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Getting to Bonaire: American Airlines Aruba update
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 1999-06-02 to 2001-12-31: American Airlines Aruba update
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By alan markus on Friday, December 28, 2001 - 3:24 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Just got done talking to American who have cancelled or will be cancelling all the Aruba/Bonaire flights (for now or so they say).
Have had to rebook via San Jaun for the 10th of January, and will at least arrive the same day - for now. They may also increase (yah right) the number of flights between San Jaun and Bonaire which is at least somewhat of a plus, if they do it.
But of course it is not the 10th yet either.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Denise L. Kacavas on Friday, December 28, 2001 - 3:48 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

alan, good luck - for sure will be worth the aggravation :-(

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DIVER DEBBI on Friday, December 28, 2001 - 4:01 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Yeah...have the same connection change..will arrive in Bonaire 4 hours later than originally scheduled but at least still on the same day...for now. Our guests are arriving 5 hours before us at Flamingo airport, any suggestions as to what they van do untill we arrive and obtain the transportation? Is there a luggage hold area at airport ??maybe they could walk across the street to beach area for awhile

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jan Klos on Friday, December 28, 2001 - 6:24 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Debbi,
Are you flying out of Boston-----Where are you staying? if your guests get in earlier then you - have them pick up groceries etc-- you might want a stiff (or soft)cold drink when you get in

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By alan markus on Friday, December 28, 2001 - 6:30 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Debbi:
As far as I know, there is no place to check luggage at the airport. There are taxis available, so maybe your guests can just go to wherever it is you are all staying and meet you there.
They can wait at the bar (for 5 hours I wonder what they will look like when you get there...if you get there on time)
Across the street...beach...I don't think this is going to work. They could take a taxi to the beach at the Plaza, which is not far, and you could pick them up there... (the beach is semi public so that is an option).
Hopefully some of the locals can come up with better suggestions...

Keep our fingers crossed that American doesn't cross us up again.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 1:12 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Debbi,

I'll second what Alan says. Have them take a Taxi ($10-20 fare to anywhere on Bonaire) to where you'll all be staying and meet you there. They will be more comfortable that way. And if the apartment/room/etc. is in your name, I think you'll find the people who manage the place you'll be staying in amenable to letting your friends check in ahead of you.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kay Powers on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 1:34 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We were re-routed again (3rd time)through American. New Orleans to Miami, Miami to Aruba, Aruba to San Juan, San Juan to Bonaire. Anyone know if another airline flies from Aruba to Bonaire? Doesn't make sense to get to Aruba and then fly to San Juan to get to Bonaire! I can already sense the need for rum punches.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 1:52 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kay,

Is this for the next trip?

Get them to change it to be MSY-MIA-SJU-BON (skip the whole Aruba leg - explain to them that it's wasteful, and that it doesn't make sense to land you within 80 miles of Bonaire, only to fly you 500 miles away and then back again). There are two different flights from MIA to SJU that you could get to when flying from MSY (NOLA). You may even be able to go through DFW or Dulles in Virgina (both out of the way though), in less stops than the alternative they are recommending.

If they won't do it for you, ask for a supervisor - tell them you read on BonaireTalk that this was effective for another number of people inconvenienced by the drop of the BON/AUA route :-)

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Anonymous on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 5:51 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ok so has American Eagle stopped flying from Aruba to Bonaire

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glen Reem on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 6:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Or threaten to book to/from SJU with another airline. Many go there from the US.

The AA Flight Planner today shows Aruba connections for 4 Jan but by Feb they are gone; only through MIA, ATL and IAH to SJU. I wonder if the agents are seeing the AUA-BON cancellation and ad lib-ing w/ the AUA-SJU nonsense. The online planner can tell you what is available even if you like to book through a person.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glen Reem on Saturday, December 29, 2001 - 6:15 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The Planner shows 3 airlines for the US part of the trip: AA, DL and Continental.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kay Powers on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 2:00 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jake,

When they changed the flights yesterday they informed me that the MIA-SJ-Bonaire was full on the 8th which is the day we are coming in. We could take that route the 9th and arrive at 8:45pm which is the same time we will arrive with the added stop on the 8th. I just thought if there was a cheap flight on another airline out of Aruba to Bonaire we'd skip the Aruba - SJ leg and possibly arrive earlier than 8:45. Rae thinks by the time we leave on the 8th with all the schedule changes we'll be flying for 9 days and diving for one! Trying to keep his nerves calm before he is convinced to go to Belize. :-(

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 11:07 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kay - there are two MIA-SJU flights each day that you could connect with from MSY. As far as SJU-BON being full - considering they only have one flight a day, and they already said they'd book you on it, can't be full (unless they aren't taking your existing reservations into account - e.g. you already have seats in your name but they're not taking that into account when checking availability).

Other than DCE/DCA/ALM or whatever they are calling themselves, there's no other commercial air service from Aruba that will get you to Bonaire (and they stop in Curacao first).

Anonymous - no official word yet, but all indications are that the route has been cancelled (the flights don't show up in the AA booking system beyond January 6th, and I checked all the way to May; a BTer has reported being told by AA that the flights have been cancelled; and local sources on Bonaire indicate a change is up as well). Pretty sad, but I suspect overall market economics have something to do with this.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glen Reem on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 7:41 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I wonder if there isn't also some DCE/Curacao government business in this, as I gather there was in ALM's exclusive rights to BON-CUR.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 7:49 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

May well be Glen. Bonaire's been trying to get rights via a local company to fly that route, and then lease the route to/via American, the idea being that American, one way or another, would be able to offer BON/CUR/AUA flights individually and in combination. The BON/AUA flights were supposed to be the start of that, with the BON/CUR flights to have started first on Oct 15th, then Nov. 15th, then Dec. 15th, and now perhaps sometime after the parliamentary elections in the Antilles (on the 18th of January I think).

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daniel Senie on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 11:23 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

It'd be nice if American could be talked into flying MIA-CUR-BON-MIA with the 727 they run MIA-CUR-MIA daily. That would put folks on Bonaire on a better schedule, and cut down the trip time substantially. Would be a lot easier on the ears than the ATR72 as well.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kay The Maniac on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 12:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jake,

I guess I wasn't clear in my post but what American told me was the MIA-SJ was booked on the 8th. I did call them this morning again and the agent said she didn't understand why they booked us MSY-MIA-ARUBA-SJ-BON. She did change us to MSY-MIA-SJ-BON. I was going to request first class all the way if we had to do the Aruba leg but it did work out. So I guess we'll be able to dive for 9 days instead of flying for 9. :-) Thanks for the info.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jan Klos on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 3:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I guess I am going to have to change and get a Delta credit card unless American gets their act together. Wouldn't it be nice if the Airlines just kept to the original schedules-- Most poeple booked the Aruba -Bonaire as the times were good-- now to have to scramble around last minute and rebook----We are booked on Air Jamaica and are unaffected-- but we have freinds joining us and are trying to get rebooked on Air Jamaica from AA

 


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