Hello! We are heading to Bonaire next week and have been going around with the airline re. the baggage limits, no one can give us a straight answer. So I am hoping someone who has flown Insel Air recently can help me!

Here's our situation: We're flying on Insel Air from Miami to Curacao, having to spend the night in Curacao, then flying Insel Air to Bonaire the next day. The website states that for the MD-80, we are allowed 2 pieces of checked luggage up to 88 lbs and 1 carry-on up to 22 lbs. However, on the EMB-110 (the smaller plane I'm assuming we'll take from Curacao to Bonaire?) we are only allowed 1 checked bag up to 44 lbs. The fine print also states that we are allowed 22 lbs "scuba allowance" at no additional charge. So my questions are:

1. Which checked bag policy do we follow? If we fly the bigger plane to Curacao and then switch to a smaller plane from Curacao to Bonaire, are they going to nail us for the 2nd checked bag on the smaller plane?
2. Are we allowed a carry-on plus a personal item? Or is it really ONE carry-on total per person?
3. What's with the "scuba allowance"? If we have 22 lbs of scuba gear does that mean we're allowed another checked bag? Is that 22 lbs free on top of the 88 lbs?
4. Do they really weigh the carry-on bags?

I hope this makes sense, I appreciate the help!

We flew Insel Air at the end of Dec. We did Miami to Curacao then changed planes after about an hour or more wait. The 2nd plane was the small plane. We had no problems with luggage . We were allowed one carry on and then a personal item. On the second flight they take the carry on from you and put it in the plane's storage. The scuba allowance is extra on top of your 88 lbs. very nice benefit. I don't remember them weighing our carry -on bags. We even bought a couple bottles of duty free cheap liquor in Curacao after going thru the last security check. No problem. I don't think they will nail you for any extra baggage charges.

Insel air has an older plane but the staff was all very friendly and on the long flight they even give you a turkey sandwich. .They don't sell any liquor drinks on the flight.

If they can't get all of your gear on the flight from Curacao to Bonaire they might take it on a later flight.

Hope this helps and leg me know if you have any more questions.

Maybe you are confusing pounds with kilos? 88 lbs seems like a lot of allowance for Insel. I think the carryon is 10 lbs, and the scuba allowance might be 10 lbs as well.

As far as the rest of your question, I'm not sure. Have you contact Insel directly? I would email them and then print out the answer you get to take with you to the airport, just in case.

Unfortunately, as with all things (getting to) Bonaire, it depends on the person you get on the phone or email. You're almost guaranteed to get a few different answers which is very unfortunate. Keep asking until you get the right answer, and print it out! lol!

Another thing to consider, is, how are you getting to MIA? If you have to fly in, you should stick to that airline's baggage allowance, (usually 2 bags @ 50lbs each), plus carry-on & personal item, because that's where you'll end up paying a lot for excess baggage. Personally, I wouldn't go over the 50lb/checked bag limit. I had an issue once with MIA pre-security: they would not let me through with carry-on, purse + laptop, which was in its carrying case. I had taken my laptop out anticipating x-ray screening. They made me step out of line, shove it back into my carry-on, then go thru. I've never had luggage refused in Curacao-which is how their websites can read sometimes; you might have to pay excess baggage fee, but probably not because technically, you're in transit. Local baggage fees are around $1/kilo. A kilo is 2.2 lbs.

Wow thank you for the replies! Nancy I appreciate your helpful response, your experience sounds like what we've experienced in Belize, Indonesia and other places where we've had to take a puddle jumper. Kelly, the luggage allowance is 40 kg/88 lbs for 2 checked bags, carryon is 10 kg/22 lbs. My main concern was about the difference from the big plane to the little plane, but since we're connecting I doubt it will be a problem based on the responses I've gotten to my questions. Thank you all for your help!

omg I got that backwards... duhhhh is this week over yet???

Ruth is ALWAYS the voice of reason on BT. When I was going through Aruba, I actually printed out what she told me to do and took it in my purse. No kidding.

OMG Kelly, you are so genius--it's as if I'm a rock-star from Mars. Duh. Winning! LOL!!

Anyway, it is always better to err on the light side in the baggage issue. I travel with a luggage scale, which paid for itself first time out. http://www.luggagescales.net/

Angela, I'm assuming you'd be traveling to Bonaire in one day, if it weren't for our own airport closings here, due to construction. So when you go back to the airport in CUR the next morning, be sure to have your boarding passes from the day before, to prove that you're in "transit"--both re: luggage allowances and your airport tax in CUR (should be $2 transit tax). If our airport weren't closing at night, you and your luggage would be tagged for BON right from MIA (luggage transferred & you escorted thru CUR).

I'd suggest e-mailing Insel Air and asking them the question. Print off a copy of their response to have with you just in case you run into problems at the Curacao airport.

Luggage is 20KG baggage, 10KG carryon(44# and 22#)
anything over that $1 a pound, you can bring laptop,purse etc onboard also...kinda sucks as AA and others allow 2 50# bags per person UNTIL you try the "free" on the puddle jumpers. Either pack accordingly or smile and pay the $1 per pound for the overage

Ruth, you're right--we were originally scheduled to fly from Miami to Curacao then to Bonaire all in the same day but now we're losing a day of vacation and having to pay for a night in Curacao thanks to the 6pm airport closure in Bonaire. Since our tickets on Insel Air are completely non-refundable, we're stuck so we're just trying to make the best of it. Thanks for the tip about keeping the boarding passes and telling them we're "in transit", I'm hoping this will be a non-issue. I'll make sure to report back after our trip and let everyone know the scoop! Thanks again for all the advice!

Get downtown in Curacao (Punda) if you can-it is a beautiful area-cool buildings, floating bridge to Otrobanda (the "other side" of town), etc. There's a restaurant on the water there, Bistro le Clochard-great views. You're right-might as well make the best of it.

Ruth I've actually been to Curacao a few times, the downtown area IS very cool. Unfortunately we won't have a car, we're getting in late and we have to leave very early the next morning. Had we known the Bonaire airport was going to pull this stunt BEFORE we booked our trip, we would have just gone to Curacao to dive! I don't know why the airlines (AA in particular) have made it almost impossible to get to Bonaire, it's really sad.

I just did this last night. My situation may be different since I took AA to CUR, and then transferred to Insel. Since it was the MD-80 series, I was allowed 40 kg. (30 in up to two bags, plus the 10 kg scuba bag). Plus a small carry on. The flight was only about 1/4 full, so there was plenty of room - both in overhead and in seats. I checked 45.1 kg, and she didn't charge me anything. Coming back, I'm on the small plane, and the limit is 10 kg less. Also, I don't think they have overhead compartments, so carry on must be stow-able under the seat. We'll see what happens next week...for now, I'm diving!!

Yeah Angela, it is too bad there was not a lot of warning about the airport closings; had there been, you could've traveled on a Tue/Thur/Fri/Sat. I guess they figured they had it covered because it's not closing on Fri/Sat, when most of the direct flights arrive....forgetting about those who travel via CUR all the other days. On Tue/Thur the airport's open till about 8pm, to allow for the KLM flights that arrive/depart around 7pm (DAE & Insel also took advantage of these hours by having CUR/BON flights around 6pm). After the end of March, I believe the closings will be even more (but still open on Fri/Sat).

Yes and of course Insel Air did not bother to inform us that the Bonaire airport is open until 8pm T/Th, we are having to spend Tues night in Curacao and flying out the next morning to Bonaire. SO irritating, I am fighting very hard to contain my irritation and just focus on the fact that I'm going diving for the first time in over a year! We will never book on Insel Air again though, we have not even left yet and they are already making things difficult for us.

I hear ya.....
>:-(

On the topic of Ansel Air and the other carriers.
We're flying from Seattle>Miami>Curacao>Bonaire
We havent decided which airline to take from Curacao to Bonaire but in my research, I see that under 'Not Allowed items' in both Checked or Carry on are 'Batteries and Nail Clippers'? Why is this?
Most of my gadgets take batteries (Camera, GPS for geocaching, Dive Light). I also use the Metal Hydride Rechargeable ones.
1. Is this going to be an issue?
2. Are there preferences for which airline to use that allow the most baggage?

In Dec. Insel air didn't say anything about the 20 batteries I had in my purse or the other 16 we had in our checked bag. I would go with the airlines that made the best connection for you.

I've never had a problem traveling with batteries in any part of my luggage, and the nail-clipper thing is incorrect-you may take one in your checked luggage (not allowed in carry-ons, or you risk having it taken away from you at security). If you're flying MIA/CUR on Insel, I'd continue on with them, providing there's a night flight (if BON's airport construction is finished). If you fly Insel MIA/CUR/BON, they will check your luggage all the way to BON, and walk you thru the transit area in CUR. If not, then I agree with Nancy-take whomever has the best connection time for you; local luggage allowances are almost all the same.

There are 4 available airlines: http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/428113/439540.html?1292012890

WOW ! Rick, you got 88# plus 22# for your scuba for 1 person plus carry on ? You really lucked out !

OOPS!, JUST READ CLOSER, STILL 88# FOR ONE PERSON IS DOUBLE WHAT THE OTHER ALLOW.

ron - On the MD-80 they allow you more. Still not as much as the USA airlines do (they typically allow 2- 50 pound checked bags = 100 pounds) plus two carry on bags with undefined weight. My main carry on usually weighs in at 35 pounds (that is included in the 88 pounds for Insel) plus my laptop bag.

On my return, I flew the small turbo-prop. I tried to re-arrange the weight such that I carried more in my laptop bag. I checked 43 kg (2 kg less than on the trip over). I paid $39 in extra baggage fees (13kg x $3/kg). That is not too bad, since I didn't have to pay any extra fees on AA (I usually pay @25 each way on CO).

One thing I learned, if you have a choice, take the MD-80 flights - you get much more baggage. I say this, because you are allowed 10kg more checked luggage, and I saw no one having their carry on luggage weighted. On the jet, you have conventional overhead storage for your main carry on, and under-seat storage for small items, like a laptop or camera bag - just like domestic flights. I didn't know this. Also, I found that Insel weighs all you checked luggage at the same time, so you really don't need to fret (I spent a lot of time configuring my checked bags to conform to the scuba limit of 10 kg). But, make sure they are aware one of your bags is scuba gear, you don't get the extra 10 kg allowance automatically. At least I didn't.