We just went to Bonaire on Thursday Feb 3 and returned on Thursday Feb 10th. The flights to Bonaire went fine and were on time. We arrived in Bonaire exactly when we supposed to. Coming back from Bonaire was hell though. ---> We were supposed to fly out of Bonaire at 4:10pm and ended up sitting in the airport for about 4 hours. They never bothered to tell us that the flight was cancelled. We heard from someone else that an AJ flight from Curacao was coming to pick us up at Bonaire. They arrived at nearly 6pm and the flight was packed full. It was like sardines in there. We worried we would miss our connection on AJ in Montego Bay. When we arrived people were connecting to Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and Conneticut. I believe it was the Atlanta group that the airport staff escorted to the next flight as it was ready to leave right then. The people headed to New York got rerouted to New Jersey with ground transportation to New York. The Conneticut people ended up on our plane to Chicago and had to stay overnight in Chicago. The flight to Chicago was about 1 1/2 hour late and there was nothing to eat in the Jamaica airport. The food was terrible on the flights, and I felt really bad for the flight attendants. I realize they (AJ) are having difficulties right now, but I will never fly with them again unless everything is straightened out. We really worried we wouldn't even get to Bonaire because of cancelled flights that we kept hearing of. I would keep a close eye on AJ if you plan on flying with them soon.

Shelly,
Thanks for the info. I am wondering what happened to the people who were supposed to arrive in Bonaire on the 10th? Did they come in on the plane from Curacao?

Was the plane crowded on the way into Bonaire on the 3rd? It seems the weekday flights are less than full and better targets for cancellation/change.

I had my first bad snafu yesterday. Left BON on time with a pretty full flight. Got to MBJ and was told the BOS flight would leave on time but be routed to ATL with a 2 hour layover. We had to clear customs in ATL (very easy and swift) and re check luggage and sit at the gate for an hour. The trip to BOS was fast but I had to wait for hours for another ride since I got in at 1:30 instead of 10:30..got home at 5 AM. TERRIBLE diversion even tho it went smoothly. They said they do this often with the BOS flight as it's an end leg so they can drop some in BWI or PHL or ATL. NOT FUN. Our ATL BOS flight was wide open. I slept in a row as did most of the plane. I am worried about this airline indeed. We NEED this airlift. I have faith it will work out during this difficult time.

We're planning to fly AJ from Baltimore to Bonaire over Christmas week. I must say, all this talk is making me distinctly uneasy.

Is AJ in danger of going under?

I'm worried about flying them at such a busy time--if you all had such problems flying them at regular times, what happens during one of the busiest weeks of the year, I wonder?

AJ is effectively bankrupt. The government took them over in January. There is not a risk of them going out of business, as the island needs them - it takes 3+ hours to drive from Kingston to MB, but it's only a 30 minute flight. Also, they are the main conduit to bring Americans to the island & tourism is the 2nd or 3nd biggest driver of the economy. The risk to Bonaire is AJ drops service.

My wife and I are taking AJ this sat out of chicago.
to mb then to bonaire.. has anyone been on this flight with any problems.. last i checked the flight was still schedualed.. we will be driving from St louis to chicago on fridayt night. thank you for any info youhave
Matthew

THanks, Sue!

I guess that means we ought to make sure our travel insurance policy covers a sudden drop in service.

We had a bad experience going home on march 3rd headed to JFK. Also heard about Chicago flight being cancelled and 200 people stranded in Chicago missing valuable vacation time. Does anyone have a suggestion for other flight options than AJ? AA is not regular enough to make plans around from what we've seen so far? Thanks for any help, we would be coming from Connecticut so we can drive to NY/NJ or Boston

We were also on the 3/3 flight... Bonaire- Boston... Noticed that not very many people arrived... We were maybe the in the end of the first 30 or so boarding when I thought it was strange that the plane fairly was full... Instead of flying to MoBay-- we went to Curacuo.. drop off and picked up more passengers. On arriving at MoBay... it was asked that all heading to NY identify themselves and we were asked to wait for them to get off first... Of course everyones concerns was meeting the connections to get home... The Boston flight finally got off the ground at 9:00 ish and we landed at Logan at 12:45 am.. I undestand the those who rushed off the plane for the NY flight were not allowed to board even though the plane's door was open and the stairs were still inplace. Not sure how they got home... My understanding what is causing this whole mess besides the fact of declaring bankruptcy... is the the FAA or some US agency called AJ on their maintenance... and would not allow them to fly in or out of the US unless the fleet was brought up to par.. I can tell you all that our flight from Boston to MoBay on 2/3... was the on a filthy dirty plane... Nothing had been cleaned... including the bathrooms... I would rather be late and safe. And may I remind everyone... do not drink the water unless it comes from a sealed bottle...( even a couple of sips) It was not a pleasant experirence.