BonaireTalk Discussion Group
Getting to Bonaire: Returning to the USA from Bonaire
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 2002-01-01 to 2002-10-27: Returning to the USA from Bonaire
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mimi greenberg on Thursday, March 7, 2002 - 9:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

The thought of arriving at the airport at 4 am in order to board AA at 6 am is cruel and unusual punishment. I'm planning to buy a one way ferry ticket from Bonaire to Curacao. Spend the morning there and fly back to the USA from Curacao at 2:45 pm.

Has anyone tried this route yet? If so, was it more civilized? Or just as chaotic?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sarah on Friday, March 8, 2002 - 12:51 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Mimi, I don't know if this helps any, but when we flew back to the States from BON in December, we took Divi Divi Air over to Curacao, I think the flight departure time was something like 12:30. We then took an onward flight to Miami at around 3pm. Divi Divi air has a small ticket desk (which was located in the bar area when we were there). Sarah

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By alan markus on Friday, March 8, 2002 - 4:42 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Mimi:
You don't have to be at the airport at 4:00 am. 5:00 to 5:30 is ok. We just came back and there was not a long line to check your luggage (they open and inspect each and every piece of checked luggage and that is why they ask you to be their early). Divi has a small counter now in Bonaire so if that is your choice you can check in there about 1 hr early. In Curacao you will have to re:check your luggage onto the next airline so allow some time for that if your choice is via Curacao.
Guess it really depends on where you are going in the USA and connection times at port of entry.
Via San Juan the Immigration and US Customs is really smooth and painless (we had 1 hr to make the JFK flight and even with Customs doing an Xray of our luggage we still made it with 10 minutes to spare). Got home to Cleveland at 5:30 (4:30 Bonaire time)..right on time.
The flight leaves at 7:00 not 6:00 but heard they may change that to 6:30 in the future.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carole Baker on Saturday, March 9, 2002 - 4:49 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi folks! I was wondering if Air Jamaica was permitting people to check their bags in early in the morning of the flight which departs around 3PM or so. We used to go to the airport in the morning to check in the big bags and then run amock all over the island (or go to Michael's house and bother him for a while!!LOL) and then we'd return the car rental and wait for carryon screening, etc, and board the plane. Is the airport permitting early check in of check in baggage?? Thanks! Carole

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 11:22 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Alan,

Once daylight savings hits in the U.S. the AE flight will depart Bonaire at 6:15am or so. Also, American has a policy of denying boarding to anyone not checked in 35 minutes or so prior to departure (according to signs I saw at Logan last week, and have heard reports of here on Bonaire). Better safe than sorry, and show up at least 2 hours before departure.

Carole - pre 9/11, AJ checkin for baggage was possible before noon, but not much sooner. Don't know if that's changed now or not.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glen Reem on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 11:33 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Post 9.11 passenger and bag amtching would seem to make the old, delightful early check-in unlikely.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jorge Carvajal on Sunday, March 10, 2002 - 5:36 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Can anyone tell if the regulator is allowed as a carryon? I plan to have my reg and computer in its bag as a carryon

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 11:27 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

It is allowed, but you may have to provide basic dive equipment orientation to the security staff at your point of departure.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Glen Reem on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 8:17 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

On Bonaire, Jake!!??!!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 9:41 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

No no - I meant when traveling from the US to Bonaire. The security folks on Bonaire know about regs. And heck, you can pack your reg when you leave - don't need it too soon back in the cold U.S. do you? :-)

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By seb schulherr on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 9:51 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I just checked the "discount" package fares to BON on AJ and they are throught the roof! DOUBLE what wee paid last year for first class. We paid under $600 last august RT first class which is way less than I have paid for American's cattle class nine hour tour. So what gives, and why higher rates for summer?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Meryl Virga on Monday, March 11, 2002 - 11:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We were on Bonaire post 9/11 and our bags were never checked? We got to the airport our usual 1 hour before...we paid our departure tax the day before...but no one ever checked our bags, and I don't remember seeing anyone elses luggage looked through...is this new? As in , just the past few months? Because we were on Bonaire in November.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Randy Mark on Tuesday, March 12, 2002 - 2:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

See posting "Recent Experiences with AA, ALM, Divi Divi and Fast Ferry" for an account of the ferry ride from Bonaire to Curacao, posted in latter half of February.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Tuesday, March 12, 2002 - 8:11 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Meryl - very odd. I flew in October, November, December, and February (all on American Eagle though), and each time had bags searched. The first time it was all my bags. The other three times it was just my checked bags (carry-ons were X-rayed).

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Meryl Virga on Tuesday, March 12, 2002 - 11:01 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jake we flew Air Jamaica to and from the states of course our bags were xrayed but we were never checked and no one else was either????

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Faith M. Senie on Tuesday, March 12, 2002 - 7:18 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

When we flew to St. John in January, with laptop case, bag o' regulators and camera case, the AA folks at Logan in Boston searched only one bag -- my purse!!! So it's a real crapshoot as to what you'll have searched at any given time...

Faith

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Shelly Rushmeyer on Thursday, March 14, 2002 - 6:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We flew to the States via American just yesterday, March 13, and while bags were not searched, anyone not arriving by 5:30/5:45 for the 7 a.m. flight was not allowed to board -- in this case, 7 people missed their flight. We stopped by the day before to scope out whether we had to be at the airport 2 hours before departure and the AA woman explained that if you were not in line by 5:45, she would not allow you to check your luggeage and board --and she was true to her word. We got to the airport about 5 a.m. and everything went smoothly. While the extra sleep might have been nice, I enjoyed sitting at the open-air aiport and watching the day break.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brent Oglesby on Saturday, March 16, 2002 - 7:05 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Regulators in carry-on bags were not a problem on Air Jam last week. In fact, the ONLY time I was ever stopped for a rummaging through my carry-on was in MTB on the return flight to ATL. I write this off to the senseless waste of time of the new "security" procedures. What a BIG JOKE, both in the U.S. and abroad!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ida Christie on Thursday, April 11, 2002 - 3:49 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Air Jamaica / American Airlines are these the only two air lines that fly to/from Bonaire?

 


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


Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration