TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Double check your AA flights for November

AA cuts 31,000 flights

Sounds like most of the flights being cut are domestic, but best to double check.

Our November trip changed from STL. Instead of arriving in SXM at 2pm we now arrive at 4pm. Returning to STL we now arrive after midnight instead of 9pm. But at least we have no overnight.

Yes, no overnight anyway. Being grateful for small favors..

Thanks for the reminder. They changed my outbound PDX to SXM from two legs to three. And the second leg departs two minutes prior to the arrival of the first leg. Sheesh! Starting all over . . . .

You might want to look into flying out of SEA. Direct to CLT to SXM.

Linda--Best wishes! Flying is such a joy these days!! Not..

Delta cancelled our original return flight on November 29, as well. Getting to be quite the mess.

irish--cancelled your flight to Atlanta, or NY?

I can't stand flying Horizon, which is what the PDX - SEA leg is.

But it's only a half hour flight and checked bags are transferred over for you to American flight out of SEA. Worth considering.

Sorry - Delta canceled our flight from SXM to ATL

Got notice from Delta- our return trip Nov 8th is now Nov 7th.. losing a day- will have to let our lodging know we will be out 1 day early...Ugh

Flying anywhere is becoming a total unreliable event which is REALLY sad. Our Toulouse to Amsterdam flight in a few weeks was changed to a 20 minute connection.....major DUH!

...and it's not airline specific at all

That is not good, cancelling Delta to Atlanta, as that is their best route to SXM.

American just changed our November return flight from an overnight in Charlotte to same day! Hoping it holds.

Wow a good change!! Congrats!!

Jo,

Maybe we will finally get to connect on SXM island instead of in Rhode Island for once.

Since we are already booked for May/June going and returning on AA I'll see what happens.

Pat,

I hope so! Travel date: October 31 - November 9.

We’re due to arrive on 11/4 - sounds doable but first I have to bite the bullet and buy my tickets. 😊😊

AA has changed our BWI/Miami/SXM flights in October/November twice in the last few weeks. Only minor changes so far but holding our breaths. Schedules are certainly volatile.

We, too are going to SXM November-December timeframe with Delta. Original flights were changed and we were required to do overnights going and returning. Sometimes changes work in our favor. Yesterday we were able to change again so that we start where we originally booked and overnights were eliminated. It really pays to check almost daily. Yes, I know that things could change again and probably will but the folks at Delta appear as frustrated as we are so patience and kindness can help.

Last week canceled our PHL to CLT flight, now going thru MIA to SXM Oct 31. It is still good and while earlier than before more breathing room between flights now.
Better than canceling. Best

Hello Linda,
We were in the same boat you're in with our AA flights this time last year. Cancelled and changed our flights, arrivals after our connection had departed, etc., so we took the refund option and booked a much more expensive flight on Delta. AA restored our old flights on the original days with the CLT connections we like best about 2 or 3 weeks later. We were out a pretty good chunk of change, but it allowed us to keep all our typical island arrival arrangements and length of stay, as well as lessen the "what will they do next" anxiety.

gomer--best wishes with your new flight arrangements. Delta is not immune to flight changes either, as someone else in this thread has already attested. Travel in general is a crap shoot these days.

Correct about Delta. SXM return last January was one stop in NYC to BOS. Turned out to really be two different unplanned hotel stays ...but....refunded our flight cost and we got to stay at the AI Sonesta for a night

They ALL have their issues and it does not seem to be fixing itself...no confidence in getting what I book

2nd flight change from Delta-- changed Nov return flight from Tuesday to Monday.. Now changed same flight from Monday to Sunday- 2 days shaved off vacation ...ugh

That is pretty lame...no other choices that you can make?

road--IF you can find something else that works, you could cancel and get your money back.

Cancel and rebook with different carrier.

Canceled Delta for Oct-Nov trip which cut out 2 days of vacation- Booked with American for same time frame- lets see if booking holds up..

I'm in the same boat.

First, they changed our outbound flight. The connection in Atlanta was going to leave THE DAY BEFORE we get to Atlanta...lol

While I pondered that issue they changed our return flight to THREE DAYS earlier.

Now I'm super angry and looking at lots of $$ to rebook with another carrier. And as everyone is pointing out, that will be a crapshoot as well.

Leona--sorry to hear that. I know that this is supposed to be a very special trip. Hope it works out for you.

Call them, they will work with you and my suggestion is always add more days, never less.

I just went through this coming back from SXM in Dec, they had us on a bad option where we would have spent the night in Miami with a 5:15am flight. Got it all switched, with patience, and actuall got flights we originally wanted but were not an option unless we paid a lot more.

Thanks Carol and Todd. I’m feeling fairly defeated right now.
Hubby is so frustrated with what it takes to get there, that he’s asking me to consider
going somewhere else.

Honestly, unless you're DRIVING, these days, travelling is a crap shoot.

So far my Nov trip is still as scheduled. through MIA with AA

We just booked our flights today for Nov. 4-15 on AA through CLT. From what I'm reading here, looks like I'll be doing flight check duty! Fingers and toes crossed all goes well. We normally do Delta but their flights are twice if not more than AA. Sooooooooooo.....time will tell!

Was just checking on my flights for late November again, and found that AA had actually added some options for DTW-SXM for Saturdays...the usual CLT and MIA connections, but now also a connection through DFW. One would think the additional demand created by the cruises home porting in SXM would not only drive some capacity, but make the airlines want to prioritize those flights with the complications missing the boat causes. The cruise industry swings a big stick, millions of butts in seats. Of course, just speculation on my part.

gomer--I don't think the flight through DFW is "new". I think they added it a year or two ago, but only on Saturday (and possibly Sunday?)

Right Carol..that's what I remember. But when I booked flights for this year's trip they weren't there..and only one option through both CLT and MIA. Now there are 6 different options to get you there same day, and that's just AA. 2 flights from each connection city is a bit more reassuring. And 2 of the options get you there a bit after 2pm, which can make a ton of difference getting through the arrival process. Getting to BSV, drop the luggage and to the beach in time for a few cocktails and a sunset is really a bonus.

We are scheduled to arrive the week after you return in November. Opposite of you, we usually use AA but booked Delta last year and with cancellation due to Covid, were eventually able to basically restore our original flights without costly overnights. It really is almost impossible to be confident that you will arrive and leave on the times booked for any airline you decide to use. The current federal legislation that has been making the news may assist in flight cancellation and delay accommodations but it's about $ and the airline lobbies are strong so I think finger and toe crossing are likely the best approach next to hitting the lottery.

Happened to me also arrive in Atlanta on 7 Nov and connecting flite was changed to 6 Nov.....WTF
cancelled the entire flite and rebooked with JB at a minimal cost

Delta did that to me. My connecting flight left the day before I get to Miami...lol
And now they've changed my return flight to three days earlier.
This won't work AT ALL.
Looking at other airlines, the $$ difference is insanity. Double the original fares.
We may cancel.

Leona--sorry to hear this. Hope you are able to get something worked out.

Amazingly the condo hasn't cashed the check. So, if I can get out of that I will.

Portugal or Turkey look interesting.

Isn't this the place with the zero cancellation policy?? Rut-roh...

Put a stop on the check if it hasn't cleared yet if there is a zero cancellation policy.

We just came back month ago from spending 3 days in Istanbul Turkey and it was amazing, definitely worth a visit.

Scuba--yes, that's what I would do also..

This agreeing on stuff is getting scary.

Even when my statement made no sense??

Hahaha

I could totally derail this thread asking you questions! lol...But I'll post it in the "other" section.

No airline issues, changes, or cancelations with your trip? We are looking at Atalya on the Med.

I am about to get on the phone with Delta.

They've made too many changes to make this workable.

In people's experience, will they book you on a different day (same flight #'s) and eat the cost difference (of current $, which has risen significantly), or will they prefer just to give me a refund?

I was initially flying on a Monday. Should I choose Saturday or Sunday flights if given the option? I hate the airport on a Saturday, but that may be the day least subject to changes or cancelations?

It's been my experience that they would prefer NOT to have to give you money back, so they would probably eat the extra cost. Either Saturday or Sunday should be pretty full, so hopefully no changes from here on out. But I guess Saturday would have less chances of changes.

Carol,

Delta switched me to Sat - Sat. Two week stay. Now hoping that the condo can make that two day adjustment on each end....and for good weather.

OK, hope it all works out for you!

Fighting with Delta now also. Redeye through Atlanta added an additional stop in LAX. Seriously? No thanks.

I felt bad calling when all the airlines are busy with Ian, but, after some unpleasant exchanges with a completely incompetent agent via chat I went ahead and plugged my phone in on speaker and listened to elevator music for 45 minutes while working until I got a live person with Delta. After the initial attempt of them trying to keep me on a redeye, and the person clearly understanding what my complaint was, she said yes she should could put me back on the afternoon flight to ATL that was only 13 minutes different than what I previously booked. She just had to go get override codes. 10 minutes later she was back on and fixed everything.

I can't think of any reason other than trying to get me on cheaper flights that they would try such a thing seems how the price has doubled since I booked in May. Complete scam IMO.

Booked our flights with Delta back in March- Delta changed the flight 2 times cutting a day of vacation each time (2 less days ) . After the 2nd notice of change I went to AA and got the original flight days for about $50.00 difference then canceled Delta and got our money refunded..

Hope that will still hold as AA has been known to do the same thing with flights.

So far so good- we will find out Oct 27...

I was booked on AA outbound with an overnight in MIA. I recently noticed there was a redeye available which I don't think was on the schedule when I originally booked. I called AA to try to change to the redeye to avoid overnighting in MIA. The agent said it would cost $2K additional! I declined after telling the clerk I had never before been charged anything additional for changing a flight. A few days ago I was checking on my flights, and my outbound had been changed to the redeye! I hadn't received any notification from AA about a change. I know they often "forget" to tell you about changes; in this case, however, I think the agent realized the error of her ways and changed it after we hung up. I still had to make seat assignments, which I don't normally have to do if AA does a change. I cancelled my MIA hotel and hope the redeye doesn't get changed. It's through LAX, which isn't my preferred routing, but it avoids a hotel, which is a plus. Happy camper.

When is your trip, at times they have lie flats from LAX to MIA on the redeye. I try to get those flights but rarely can I get them either way with out paying big bucks.

I have always been told from agents at AA that if you were originally booked in First Class there were no change fees.

I had a lie flat last year, but it's not available on November 1, when I fly.

Change fee no, but change of fare yes. Unless they have a schedule change that is significant enough to allow a change then fare matters less.

Correct.

I made a reservation for next August about two weeks ago. Got a notice this morning that it has already changed (crazy that they are tweaking schedules that far in advance). Won't be the last change I am sure.