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Getting to Bonaire: July Travel
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 2006-2008: Archives - 2005-12-13 to 2006-04-01: July Travel
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Smith (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 7:46 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi - I'm traveling from New York to Bonaire on the 1st July - as per everyone else's enquiries I'm in two (or more) minds about which route to take.

Air Jamaica via Montego Bay is my preferred option due to an 8am departure/2:30pm arrival. The return flight is good too. However - several people have posted horror stories about delays, plus there is only an hour between arrival in Montego Bay & departure to Bonaire.

American via San Juan has had some good reviews but is all day on the way out and an 8am departure on the way back : (

With flying via Aruba there have been mixed reviews.

I know it's the $64k question and if everything were equal I'd choose AJ as the schedule works best - I'm just keen to avoid a nightmare delay.

I know this is a question that has been asked many times before but scheduled/service do change so I'd be interested in recent experiences people have had traveling to Bonaire.

To make it most readable I suggest the following format:

When did you fly (month)?
Where did you fly from?
Via?
Who did you fly with?
Any problems/comments?


Thanks

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jeff Stine (BonaireTalker - Post #87) on Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 9:52 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Craig, I've flown AJ from BWI many times. Most of the times there have been no problems. One time we were delayed coming home and AJ put us up in an all inclusive overnight and put us on the next flight to Baltimore the next day.

One time on the way down we were delayed about six hours leaving BWI, so we missed the flight to Bonaire. As fate would have it we were flying first class on that trip. AJ put us into the Ritz Carlton with meal vouchers. It was tough to spend time in an oceanfront suite at the Ritz. We were put on the next days flight to Bonaire.

If the inbound planes are slightly late, AJ generally will hold the Bonaire flight based on my experience.

That was before AJ had financial problems and they were flying to Bonaire several times a week. I'm not exactly sure how they are handling it right now.

Jeff

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susan Taft (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #625) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 7:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Craig, I have flown to/from Bonaire in January, February, March, April, July, August and December from both Hartford and Boston. I have flown AA, Air Jamaica, USAIr to Aruba than BE to Bonaire and many years ago ALM as a connection from Curacao. The winter months tend to have the fullest planes. My current favorite options are AA through Miami to Curacao and then Divi to Bonaire followed by AA through San Juan and then on to Bonaire. We had significant delays and problems with the flights through Aruba so we try to avoid that one though I know others have been lucky. We also had good luck with Air Jamaica but they no longer fly from Boston. There was also only an hour between the flights on Air Jamaica and I hated the worry surrounding that! Probably would do so even more now that the number of AJ flights to Bonaire has been cut so drastically. The layover in San Juan when flying American can seem daunting but should you choose that route Cynde Lee and I started a thread of tips for spending the day in San Juan that can help you pass the time. Hope this helps.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tel Aviv (BonaireTalker - Post #71) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 10:22 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

What about taking Continental from Newark non-stop to Curacao and then Divi or DAE over to Bonaire? We've flown Air Jamaica many times from New York and have had good experiences every time. Also, Air Jamaica gives you food on every flight while AA gives you nothing but a small drink. Also, it's nice to not have to go through immigration until the very end of the trip instead of in the middle and then recheck baggage.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Lorraine Meadows (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #976) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 11:40 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We have flown the Air Jamacia from JFK the last several times and had only a problem once on the way down. I still think these flights are the best bet and I will be booking ours for June and return in July soon.
You do get to Bonaire at a reasonable time (2:30) and the returning flight leave in the afternoon,around 3 not at the crack of dawn, like the others,with AJ. Jets not prop planes.
I always say it's part of the adventure of getting there,. I will "roll the dice" and take my chances again with AJ.
It is always worth the hassel for the experience of Bonaire.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sue Goodman (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #298) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 2:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

4 trips in February

first 3 on AJ
2003 - Newark/MoBay flight cancelled, although fate would have had me call the night before to confirm. Drove 2 hrs to Philly at midnight. Delayed takeoff b/c ice storm. Connection held. On the way home, late leaving Bonaire, but Newark connection held (only 50% of connections seemed to be held). GRADE = C-

2004 - everything on time. GRADE = A+

2005 - southbound fine. Return trip: Left Bonaire slightly late. MoBay was disaster - very few flights heading to US. (this was height of AJ "problems"). Finally on a plane at 2am after many, many hours of "just 30 more minutes". No response to my complaint letter. GRADE = F

switched to American
2006 - EWR/SJU/BON & CUR/MIA/EWR (w/ Divi hop to CUR). Only delay was 45 minutes on SJU/BON segment, plus they did bump people for weight. Flight attendants very rude and plane was hot. Despite luggage problems on every AA trip I had ever take; all arrived w/o scratch. GRADE = B+ (no food on return flights and tickets were very expensive!).

2007? - planning EWR/CUR on Continental.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kelly Baum (GDLW) (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #3873) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 3:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Craig, I have flown to Bonaire several times in July from Columbus, Oh. Used AA every time but one, and have had no problems, knock wood.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Smith (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 3:58 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Just a quick note to thank you all for your helpful and constructive replies, they are much appreciated. Craig

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sue Goodman (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #299) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 4:11 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Craig,

Meant to add that we followed the guidance from others on this board and spent our SJU layover touring the Old City. Well worth the $50 for taxi & entrance fees. Our kids loved the place and are now begging to return. (I've tried to explain to them that not all of San Juan is that interesting). Great example of turning lemons into lemonade. When we returned to the AE terminal, we met up with a few families that were on the same EWR/SJU flight - they were quite grumpy from having spent the past 5 hours in the terminal, while we had enjoyed a fun family outing and had lunch in "Puerto Rican Subway" (what the ranger at the fort called El Meson).

I wasn't thrilled by the arrival time, but Belmar was very flexible the next morning & let us put off our orientation a few hours to sleep in and get grocery shopping out of the way.

We got around the early AM departure by hopping over to Curacao (1:30pm) departure and taking later AA flight. DiviDivi was another fun family adventure, with my 13yr old sitting next to the pilot. Only negative to this quick trip was the plane was very hot & noisy.

Good luck with your choice!

While no one mentioned it, July is not without hurricanes. You might want to consider in your travel equation.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tel Aviv (BonaireTalker - Post #72) on Monday, March 20, 2006 - 4:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Yes, I often fly American Eagle from Des Moines to Chicago and they have had to bump people off because of weight limitations. Air Jamiaca only flies Airbus A320/321 aircraft on the Bonaire routes, so you don't have to worry about that. It's simply the luck of the draw...if there's a hurricane will it be over Puerto Rico, Miami, or Montego Bay?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cecil used to be on Bonaire (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4552) on Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 12:10 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

OK our experiences. First trip we flew American Eagle, hated the arrival/departure times. The next trip we tried the Aruba route and it was a real pleasure, we got to Aruba on a direct flight from Boston around noon. We went to the beach for lunch and drinks then went back to the airport for our 5:00PM flight and got in to Bonaire at 6:30PM.

Well the trip last week was not as nice, once again we got to Aruba a little after noon but our next flight was at 4:00, no time for the beach. We then flew to Curacao and waited there for another three hours and got to Bonaire at 8:00PM. As I was waiting for my rental truck the American Eagle flight landed, just to piss me off more.

The flight back was a pleasure, we left Bonaire at 10:00AM got to Aruba at 11:30 after a quick stop in Curacao and left Aruba at 2:30 and got in to Boston at 6:30.

Some other notes about the Aruba route, it is a lot cheaper (generally). It comes in around $550-$600 per person R/T. The only issue is DAE (old Bonaire Excel/Express) and their schedule. We have seen no issues with delays or bumping on DAE.

My suggestion (if you choose this route) is to take the later flight to Bonaire (which I'm pretty sure is the plane we took after getting stuck in Curacao). That way you get most of the day on Aruba and still get to Bonaire at a reasonable time.

 


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