okay getting really excited about our trip, scheduled to leave this Saturday but am really nervous about our connection in San Juan. We are scheduled to arrive in San Juan from NY at 5:15 pm and our connecting american eagle flight leaves at (ouch) 6:30 pm. If we leave NY on time we should be okay, it worked for us on our last trip in August. What's our worst to expect if we miss our connection? Do we lose the day or are there other flights we could catch later? Any responses would be greatly appreciated. Can't wait to be in Bonaire!!!
Thanks--Kristin

Hi Kristin - no other flights later - as there is only one direct flight to Bonaire from San Juan. If the Sunday flight is full you may have to wait a few days - or try an indirect route to Bonaire - as I don't think AA is flying from San Juan to Bonaire daily (someone can correct me if I am wrong on this)

Good luck - you will have a great time in Bonaire!!!

Hi Mary-that truly is not good news. So far the weather from NY looks okay for travel on Saturday, so I'm going to hope for the best! Unfortunately this trip, we are only on Bonaire for 6 days. Hope to get there on time and enjoy every minute. Thanks for your response.

Try to move your seats to as close as possible to the exit. Then RUN. The gate will close well before your flight's departure time.
Most people I know who have tried this kind of connection in San Juan have missed the flight. Even if it had not departed, they were not allowed on board.
I don't want to alarm you. I just want you to try to do everything you can do to reach your departure gate quickly.
Any chance you could leave NYC on an earlier flight?
Glad to hear this tight connection worked for you once before. Hope it will again!!!!!!!

Kristin,
I would check and see that if you miss the SJ flight to bonaire, if there is a flight to Aruba? Best to have a back-up plan when you only have a 1+ hr connection. Two days in SJ is to long.

I will be coming down from Boston to SJ and then to Aruba on the 21st. 1:15 connection for me as well. I do not have much faith in this short connection time.

Best of luck

Tish-the only reason we booked this flight in the first place is it is the only one where you only have to make one connection as opposed to flying first into boston or miami, then to San Juan, then to Bonaire. I guess the time we were hoping to save in the travel could turn out to ruin our trip! It did work before but I'm not feeling very hopeful now. Thanks for your response, maybe the travel gods will be looking down on us Saturday! I think our seats are pretty close to the exit, I will double check. Hopefully all will go well, and I'll be posting a happy trip report upon return!

Jerry-Does American fly from San Juan to Aruba? If not what airline should I look into? Also once on Aruba what airline flies to Bonaire? I agree two days in San Juan is too much, I'm sure it's lovely, but the whole point was to enjoy my favorite island thus far. Thanks for your input, I will try to put a back up plan into effect, and probably would avoid booking such a tight connection in the future. Hope you enjoy your upcoming trip!

Jerry-Does American fly from San Juan to Aruba? If not what airline should I look into? Also once on Aruba what airline flies to Bonaire? I agree two days in San Juan is too much, I'm sure it's lovely, but the whole point was to enjoy my favorite island thus far. Thanks for your input, I will try to put a back up plan into effect, and probably would avoid booking such a tight connection in the future. Hope you enjoy your upcoming trip!

AA from SJ to Aruba. 757 not a turboprop!
Was (Dutch Eagle) Aruba to Bon. (has new name)Need help here!

Its now Bonaire Express - used to be Bonaire Excel - just renamed again last year.

Kristin is there any earlier flights from JFK to San Juan? I went on on in October - can't remember when it left - but we had a long lay over in San Juan. Spent it having a seaside lunch at a resort - very nice!!

Sorry I posted that twice! Thanks Jerry! Okay at least I'll start looking into some AA flights to Aruba, and I'll keep checking to see the airline that goes from Aruba to Bon. Thanks for all the input, only three days to get a back up plan going!

Mary-I'm going to double check at this point, but I believe I booked this one because it was the only flight that went directly to San Juan. But I'll be looking into everything now, as well as the AA to Aruba to Bon via Bonaire Express. Just hoping to get to Bon! That seaside lunch sounds very nice! I hope to get something worked out!

Kristen
There are 3 earlier flights from JFK if you are nervous with the 5:16 arrival. I personally have never had a problem with that connection.
The AA recommeded connection coming home is kind of stressful however.
Good luck Mickey

Mickey-coming home I have a 6 hour layover in San Juan, so that is not a concern! But it is very good to hear someone not having a problem with this connection. I did not have a problem on our previous trip with the same time table. I'm going to research some back up options if we do miss the connection, but rather than try to re book, I'm going to cross my fingers and hope for the best! Thanks for your help!
Kristin

Mary, it's no longer Bonaire Express. The newest name is Dutch Antilles Express (DAE). I think they might hold onto this name. But no guarantees.

Tish - thanks - that will be 3 names in less than a year - let's hope this one stays - as it gets confusing.

Kristen, don't give up on making your flight. You've done it before, so you should be able to do it again. A lot of friends of mine have had bad luck with it, which is why I warned you to run for your connection.
The airlines save the bulkhead seats until the day of departure. Ask to be assigned the bulkhead seats closest to the exit. That could give you a big advantage. Being among the first to leave the plane will give you a head start.
Really hope you make it!!!

There is always 1st class.(use your FFM here)
On first, off first. Private check in. No lines.
Cost...... OUT-OF-SIGHT. Real food! Free wine!

I use FFM on AA, This trip it was 80,000.00 miles per ticket from Boston To Aruba. Had to pay for Aru-Bon. What a deal!

Still might miss my SJ connection?

Why is it so darn hard to get to Bonaire? I miss ALM!
It's making me nuts.

Daddy, make the voice's stop!

Yes, sure you miss ALM, Jerry. . . NOT.

Tish-our seats are in row 14 which are fairly close to the exit i think. We really did have a very smooth trip the last time, so i am hoping for the best! At least i have some back up information if we need to troubleshoot! It's good to get a lot of information, it helps me go with the flow at least! Thanks for the support and will let you know how it goes!
Kristin

Jerry-you lucky guy, you're flying first class? I've only done it once to Jamaica and it's hard to go back! No miles for me! Just curious what was ALM? I hope neither of us misses our connection, will keep fingers crossed and let all who have helped me here know how it goes. Thanks again for all the info! BT rocks, and can't wait to hopefully be on Bonaire soon!
Kristin

kristin, ALM was the antillean airline that was the precursor of DCA (Dutch Caribbean Airlines) which went out of business. nicknames for ALM were All Luggage Missing and Always Late Mon. personally, we never had a problem with it and we flew it from curacao a few times and from miami once or twice. i think you'll make your connnection in SJ....just run from your arrival gate to the AE departure gate which is downstairs...SJU is not that big, you can do it.

ALM was always an adventure, sometimes good, occasionally bad. Remember the Twin Otters from Curacao with the challenge of getting a boarding pass and having your luggage delivered later that night after the DC-9 brought it over from C??? 15 and 20 years ago it wasn't as bad as it became before it went under.

One good part was the direct JFK-BON and rtn even if we did have to get off the plane in C for refueling on the way down.

Kristen, you might want to check the seat map online at aa.com
If you are right by the exit, great. If not, ask to change to the bulkhead seats by the exit. You will get off the plane much faster that way.
AE has been known to bump ticketed passengers from the flight to Bonaire if they think the combined weight of passengers and baggage is too great. You want to get on that plane as quickly as possible.
Be sure to look at your boarding pass when you check in for your first flight and see what time they expect you to board the AE flight.
Hope all goes well!!

You can also check SJU to CUR. Several flights from CUR back to BON. I beleive that Divi and BonaireExcel both have daily flights from Curacao to Bonaire

(I also miss the $39 flights on DCA from CUR to BON too bad they are gone. I never had a problem with them)

One other option (if you know about the CUR to BON flights) is that if your flight to SJU is going to be signficiantly delayed, you may ask AA to put you on the NY/MIA/CUR leg instead (all Jet Service) of the NY/SJU/BON leg.

In the past the AE flight from SJU to BON doesn't board until about 15 minutes before flight time (compared to about 30 minutes before flight time for a jet) So if you are arriving in SJU an hour before you leave, I'd expect that you'd make the connection - the SJU airport isn't like Chicago or Dallas getting from one end to the other shouldn't take more than about 8-10 minutes or so (at a brisk clip) If little's changed you'll probably depart from gate 1, and the worst you'll arrive at is gate 19.

http://www.aa.com/content/aboutUs/whereWeFly/terminals/terminal_SJU.jhtml

Paul, some of us have had very much longer transits in SJU than others have. The only thing I can figure out is that they change the routes through the airport from day to day. It can take way over an hour to get from an AA flight to an AE flight.
On days when people are flying in to go to cruise ships, the numbers moving around the corridors significantly increase.
Many people I know have tried to make this connection and missed it. They have all encountered huge crowds and an exceptionally long route from AA to AE.
This is not a different perception of the same experience. It is an altogether different experience of attempting to make the same connection.
Let's hope Kristen has your experience!

Any info on AA in SJ flying AA (not AE) to Aruba?
Do we run like hel.... to another term?

Tish-I looked on line at my seat assignments and they are pretty close to the exit, but it looks like the plane is pretty booked,bulk seats included. But I'm going to call the airline today and see if any bulk seats are available. Upon check in at the airport I will do the same if I am not successful today. Thanks for the advice, better to be safe than sorry. I've luckily had a similar experience to Paul's, it was a very quick walk to our connecting gate. But you are right, everyday is different, so I'll try to cover all bases. Thanks again!

Pat-Thanks for the vote of confidence, I really am trying to be optimistic. And run we will!!! Thanks for the info on ALM, sounds like a great airline, I guess no wonder they went out of business! Two days and counting, my fingers are crossed!

Paul-Thanks for the link with the map, I already printed it out. I did this same connection in August and I remember it was quite easy, but I have read in previous posts as Tish just mentioned that cruise days make a huge difference! I'm trying to be prepared in every way! This is only my second trip to Bonaire and my first one went so smoothly it was unreal. I can't imagine this one will be the same. But I'm hoping! Thanks for the info, I'm arming myself with a lot of back up plans in case we do miss the connection.

My experience with Jet Blue last year from JFK was very positive - several flights per day to San Juan. Getting there most of the day from Jersey is not that bad, only an hour or less. Stay away from rush hour.

Check the Jet Blue website for specials.... some are now as low as $79 each way to San Juan! It's the AE that will get you..

Carl-Jet Blue flies to San Juan from JFK? I've flown them twice to different destinations and they are a wonderful airline to fly! If I had known that I would probably have booked that to start. Even if AE gets you, at least you get a good first start to your trip. Thanks for great info for my future Bonaire trips. That will be filed in my memory bank! For now I'm stuck with whats booked and hoping for the best! Thanks again
Kristin

I've had tight connections in San Juan and have never been bumped or missed my flight. Yes, I knocked wood on that one.

Also, I'm very proud to say I have a friend who is a flight attendant on Jet Blue, her name is Jenny and she's a retired police officer. I worked with her for many many years. If you ever come across her, please say hi for me. She's retired and moved to New Smyrna Beach, FL. Also one of my fav places.

Kelly-Glad to hear you never missed your connection! I'm hoping for some of your luck on Saturday!! Your friend Jenny works for one of the nicest airlines I've ever flown. Next time I fly Jet Blue I'll keep an eye open for her and pass along your regards. Wish I lived in FL, warmer than NY. Well actually living on Bonaire would be paradise!

kristin, good luck, have a safe and fun trip, and post a trip report when you get back.

Pat- Thanks so much! I'm actually counting down the minutes! Looking forward to sharing what I'm sure will be a fabulous trip with all when I return! Beautiful Bonaire here we come!!!

I actually took an early flight from JFK - they have four or five a day to San Juan - so I sat at the airport in San Juan for about 4 hours, but not being familiar I gave myself plenty of time in case of delays.

Not much to do at the airport, and really no place good to eat, so bring a good book and some nuts. ;-)

C

Kristin, best wishes for your travels.

(Message edited by vtscuba on January 5, 2006)

Kristin, have a safe and easy trip. And most of all enjoy your special vacation!

I do agree with Carl. If you end up with an extended layover, the $50 to do the Admirals Club (assuming your not already a member) for the day can be worth it. Much nicer (and quieter) place to sit while you wait.

Speaking of San Juan airport, no really good place to eat, but hubby found this really big shopping mall close by with an Outback restaurant, so guess where we are going for the long layover in February?

Carl-I'll be having a 6 hour layover on return, but at that point it's fine, because the trip is over! Thanks for the advice though! Too bad San Juan airport doesn't have a good restaurant! I'll be looking into Jet Blue for my future trips to Bonaire!

Tom, Jerry-Thanks so much for your best wishes, it will be hard not to have a wonderful time on my favorite paradise island!

Kristin-
I have had that same tight connection in SJ and missed the plane. Yes, I ran like heck and just made it to Gate 1 as the bus was about to depart, and they said I couldn't get on because my luggage would never make it.....and you must travel with your luggage!!! Unless THEY lose it! Next day was oversold, so I made it to BON after 2 nights in San Juan. AA paid for everything, but it was a pain. That was only time out of 8 trips (on that same sched) that I missed it, but every trip down is a nail biter. So stressful. So, this year I'm going with the hideous 4 hour San Juan layover. Good luck!

Kristin, There is a Cinnabon there for your sweet tooth! Gotta love that place and I have eaten at the place where there is a bar/restaurant towards gates 1-6. My burger there was pretty good. Some cute little shops to visit too. Right outside is a Mickey D's and Wendy's for the fast food lovers. Also a sub-way for the health conscious, so there are some places, just not a really good restaurant. Have a great trip and we all really look forward to you posting a trip report when you back!

Paul - First I've heard of the Admirals Club. Is that 50$ per person? For a 6 hour layover that's sounds good, and no leaving the airport! Does that include food and drinks, or just a nicer area to hang out? Thanks!

Debbie-just curious how close is close by? Cab or walking?Thanks!

Well you can't forget about the duty free shops. Cheapest place to acquire Johnny Walker Blue, though I've never found their cigar prices to be good.

Kristin, The admirals club is located in-between gates 15 and 11 across from gate 12. They have free snacks and free pop, coffee, tea etc. Alcohol and sandwiches will cost ya, but its not unreasonably priced. (They also have Presidente Beer (from the Dominican Republic, which I find to be very good)

Its $50 for the 1st person and $25 for each person afterwards.
http://www.aa.com/content/travelInformation/airportAmenities/admiralsClubArticles/oneDayPass.jhtml

Info on that club:
http://www.aa.com/content/travelInformation/airportAmenities/admiralsSanJuan.jhtml

(Geez I'm sounding like an AA commerical. Guess I fly too much

Admirals Club is a must for the long hang out's.
Look up www.aa.com for pricing.
It's clean, quiet, some free stuff at times.
Showers, phones - computers.

If it's any reassurance to you, we just did a much tighter connection in SJU to American Eagle (going to Tortola). I was quite anxious about it, because our scheduled arrival in SJU was actually after the official boarding time for our connecting flight, but the AA gate agents said not to worry. Then our flight from Boston was delayed 23 minutes in departing, and the gate agents still said not to worry. I worried, but our arrival in SJU was actually on time. It took us only about ten minutes to exit the plane from row 14, then walk (not run; we're not young) almost the length of the San Juan AA terminal from our arrival gate to American Eagle, where we even had to wait a few minutes for boarding. We made it and all our checked baggage made it. "Past results are no guarantee of future performance", of course, but AA's official minimum connection time in SJU, AA to AE, is 40 minutes.

Admittedly, the last time we tried to fly American Eagle SJU to BON we ended up in Aruba overnight (at AA's expense); AA then arranged a flight to BON on another airline, which had mechanical problems and dumped us in CUR. The folks in CUR found a plane with empty seats headed to St Martin and put our group of 13 "bumpees" on it. It made a special stop in Bonaire, and we were in paradise by 10:30am, instead of 8:30pm the night before.

Our last trip to Bonaire we used Air Jamaica (no longer flying from BOS, it seems), but our daughters joined us via SJU. One made it onto the flight, the other was being bumped, but the first one made such a fuss about being separated from her sister that they managed to get both of them on the BON flight.

Let's hope that your trip is without adventure!

David

Kristan, a 5 min. cab ride is all. They are good getting cabs for you at the airport. You go outside, tell the person there, they call over a cabbie on the walkie-talkie thing, then off you go in minutes. The same cabbie will come back for you at a set time you give him. Works well for me.! Last trip, we went to Old San Juan during our layover, but my little guy got tired of all the walking around. Too many jewelry shops and t-shirt shops for his liking I guess. That is something to do to, but that one is 15 minutes or 20 minutes depending on traffic.

kristin, listen to paul...hit the duty free shops. rum is much cheaper at SJU that on bonaire..if you have extra, email me and i'll let you know which of my bonaire friends will take it off your hands and hold it for our arrival next month. also, although you won't have time for it, there is an acceptable restaurant near the center of the airport...sol-something. we've eaten there when we've had time.

have a great trip.

The Admiral's Club in SJ does not have showers. They have free "snacks" which are usually a bowl of chex mix or something similar and free coffee/water. Personally, I would be bored to tears there for 6 hours. They do have a TV in the "bar" area.

Kristin, get a cab and to go Isla Verde. You can go to the Hampton Inn and get a fantastic burger by the pool bar, or go to the restaurant at the Inter-Contiental Hotel and the Ciao Mediteranean Restaurant is on the beach. You can rent beach chairs and hang out on the beach as well. This should take up about 3 hours, then you are ready to head back to the airport.

If you decide to go out and have carry on luggage you do not want to take with you, there is a baggage check just down the hall from the Cinnabon in the AA outside of security ticketing area. It is just a door that says "Storage" above it. It's 3 bucks per bag (cash). Isla Verde is a 5 minute cab ride from the airport, and Old San Juan is about 15 depending on traffic.

Have a great trip and make sure you let us know how you make out!

Paul, I looked at the link for what the SJ Admiral's Club has, and I have NEVER seen complimentary muffins! LOL! I must have bad timing when I'm there!

Kristin, Cyn beat me to it! We both have the same plan when we have a long layover and keep giving each other new hints after every trip! If you leave luggage at the airport storage area you need to show identification. Another landmark for the storage area is the beauty salon next door. The cab fare to Isla Verde is 8 dollars. From the bag storage area you can exit outside and go down the stairs. Find the taxi line and they handle it from there. I always have a bathing suit in my backpack and when I arrive in Isla Verde change there.

Cyn, I am still working on the Hampton Inn burger. In April I am flying through Curacao so miss SJ ....

Susan, no, through Curacao???? LOL! I think you and I need to get together and write a "Lay Over in San Juan" guide for BT'ers ;-)

Cyn, I had the same thought about the guide!! Maybe we could work out a "two for" special with Susan P. for Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy. LOL!! And I know that if we autograph copies Tom will sell them for us!! Decided on the Curacao route for April because that is when I go alone and, much as I like Isla Verde, I would rather not have the layover alone. Not scared -- just bored! And maybe I can do research for changing planes in Curacao and we can add a chapter to our book!

Susan, I think you're on to something...take notes in Curacao! Yea, we could piggy back off of Susan, and make Tom the head sales guru...LOL!

Paul-thanks again for the tip on the Admirals Club. 6 hours is a long time but it's a good option if my hubby gets grumpy and doesn't want to leave the airport. I'm getting many options though which is why I love BT as much as visiting Bonaire!

David-thanks for sharing your positive experience and somewhat negative too with the San Juan to Bon connection. You know we've traveled a lot and you just have to hope the travel gods are looking down on you! Fingers are crossed for a smooth trip. I remain Optimistic and will post upon return!

Kate-thanks for your response, I guess one out of eight isn't bad, but what a pain when it happens! Hopefully not for us this time, we'll see! Maybe will have to run super fast!

Debbie-Thanks so much-you've given me a great layout of many airport options. It makes life so much easier when you know what to look for instead of looking around for an hour and saying so what do we do! I really appreciate all the info! Trip report to follow!

Cyn and Susan-Isla Verde and the Hampton Inn Burger by the pool bar, well that has my name written all over it! Depends on my husbands mood. I probably will opt for that unless he doesn't want to leave the airport and I guess we'll either try the bar/restauratnt or the admirals club. I've gotten so much great information on every aspect of this trip, I have back up plans for everything. Thanks again!

Pat-We probably will hit duty free and we do like a good rum, but leftovers? Definitely slim chance, but your top of the list if there are any! If not at Isla verde or the admirals club we'll be in San juan for a long layover on return so we have three options including the bar restaurant. Can't wait to get to Bon and looking forward to posting a trip report to all who have been so helpful.

Pat-We probably will hit duty free and we do like a good rum, but leftovers? Definitely slim chance, but your top of the list if there are any! If not at Isla verde or the admirals club we'll be in San juan for a long layover on return so we have three options including the bar restaurant. Can't wait to get to Bon and looking forward to posting a trip report to all who have been so helpful. Thanks for your help!