don't have to go through customs twice like you do with AA in San Juan on your return flight. We took them the first time...LAX to BON and were impressed with the service as well. Took AA last time and suffered 2 broken planes and it took 26 hours to get there! Plus, like I said, on the return you have to go through customs in Bonaire, as well as San Juan...relax mon...

Joe they are terrific!! They have the nicest flight attendants and good service.. we fly out of Newark to Bon when we go.. Also when the attendants come around and ask what you want to drink try the TING!! yummy grapefruit!!!

SAFE !??!!??! you are going to strap your butt in a aluminum can, use kerosene burning turbines to drive you 35,000 feet in the air and then land on a asphalt postage stamp at over 100 miles per hour and you wanna know if AJ is safe !!

Jeeez, I remember was sex was safe and diving was dangerous.

Another difference is that with AJ you're on jets all the way, on AA, you're on a prop (do the raspberry sound w/your lips for nearly 2 hours & see how you like that) from SJU/BON.

Ah, the spoiled children of this modern era of air travel!!!

When you have flown in piston engine propellor driven passenger planes, not speedy turbo-prop planes, flying through weather at 8-10,000 feet and 250 mph, you are allowed to go 'ugh' at modern, swift air travel that takes one day from NE US to Bonaire. Or 7 hours on AJ. :–)

AE's planes SJ to/from BON are lower and slower than AJ's jets but really not bad. Both airlines have their good and bad days (mine on AJ). To me, the choice is a matter of when you want to leave. Early from EWR on the way down (AJ) or early from Bonaire on return (AE). I live an hour from EWR so 5 am arrival there (for security, though that flight seems to clear quickly) is more of a nuisance than a 10 minute ride to Flamingo airport on Bonaire.

"You pays your money and takes your choice.' The important thing is that it is Bonaire on the other end.

It has seemed to me that the AA flights seem to still have more legroom in the NY to SJU leg. Anybody ?

Air Jamaica has a fairly young fleet of Airbus jet aircraft. Airbus surpassed Boeing in airliner sales so they must be doing something right. Yes, AJ is every bit as safe as the major US airlines.

Air Jamaica is the way to go out of Newark. EWR right into Montego Bay and then jump on another airbus jet right into Bonaire. The crews are fabulous, great service, new fleet and you are in the water by the afternoon of the same day you leave EWR. Can't beat that!! We have flown them several times and will be doing so again in June. Check them out, for sure. Carole

Have to ring in here! We fly AJ out of Newark at least 2-3 times a year to Bonaire. They are excellent. The layover time is short and perfect in Montego Bay. We get off the plane in Montego Bay and use the restroom (clean) then go downstairs to the duty free mall (its small, but has everything you need). We get cigs for family ( usually on way back) and Rum for us in Bonaire. We sit, have drink then before you know it you are off to board. I think the layover is just over an hour. They offer champagne, beer and wine, soda, juice, free on the flights. The food is also decent for airline food. You can have pancakes and sausage or a cheese omlete with home fries. (EWR to Montego) and a snack of a mini jerk chicken and cheese sub with sweet cake snack (Montego to Bonaire). Returning they offer you fish or jerk chicken for dinner. I've always had the chicken. Excellent. Go to www.airjamaica.com and click in the upper right corner for specials. They usually have great specials to Bonaire in Feb/Mar timeframe. I also like the fact that I can set up my profile and pick my seats right on line. Good luck and enjoy!

cynde, could you clarify what you mean about going thru customs in bonaire and san juan on the return? we never went thru customs in bonaire while returning. they did hand-check our checked luggage but i think that is because they don't have the x-ray equipment that will handle checked luggage like larger airports do. if we would have been travelling with only a carryon we could have gone right thru the security check and into the lounge area. then we did go thru customs and immigration in san juan (much better than miami i might add)

Gee Glenn, I thought that one nice thing about AJ was that you got on the island early and left later in the day. I guess your way you have an easier exit from and reentry to home. Of course I am not an hour from JFK.

we live about midway between EWR and Philly, so either is easy for me..I guess we'll give that AJ a go.. They must be doing something right.. Hearing they have some sort of open seating system where everyone just piles in like it's a school bus or something..

I also love AJ. It's great! I just want to clarify that there are assigned seats, but they call you up to board all at once.

We have flown AJ 4 times a year since they started flying to Bonaire. We have a very tight connection from Baltimore and sometimes have missed the connection. If this happens, they put you up in an all inclusive hotel -all meals, drinks, etc. paid for. And they handle all transportation and customs, etc. You can't beat that. How many times we sat in Miami, Curacao, San Juan for 48 hours with a " no problem, soon, ze plane come soon" attitude! Not to mention lost luggage. Also, AJ was the first International airline to fly back into the US after 911. Their security is tops.

Really??? Well that is comforting.. I just hope they maintain their fleet.. The wife has visions of rasta-men flyin us there.. OH BROTHER!!

we flew aj years ago from atlanta to mobay and were impressed with the plane and the flight crew. it was a widebody plane and the crew seemed very efficient.

WE GO TO BONAIRE FROM NEWARK AND THIS YEAR WE ARE TAKING AA TO CURACAO THEN EITHER BONAIREXCEL OR DIVI DIVI TO BONAIRE. HOURS ARE GOOD
RALPH

Ahhh yes, DC3's. Old, slow and bumpy, but there are still approx 1500 still flying around the world. There are two flying out of Orange County, one out of Long Beach, and one out of Brown Field near San Diego here in SoCal that I know of. I have seen them all with my very own blue eyeballs and have flown into and out of Mexico on the one at Brown Field.