BonaireTalk Discussion Group
Getting to Bonaire: San Juan to Bonaire : American Eagle Logistics Question.
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 2003-05-01 to 2004-01-31: San Juan to Bonaire : American Eagle Logistics Question.
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cris Hall (BonaireTalker - Post #27) on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 11:25 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Please help with a few questions.
Our flight gets into San Juan at 4:17 PM and leaves for Bonaire at 5:35PM.

What concerns do I have making this connection in a little over 1 hour?

Do I have to pick up my checked bags before going to the gate? Do I have to recheck my bags?

How far is it from the American (Big Plane) gates to the American Eagle gate departing for Bonaire?

Are there any other considerations for making this connection? Someone told me that the flight to Bonaire is first-come-first-serve, and can sometimes fill-up...is that true?

Thanks for any advice or help.

Cris

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cecil Berry (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2714) on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 12:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Chris you will get you boarding pass for the American Eagle flight when you check-in for your first flight. So you should be all set for that, we did not recheckin in San Juan. You do not have to touch your checked bags until you get to Bonaire. You should have plenty of time to get to the gate, it was only a 50 yard walk when we did it. You should have plenty of time to get some cheap booze at the duty free shop. San Juan airport is not that big or crowded by American standards. The only hiccup is that the Bonaire flight is on a small plane and it does not have the overhead space, so if you are carrying large carry-ons you check them as you are boarding the small plane and retrieve when you get off.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By C Poteet (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #104) on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 2:23 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Cris -

As a North Texas neighbor who has used the DFW-SJU-BON routing, let me echo Cecil's counsel.

Might I suggest that you go pretty much directly to the Bonaire flight upon landing in San Juan and check in (then do your shopping)? The "first come first served" reference probably alludes to the fact that American sometimes overbooks the flight. In that case your best bet is to be there early.

Having said that, we've never encountered a problem missing a flight due to overbooking. There's always volunteers who will take cash or alternate routing if it comes up.

The only thing I would repeat is to make certain, by looking with your own eyes at the luggage tag placed on each bag, that when you check in at DFW, your bags show the final destination as Bonaire and that they are on the correct flight.

Despite the somewhat disorienting return schedule, we really like the DFW-SJU-BON routing. I'll bet you will have no problems, you will be pleased with the flight and you are going to love Bonaire.

Do favor us with a trip report upon your return.

Charles Poteet
Dallas

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cris Hall (BonaireTalker - Post #29) on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 3:28 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Cecil, Charles,

Thanks for the info. That puts my mind at easy for that leg of the trip.

Charles, What part of Dallas are you from? We are from Aledo, which is west of Ft. Worth. We are not, however, flying out of DFW. We are dropping the kids off in Denver with the grandparents, and flying out of DIA. A small price to pay for a week of baby sitting and a vacation sans kids. Ha ha.

Thanks again for the info. Cris

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linnea Wijkhof-Wimberly (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #521) on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 4:41 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

One more note, having your boarding pass issued in Denver will pretty much guarantee your seats on the AE flight. My sister and I stayed on PR for a couple of days and were put on standby because of weight limitations. They had to figure out how much weight would be on the plane from the transfered checked luggage. We made it along with several other people that had been put on standby. This seems to be a common problem with AE's inter-island flight, as we ran into people going to other islands that had been put on hold. Their connections were such that they had no choice but to overnight on PR.

So, for you, no problema.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cris Hall (BonaireTalker - Post #32) on Thursday, July 10, 2003 - 9:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks for the info. Cris

 


Visit: The Bonaire WebCams - Current Bonaire images and weather!
The Bonaire Insider - the latest tourism news about Bonaire
The Bonaire Information Site, InfoBonaire
Search Bonaire - Search top Bonaire Web sites


Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration