American/USAirways/Seabourne

I'm considering a charter boat vacation in May or June and would prefer to fly directly into Tortola/Beef Island. I'd like to know what experience others have had recently flying either American or USAir through San Juan and on to Beef Island via Seabourne. Is Seabourne reliable? I understand the connection with Seabourne involves a terminal change. Is that a problem? Does checked luggage transfer automatically or does it have to be claimed and rechecked?

I did this using Cape Air and everything went well.
If you book through American to EIS your bags should transfer automatically.
Looks like American will get you into EIS at 6:30 pm.

or You can save yourself $300 p/p and fly into STT. Arrive STT at 1:30 pm. Ferry ride makes a great start to the vacation!

Does anyone have experience with the AA/Seabourne relationship regarding the San Juan/Tortola route--positive or negative?

We have flown AA/Seabourne route a number of times from Chicago to San Juan and then on to Beef Island. Always booked through American and have never had any problems with anything.

Going to Beef Island bags were transferred automatically. Coming back from Beef Island to San Juan everyone has to claim their bags in order to go through customs.

Trueblue, thanks for your reassurance!

Seaborne killed us this past Friday, we were in STT via a 7:00 AM ferry from Tortola for a 10:15 flight to SJU on a 1 day stop on our way home after a week in Tortola. We were told at 8:30 AM the plane had issues and they told us then and all day 45 minutes and it would be fixed, the mechanic is here, then he is on his way, then he is here, then he is on his way, or we will send another plane this went on all day from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. They finally fix the plane at 2:30 PM and instead of taking us to SJU they then SEND IT EMPTY TO ST CROIX and leave all of us stranded because it worked better for them to get back on schedule for other flights ! we finally leave for SJU at 4:30 and its a 25 minute flight that they could have done in the morning if they brought in another plane, plus the empty plane to St Croix slap in the face. My son was not feeling well and had ( with the rest of use) to spend the entire day in the airport because Seaborne management chose to mange it this way.I will never fly them again stay away and use Cape Air or Jet Blue etc. I lost a whole day of vacation and paid for a really nice hotel in SJU that I did not get to enjoy that day. I understand things break, but have never had an airline show such a disregard for customers for a few bucks. I felt bad for the Seaborne staff at STT it was not their fault, they tried, it was the management calling the shots. Sad thing for the local business is it will be long time before we are willing to go through the extra work to get down there as we have in the past to enjoy the beauty of the area because of this. I expect getting any credit or compensation will get me the run around as well. Bottom line fly another airline.

Just so I understand this fabbr1, you wanted Seaborne to inconvenience everyone on the STT - STX runs so you and your family wouldn't be inconvenienced,and you could "enjoy" (your words) a day in your hotel in San Juan? With zero regard for those passengers that travel back and forth, sometimes daily, between STT and STX. Maybe the mom trying to get home from work to get her kids from school, etc.
I empathize with you for the act of God (stuff breaks)that impacted your trip, but I think Seaborne made the correct business decision.

CptCook... I know, your kidding.....

I think... fabbr1... just wanted to get what she paid for....

which would be... a nice ending... to her vacation

period, end of story

CGB, no, I wasn't kidding at all. If fabbr1's comments had been "boy did we have bad luck, airplane broke, company wasn't able to find some way to make it right for us, it was a real unfortunate way to end our trip", then I would agree, period, end of story. Instead she said " I will never fly them again", "I have never seen an airline show such disregard for customers", "leaving us all stranded (they didn't leave them stranded, just delayed)", "because it worked better for them to get back on schedule for other flights", and "bottom line, fly another airline".
I am very sorry their trip didn't end well. I wish it would have. But the opinion she stated was just that, her opinion. And then I offered alternative reasons why the airline may not have done what she felt was right. And that there would have been many more people than her and her family inconvenienced had they done what she would have preferred.
Again, I wish it would have been better for her, but I think the airline did the right thing.

fabbr1,

That certainly sucks!

As usual, most of us really don't know what the "rules" are when things like this happen. I have no idea what rules Seaborne would be under but I did find an interesting article about how it works in the US and I'm surprised.

Flight delays, your legal rights

A quick summary: In the US airlines have no legal obligation to provide you with any form of compensation. But, each airline has a contract of carriage which states what they will do. The terminology is "events beyond the airline's control" which would be things like when the ATC computer system was bombed in Chicago or a storm hits. Equipment failure is considered within their control. However, if you read the article it looks like most US airlines are covering overnight stays (10pm-6am), transportation to and maybe some food vouchers - I think if your ordeal starts early in the morning and ends at 9:55pm they aren't going to do much for you.

Well... let me put it this way....

If it was true.. every time I said... "This is my last visit to Tola"

...I would have saved many.many,many years of airflights....rentals, and all else...

But - I still come.. I still bi^ch and I still complain
and... somehow I still enjoy, and I still keep coming back

Yes.. an opinion was spoken... and frustration aired
FAIR GAME

and...my hat is off to you... if you are honestly saying you have never been in that camp....

Have we all forgotten just how expensive it is to visit to these islands ?
To have it spoiled by laziness....

I'm confused by the taking a ferry from Tortola to STT to fly to SJU. Why not just fly from Tortola to SJU and skip the ferry?

I would imagine the cost difference? 3 people on the ferry would be around $180 + taxi to the airport, compared to probably $600+ to fly to SJU. But then you have the flight from STT to SJU to factor in.

I am confused also. OP was flying from STT to SJU. This was after taking the 7 am ferry to Saint Thomas. Why did they not take the 7 am flight from EIS?

oops, sorry, that was not the OP. it was one of the replies

If your destination is SJU, flying from EIS to STT then SJU seems to be counterproductive. There are several flights on Seaborne that would have you in SJU directly. Not sure if you booked into STT and the SJU leg was part of the trip but it seems like a recipe for exactly what happened to you.

I agree that it's not the simplest way to go. I merely pointed out that the cost difference may have had something to do with it. When comparing apples to apples with the flight from STT to SJU, it's probably only a $100 difference. I'll let the person who did it explain why they did <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

LOL, Tradewinds, I was going to point out to you that in your equation, you forgot the cost of the ticket fm STT to SJU. But this time I actually checked before making a fool of myself. On Seaborne, it is about $150 per person more, one way, to fly to SJU fm EIS rather than STT. You are right sir! Cost could be a factor!

I cannot imagine thinking this routing was good. Just think of the baggage changes you have to do. 3 sets of C&I. Why not fly in/out of STT. So much easier. I always go for the least legs on traveling. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

Now I'm really confused. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" /> They did fly to STT...wouldn't EIS be the easiest?

I have seen situations where the FAA would not let the aircraft take passengers after a repair. A test flight was required. Perhaps this was the case? If they flew without passengers to St Croix maybe this was done to satisfy FAA?

Unfortunately, we had a very similar experience with Cape Air over President's Weekend. Except we would have missed our connection home. (We booked a charter in order to make our flight out of SJU.) Up until then, I was a big Cape Air fan. I don't know if the employee at the counter didn't know what was happening with operations or if they were playing dumb, for lack of a better term, in the interest of self-preservation because of the increasingly angry mob at the terminal.

CPTCOOK, You do not understand they told us ( all day) when the plane was fixed they would send us to SJU as that was the next leg, they sent it empty to St Croix, they lied to us, all 5 in my family and the other passengers. I watched the plane go by out the window and went up to asked did you really send that plane out? they were embarrassed by it, they screwed us. They are the worst. FYI it is he not she <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

Fabbr1, what you don't understand is that all airlines use yield management software to maximize efficiency / maximize profit / minimize disruption to their schedule when something goes wrong. I really do feel bad for you that things worked out the way they did. But Seaborne did not intentionally screw you, they made the best business decision for their operation. It sucks when you are the one that draws the short straw. I get that. But your tone implies that Seaborne just randomly decided to ruin your day. They didn't. If they had flown the STT-SJU leg, then a larger number of people on the STX-STT runs (and they fly that city pair more than they fly STT-SJU) would have been inconvenienced and the airline would have lost more money, disrupted their schedule more. Again, I am sorry it was you, but trust me, Seaborne didn't want to delay anyone, and with the help of their yield management software, made the best business choice in a bad situation. Dude, it is the Caribbean, and Seaborne doesn't have a lot of spare machines waiting around. If you travel down island you have to appreciate that sometimes things might happen. As has been pointed out, the routing you chose left you open to the most possible hiccups. You still made San Juan the same day you were supposed to, you all got home safe, and hopefully you (with this one exception) had a great vacation.

We are flying into STT this year and taking the ferry into Road Town. The cost of the flight from SJU was $250+ round trip vs the flight to st Thomas and the less than $100 round trip ferry. Yes, I would absolutely prefer to fly SJU to EIS but with the cost and unreliable air service, we are trying the STT route this year

We used Cape Air for SJU-EIS a couple weeks ago. It was great. We got to SJU on Southwest and since they don't code share at this point we were worried about connecting times...we left plenty of time just to be safe. Cape Air put us on earlier flights when we checked in since we arrived early. They also moved some of our group that weren't on the same flight so they could be with us. I love being on those little planes going over the islands...got some great pictures!

We tried the same thing, but after paying the cab fare, and tipping just about everyone on St Thomas who basically demanded money, we are going back to SJU-EIS using American / Seaborne.

We have used Cape Air in the past as well, they were great. They know how to run an airline.

I know this post got a little of course and Rita tried to get it back but if I may chime in. The reason they went empty to St. Croix may possibly be because that is their home base and maybe they needed to work on the plane. We have used them many times to BVI and St. Croix and the service always has been great!

Funny thing was they told us all day the mechanic is coming over from St Croix in 45 minutes, then we were told the mechanic is here, then on his/her way, this went on for 8 hours. Total joke, they have no regard for customers pick another airline

Sorry you had such a bad end to your trip. We have had many snafus going and coming to the BVIs..almost became expected.

Actually if candor and what the passenger thinks is fairness are the measure, if you fly enough you will come to the same conclusion about every airline. ..
Was going to a football game in Tempe Az a couple years ago...found a good flight out of Nashville tenn ..bout 3 hr drive for me. It went to Columbus Ohio for a stop, no plane change then on to Phoenix. So I got to Nashville took off early am...got to Columbus about 9 am.. The Columbus passengers deplaned, the crew came back and said "there is a mechanical problem with the plane, everyone needs to take all your carry on items and deplane. We will let you know when you can reboard. ". So we did and there was some confusion and crowding in the gate area. In a little while they were loading the same plane they ran us off of for a flight to St. Louis. Seems that was the plane that had mechanical issues..more of them..so they lied to us..loaded them up and off they went "on our perfectly good plane". . There were no connections available to Phoenix. They said they would bring in a plane. They claimed 2 pm..then 5 pm then 8 ..at 10:30 a crew showed up and we were on the way. I fly SWA all the time..twice this month, just know like your experience they are not as pure as fresh snow.

Anyone traveling to EIS multiple times via San Juan likely experienced them dropping a flight...to load up another one. The Air Sunshine post from a few days ago told you they were not being totally honest with their passengers. The reason they charge you for one crappy seat over another, to get on the plane sooner or take your luggage along and have 10 dollar stale sandwiches, have decreased seats and vastly raised prices, are making it harder to use FF miles..is because it helps their bottom line. The decision as to who is inconvenienced is likely governed by the same thing. It's not personal..it's the money. Doubt Seabourne is any worse and suspect better from what I hear than most.