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Getting to Bonaire: April 9-16th - Delta from Atlanta and ?
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: April 9-16th - Delta from Atlanta and ?
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Thornal (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 2:52 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Anyone else on this route on the same dates? I am coming from Michigan, so i am going to fly down on Friday night and get a hotel close to the airport.

Question: Is this Delta route pretty consistent on keeping the same equipment/plane so the seats remain consistent?

Last Question: I am Plat on Delta (travel a lot for work), and used miles for the trip (42,500 miles instead of the $1000 price!). Do they upgrade platinums on this route?

THANKS! we are staying at the Sand Dollar this time. Went 5 years ago from EWR and was very tired that Sunday!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carol (BonaireTalker - Post #82) on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 4:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We're doing the same thing in just two weeks! :) They have changed equipment in the past and so we've had to go in and change seats - especially after daylight savings time - not sure why this always seems to be the magic changing equipment time. We use miles also, but have always gone first class - I don't know if they will upgrade you or not - call and ask or go on Delta.com. We are staying Friday night at Springhill Suites Atlanta Gateway. You get there via the new Skytrain. There is also a Marriott right next to it. If you have Marriott points, you can use them for either one. Book soon, though, because they fill up fast. I think they are the only two hotels that can be accessed by Skytrain at this time. We have never stayed Friday night before, but they did away with the early Sat. morning flight that we used to take. We are going to go ahead and have our bags marked for BON instead of picking them up in Atlanta.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin T (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 10:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks Carol! great advice. I am Plat at Marriott as well, so that will work great! I will use one of those for sure. I am concerned about marking bags all the way through though because when i travel international for work, that always spells disaster. I would rather take them and check them back in so they don't sit and get "neglected" and comingled with all the other bags for 15 hours. I'd rather them get checked in and put through onto the plane. I guess the good news is that if you lose everything, you can always rent anything you need in Paradise! :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Gallagher (BonaireTalker - Post #13) on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 11:38 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kevin, I'm a Delta Diamond and will be going down two weeks from today also. As a Plat you probably know that an award upgrade will happen after all the fare-paying px who want to are upgraded ahead of you. If there are still seats available they will then go to Diamond award seat holders then Plat award seat holders.

Carol, we'll be in 2C and D on the way down. We'll see you on board.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin T (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Saturday, February 26, 2011 - 11:45 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

JIm..thanks...I will be diamond in about 2 months but last year didn't have enough travel. I got 4 upgrade certs for plat last year, so i may check to use those. I just couldn't justify 80k points versis 40k points for 4 hour flight. i will be ok in coach if that is what it is! I have a fam of 4, so any 100,000 points are gone for 2 trip with low miles!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carol (BonaireTalker - Post #83) on Sunday, February 27, 2011 - 10:36 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jim, we're right across the aisle in A & B :).

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Gallagher (BonaireTalker - Post #14) on Sunday, February 27, 2011 - 11:51 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We'll see you aboard the plane.

I checked yesterday's flights. Both left very late (49 down and 30 back) and arrived a little late (19 down and 5 back) making up some of the time in the air. I don't know what is normal for this set of flights, but they left from T-1 and returned to E-31. That makes sense since we have to go through customs on the way back.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carol (BonaireTalker - Post #84) on Sunday, February 27, 2011 - 12:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Our experience has been flights that are pretty much on time. We were delayed leaving ATL once to wait for connecting passengers, but we made up the time in the air.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin T (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - 10:57 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Jim, just a clarification on the upgrade charts for Delta now. Instead of going through all the paid fares first and then back up to diamond/platinum, it now goes WITHIN the status group. So, Diamonds paid fares (in "letter" order) then Diamonds award tickets, then PLatinum paid fares and Platinum award tickets etc..Here is the link:

https://www.delta.com/skymiles/about_skymiles/benefits_at_glance/upgrades/index.jsp#window

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Antoine Dodson (BonaireTalker - Post #99) on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - 11:05 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

They do change equipment. We book and reserve our seats then check later and find that our seats are no longer reserved. That happens during a plane change. If you reserve seats, check periodically online to be sure you still have them. Enjoy your trip.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Gallagher (BonaireTalker - Post #15) on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 - 2:36 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

You are right Kevin. Thanks for updating me on that change. They have made several changes this year. This must be one of them. Good luck on getting those upgrades.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DiveSergeant (BonaireTalker - Post #20) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 3:00 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks everyone for the info on this thread. We'll be heading to BON next April and will book flights as soon as they become available. How far in advance do they post the BON flights? And are they less expensive when booked earlier?

Like the OP, we'll fly DTW to ATL Friday evening and get the Sat morning flight to BON. We've discussed doing this and it is good to see that it is a tried and proven way to do it.

DS

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carol (BonaireTalker - Post #87) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 9:45 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

DiveSergeant, we generally use Delta Skymiles and I know you can't book award travel more than 331 days in advance, so I am guessing that is the same for purchasing a ticket. I just looked on Delta's site and you can book through February 2012 at this time, so I'd start looking in another thirty days. I actually had some Delta dollars I had to use this time - my first class ticket was $1670.00 (We leave next weekend, so was booked 338 days ago.) I just looked and see that the cheapest economy fare is $1800+! I would say earlier will get you a better price.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Gallagher (BonaireTalker - Post #16) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 10:20 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I agree with Carol. 330 days is the earliest you can book. That means you have to wait until 330 days before the return date. Although you don't have to book it on that date, they probably are not going to get any cheaper.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DiveSergeant (BonaireTalker - Post #21) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 10:43 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi All,

Checking the bags straight through even with the overnight layover in ATL sounds like the way to go. With the long layover, have there been any problem with bags going missing?

DS

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carol (BonaireTalker - Post #88) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 12:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I'm hoping not!! This will be the first time for us to do this - I am nervous about it - My husband wants to check them through, so guess that is what we're going to do. I am taking a swimsuit and a couple changes of clothes in my carry-on .........just in case :)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sandy Ruffin (BonaireTalker - Post #73) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 12:51 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

It is my understanding,based upon my direct correspondence with Delta and well as their "Carriage of Contract", IF your layover in Atlanta is twelve hours or longer, Delta will NOT check the bags straight through to Bonaire.
You must claim your bags in Atlanta and recheck the following day for the flight to Bonaire.
We did this last year, and will be doing this route, again, April 22.
If anyone has confirmation this policy has been changed, please post. We would love to not have to claim bags in Atlanta and recheck.
Thank you,
Sandy

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DiveSergeant (BonaireTalker - Post #22) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 3:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hmmm. Perhaps we'll end up claiming the bags in ATL after all. We had hoped to check them through as an international flight for the extra baggage allowance and not pay for an extra bag. Still, with that much layover time it might be best to collect them in ATL and not have the bags of expensive dive gear just sitting around tempting someone.

Anyway, thanks for the continued input. The pre-vacation planning and research is often part of the fun of the trip.

DS

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Smith (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #3) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 3:24 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Sandy, the information in your post is correct. Delta required us to claim our bags in ATL on Friday evening, and recheck the following morning, as we travelled through in late December.

DiveSergeant, we've already purchased airfare for next year... as soon as it was available within the 330 day window after the last trip. As a frequent traveller for both business & leisure, It's been my experience that airfare prices usually reflect the airline economy and fuel price trends. Right now that means they'll likely rise in the coming months. (The exceptions being last-minute bookings to fill vacant seats or SkyMiles award seats.) Additionally, there's no significant competition for Delta's ATL-BON route and the airline economy is fairly healthy at the moment. Delta doesn't really have a reason to discount fares for this route.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Roger Smith (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 3:34 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

DiveSergeant, this is from Delta's Baggage FAQ at https://www.delta.com/help/faqs/baggage/index.jsp

Q: Will the first and second bag fees be charged to International passengers that have connections/stopovers within the U.S.?

A: For international customers making a connection/stopover to or from the U.S., or at a later date during their travel within the U.S. on the same itinerary, international fees and rules apply.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DiveSergeant (BonaireTalker - Post #23) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 3:36 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Roger, and thanks. It looks like we should go ahead and make our lodging and travel reservations as soon as the flights are listed.

I can't foresee fuel costs coming down anytime soon with the turmoil in the middle east.

DS

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carol (BonaireTalker - Post #89) on Saturday, March 5, 2011 - 4:35 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

So I guess the posts I've read in the past from people who checked their bags straight through must have arrived in Atlanta after 9:45 PM. I was on the fence about leaving them overnight - not really crazy about the idea, but hubby said it would be fine - Plus I figured I could be in bed by 9:30! LOL! guess it is out of our hands now. Every time we have waited for bags in Atlanta, it has taken forever - maybe because they were international flights....

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By kevin thornal (BonaireTalker - Post #44) on Sunday, April 3, 2011 - 5:58 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

for anyone who cares, I was indeed upgraded for free to Bonaire from Atlanta. I was the only one upgraded and still 16+ seats left in first. I wonder why they don't just sell these for less than the $1300 they are charging right now? Doesn't seem like many Delta Medallions fly this route, or if they do, they are with their spouses and will try to upgrade when the campanion window opens?
Also, I am flying in on Friday night to make sure not to miss the connection and will write back on the luggage questions about checking all the way through or getting the bags in ATL. Let me know if anyone else is on this flight to Bonaire! I am meeting my father in law and bro in law in Bonaire, but get there way before. Look forward to seeing some of you guys on the flight. I will be in 4C!!

 


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