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Getting to Bonaire: ALM....there has to be a better way!
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 1999-06-02 to 2001-12-31: ALM....there has to be a better way!
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cheryl A. Roberts on Friday, May 12, 2000 - 9:22 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Friday, May 12th

Hi folks!

I'm back! After hearing ALL the horror stories about ALM and after defending them from our 2 years of GOOD experiences, I now can say I will NEVER fly ALM again, if it can be avoided! I will come in a canoe before I will allow that airline to take my money and treat me with such disdain and disregard.

We arrived in Curacao on Thursday, May 4th, on time from San Juan. They kept us waiting in the imbarkation area for a boarding pass, as no one would come into the area and issue them. They announced our flight to Bonaire was departing and still no one was issuing boarding passes! So we had to take the next flight. Ok, it was not so bad and we took it in good humor...grabbing some Amstel's and settling down to wait out the 2 hours until the next flight. Big sigh and realization that we were "on vacation" made it ok.

The week was GREAT! I will post some dining and dving info on that in the appropriate places for those that are interested. Finally met Jake, Linda and their 2 darling children. Thanks for the company and dinner, guys! It was fun and I hope ya'll have a nice family vacation in Saba.

Back to ALM.........everything that could go wrong in getting us home, did. We reconfirmed the reservations through our hotel. She told us there was a problem of some sort with our reservation and we needed to go to the airport early. We got there(Thursday morning, May 11th) 2+ hours early only to be told they couldn't find our reservation. The agent told us that since we were "no show" for our flight from Curacao to Bonaire, our reservation was dropped. "Uh, miss, we are HERE, right?" We explained about the airplane departing 10 minutes early (but our bags went on that flight, figure that one out!). Anyway, that was the first explaination of our growing problem. Next Dennis was to go to the reservations area and talk to the agent. I stayed by the check in area with the bags. After a few minutes I could hear Dennis becoming stressed and upset with the agent so I moved our bags over to the chairs and settled in with my book...I knew this would take some time! Dennis came over to tell me we could spend $800 and go to Miami or wait a day and go tomorrow morning. ALM canceled all but 1 flight to San Juan and the only flight departs at 730 am. We got no other options or assistance from ALM, it was take it or leave it......pay or stay.....who cares!

We stayed the extra day at our expense which turned out to be the wrong thing to do. We called home to tell our kids and sitter it would be another day to find that Dennis's mother is in ICU and it was too late to get back to the airport for the Miami flight. So that put a definite damper on our "extra" day.

This morning, at 6:15 am, we got our taxi to the airport, checked the bags to San Juan (they wouldn't check them thru to Atlanta) and waited for the plane to Curacao. It was late departing so we ran to the next gate as they were calling to load for San Juan. Ok, we made it! I asked the agent at the gate if our bags would make the transfer ok since the planes were only 50 feet apart and she assured me that they would make it and then mumbled "eventually" under her breath. Hmmmmmm.

Got to San Juan, go to customs....guess what! No bags! yep, ALM does it again and again! United took the information and says that maybe they will come tomorrow and if they do, they will send them to Delta who will in turn bring them to us in Atlanta.

Everyone talks about this and there just has to be something that can be done. If American Airlines commuter, American Eagle were there, you could just about bet the farm that this sort of thing wouldn't happen AND if it did, they would CARE enough to assist and compensate their patrons, not demean, insult and anger them.

Hopefully all my luggage will be here soon and if not, I sure am glad I buy that extra baggage insurance through American Express everytime I travel on ALM! I just hate to lose all my dive gear......shoes......shorts......swimsuits......

WHAT A MESS!

Cheryl

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mickey McCarthy on Friday, May 12, 2000 - 10:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Getting to Bonaire is going to become harder and harder. Michael said a few months ago that the government was going to cut back funds even more in June, I think.
ALM only has 7 airplanes, 4 Dash 8s and 3 MD83s
that dosn`t give them much slack if they have a problem.
I hope some other airline comes into the picture soon. Mickey

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lorraine Meadows on Friday, May 12, 2000 - 10:21 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Cheryl,Welcome Home!
Hope your luggage finds it's way home.I'm holding my breath with ALM,optomistic our flights go OK.I
have to check out the American connection through Aruba or Curacoa for next time.
Glad you had a great time,could you post your trip report this week so I can read it before we go? Jake mentioned that you went to dinner with them. Cann't wait to hear. Wishes for your mother-in-law's improvement. Regards, Lorraine

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cheryl A. Roberts on Saturday, May 13, 2000 - 9:09 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I have 2 words for future travels to Bonaire....


Air Jamaica


Cheryl

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By thomas brossard on Saturday, May 13, 2000 - 1:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Well, I understand and sympathize with the ALM situation and hope it can be resolved somehow, but I caution you not to praise "other" airlines for their competence, as I can tell you an American/American Eagle story (of ours) in which they showed no care, help or concern for us in a situation THEY created...

ALM may not be perfect, hell they may be the worst. But, as I've said before, if you vow to never fly on any airline that mistreats you, you will soon be heading to Bonaire by boat!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lorraine Meadows on Saturday, May 13, 2000 - 4:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

It's always worth the hassel in the end, but wouldn't it be great if more major airlines would committ themselves to direct flights from US hubs.
I guess the "traffic" dosen't make it feaseable.But I like that fact about Bonaire.Cann't have it both ways.
Originally in "86, the first time we came to Bonaire, American had a direct flight from JFK, what a dream, but they pulled it the next year over the years it's been an adventure with layovers all over the place, but it's never stopped us from coming back, we just take it in stride, and have been pretty lucky lately, so let's see how this trip is going to be.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kitty Lee on Sunday, May 14, 2000 - 6:56 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Cheryl,
We ( a family of five) are flying to Bonaire Friday, July 21 and coming home Sunday July 30. Our carrier is United and we hook up with ALM in Miami, are routed through Curacao, then to Bonaire. Are there any stratagies that we can use to at least be on top of problems before they get out of hand.

When we visited Bonaire 3 years ago we Flew out of Baltimore with Air Aruba through Aruba, and then to Bonaire. We ran into problems with them because they cancelled our flight to return home. We ended up cutting one day off of our stay in Bonaire and picking up an extra day in Aruba so we could make our connection.

I was hoping things would go smoother this time. We have three teenage sons who are not patient travelers. Of course it has been my experience that teenagers are never patient with anything!!!!

Any suggestions?
Thanks
Kitty

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Irene Belliveau on Sunday, May 14, 2000 - 10:55 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Have to tell our trip with ALM was acceptable. We left from Miami May 6, yes it was 2 hrs late, and had a direct flight from there. Check in, luggage claim, all without a hitch. We even had a great meal(hot)on board. Because of being late, we all got a free cocktail. Leaving same scenerio, but exactly on time.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Clay Lansdown on Sunday, May 14, 2000 - 11:08 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Although I am not particularly a fan of ALM, I have to say that we just got back from our 4th Bonaire visit last night at 11:30pm via ALM and United and the only delay was about an hour in Curacao on the trip out. The only luggage lost among the people staying at the Carib Inn was one of two bags for a guy flying Air Jamaica. Note that since Air Jamaica only comes in on Saturday, any delayed luggage seems to be at least a week late.
We stayed two great weeks. If you were looking at the webcam last Tuesday morning and saw a guy taking a picture of the webcam, that was me.

We made a dive at Forest which is one of the badly damaged sites on the backside of Klein.
Although it was sad to see the damage, it was still a very interesting dive. There is a whole new ecology thriving.

I think below is an interesting ALM story. Now read it carefully because on first reading you will probably say "What?!!!!".
Our friends were scheduled to leave Bonaire at 7:00 or so in the morning and lay over in Curacao for 5 hours before getting their flight to Miami. They found out that we had a direct non-stop flight from Bonaire to Miami leaving at 1:50 pm. When they checked they discovered that they were flying to Curacao to get on the plane that came back to Bonaire to pick up people for the direct to Miami flight.
That's not a mis-statement folks!! They were told that they couldn't just wait for the 1:50 flight because the plane was full. When they pointed out that they were two of the people that were making it full and flying to Curacao get on it and come back to Bonaire made no sense, the ticket agent made a call to someone and got their tickets changed.
Clay

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cheryl A. Roberts on Sunday, May 14, 2000 - 11:28 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kitty,

I believe if at all possible, you should not check baggage. We saw a great deal of folks bringing their baggage to the gate for check in right beside the airplane....maybe that would do it, but since you need so little clothes there, maybe you 5 could each carry a backpack and a small duffle with your clothing and necessities. Definitely reconfirm your flight 72 hours, 48 hours and 24 hours from departure....not that that does one heck of a lot of good since they canceled our flight the morning that we were to leave. Before you leave the airport in Bonaire go to the reservation desk and reconfirm your flight then, giving them your hotel name so that if there are changes they might call you there. Be early to the airport. Make sure the teens have plenty of snacks, CD's, game boys, batteries and books. Remember you can use the laundry service on the island or wash things out and hang them to dry (stuff dries QUICK there) so you really don't need to overpack. I like to go out to dinner in a sundress but we saw all types of dress at dinner, from nice resort wear to pretty darn bummy! My luggage made it in late last night so I am in a better frame of mind now but I was worried that it would die a slow death in San Juan since ALM wouldn't check it through to Atlanta. I will never overpack again! The folks at United gave me a great Mother's Day present......my underwear!

Cheryl

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Deal on Monday, May 15, 2000 - 6:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Cheryl:
Glad to hear that your wandering luggage arrived and that the trip itself (at least the part spent in Bonaire) was so rewarding. I have to agree with your statement about Amex luggage insurance...it seems a bit pricey, but for certain trips it is indispensible.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cheryl A. Roberts on Monday, May 15, 2000 - 7:04 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Just a quick note: American Express is going to dispute my airfare charges with ALM. I really don't know if that will do any good, but we can see.

When ALM cancels 3 out of 4 daily flights, the morning of the flight, leaving only the earliest flight running, don't you think they realize that some folks HAVE to go home and will pay to get there? Had we known in time that Dennis' mother was in ICU, we would have paid $800 to get home, by way of Miami, in a heartbeat! There are folks that HAVE to get home to work, appointments, children, etc...and staying another day just isn't an option. It smacks of extortion, IMHO.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Clint Hough on Tuesday, May 16, 2000 - 9:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Bonaire Chamber of Commerce needs to get involved before it is to late! On my way to Bonaire last week, I traveled American to Curacao and ALM to Bonaire. I had purchased and paid for my tickets with American 4 mths. earlier. When we got to Curacao and checked in for our afternoon flight to Bonaire on ALM, we were informed by ALM that because American had not picked our seats on ALM, we had been droped from the flight and they didn't know what day they could get us to Bonaire. A couple from Canada, on our same flight, had heard about this problem and had booked direct with ALM and paid ALM direct and had no problems. The American Airline Manager in Curacao said my experience is an ongoing problem that occurs every day! (GO FIGURE?) I can't believe someone powerful in Bonaire can't do something about this! I finally got to Bonaire that evening, 2 flights later, because and only because I am 6'4" and weigh 225 lbs. and stayed in the American managers face for 2 1/2 hours and he was so sick of me I think he would have bought the seats himself to get rid of me and my friends. Travelers BEWARE!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Peggy Bowen on Tuesday, May 16, 2000 - 11:24 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

American and ALM have been going ring around a rosy for years. The original problem was luggage. The little planes couldn't take it all from Bonaire to Curacao when you were leaving. American would then have to deliver your luggage to your house - because it would miss all the connections and get stuck in customs. And that cost wasn't paid by ALM. In those early years, you took your luggage to the airport early and hoped it got on a flight before the one you were on. And you picked it up in Curucao and walked it to American to check it in.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael gaynor on Wednesday, May 17, 2000 - 7:52 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

It is also American's policy not to accept luggage that is transferred from another carrier on international flights from airlines that do not have as strict a contraband detection system, therefore, one must persoally recheck luggage withe AA on the return flight. It is also just petty politcs as well and gross inefficentcy.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mary Lou French on Wednesday, May 17, 2000 - 8:13 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Michael, about transferring luggage, when you fly from Bonaire into Miami on ALM then switch to AA do you have to pick up your luggage from ALM and recheck it with AA? We are coming to Bonaire in July and flying ALM and AA. Thanks for any info.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael gaynor on Wednesday, May 17, 2000 - 5:52 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

You can check it through to your final destination, however, since Miami is your first port of entry in the USA, you do have to pick it up to clear customs. Once you are throgh customs, AA has a counter outside the arrivals hall where they will take your luggage.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Katherine Miller on Sunday, May 21, 2000 - 9:16 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

the Air Jamaica flights are models of efficiency. they fly passengers in from the gateway cities (NY, Newark, Phildelphia, Baltimore, Miami, Atlanta, Chicago and LA) to Montego Bay. then from there direct to Bonaire. they tag the luggage and it makes it even with a tight connection. The reverse is true on the way home. The layover time in Montego Bay is minimal. It costs a bit more than ALM. It is the best connection we've found from Phila (leave at 8:30 in the am and arrive in Bonaire at 2:30 or 3:30 pm) All ALM flights take at least 12 hours becuse there re 2 or 3 stops.
We have taken it twice and its been great. Obviously weather in the US can upset plans. Now Air Jamaica is flying on Sat only but I hear they will add another mid week flight.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Clay Lansdown on Sunday, May 21, 2000 - 10:24 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I am glad to see an alternative to ALM, but Air Janmaica (like any airline) isn't perfect. Two weeks ago,one of the people staying at the resort we were at came in on Air Jamaica and had one of two pieces of luggage missing. Since they only have Saturday flights right now, his bag was not going to arrive before he left.
We are investigating using Air Jamaica next year,but I will still carry my dive gear on board with me.
By the way, two frog fish have taken up residence on a sunken metal boat in front of the Divi and I was able to get several pictures. That's only the second time I have seen frogfish, they are hard to see!!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Richter - NetTech on Monday, May 22, 2000 - 3:52 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

After arriving in Miami on our way to Bonaire, we always go to the ALM counter and check-in. We already have checked our bags through to Bonaire from Boston but we still check-in again directly with ALM. This is also the best place to check for delays.

On one trip, American Airlines told my family our ALM flights were cancelled two weeks prior, yet our friends checking in 15 minutes early showed flights. We forced AA to check us into Miami and of course, our ALM flights were fine when we made it to Miami.

 


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