InterCaribbean Airways

Hi, we have a connecting flight on InterCaribbean from San Juan to EIS and I'm getting concerned about the carrier's reliability. We arrive in San Juan at 9 am and our flight to EIS isn't until 2:35 pm, which should be way more time than we need. But I'm seeing nothing but bad reviews about the carrier. Does anyone have any good recent experiences with IC or should I start preparing Plan B now?

You did not include dates. IC has off late been running a better airline. You will probably be fine. With a 9AM arrival you could consider heading to the gate for their 10:15 flight to EIS. The afternoon flight tends to run full and the morning flight light. They might move you for no charge. If you have checked bags you might need to send someone to the airport to retrieve them later. It’s possible you might get them to move the bags up so ask but I would not hold your breath!
There is not much else you can do. They run 3 flights a day and generally it’s the same aircraft. Delays can snowball but it’s the late flight at most risk to be canceled. Looking at the last two weeks of flight history there were zero cancelations and only 2 long delays on your flight.

My experience with IC, They left on time. My experience with the seats is that they are way to close together and thus I ( 6ft high) could llnot get my knees in feront of my but hads to sit sideways thru the flight. VERY uncomfortable!! I will not fly with them again. My experience with Silver was excellent. On time and a very comfortable airplane and also brand new.

Here's a recent piece on the airline from yesterday's edition of The BVI Beacon:

NEW WORST AIRLINE?

Last year, a Beaconite got an unwelcome taste of InterCaribbean Airlines’ legendarily abysmal customer service when the carrier stranded him for two days in the Dominican Republic. And from reading numerous complaints on social media, he knows he’s not the only one to be treated badly by the company. So this week, he was glad to read that at least one Caribbean government is addressing the problem head-on.

Guyana Aviation Minister Juan Edghill threatened the airline with government sanctions if it doesn’t cut back on its frequent delays and cancellations, according to regional news reports. Mr. Edghill reportedly said that senior government officials met last week with InterCaribbean representatives, who blamed the ongoing problems on issues with crewmembers and other internal matters. The airline, he added, committed to improving, in part by adding aircraft. “If they don’t fulfil those obligations that they made last week Thursday, we will have to step in and take additional actions or possible sanctions,” the minister reportedly told Demerara Waves Online News, adding, “The airlines cannot just make money and people suffer. They have to be able to have the social contract with the passengers fulfilled.”

Given that the same issues have frequently affected Virgin Islands travellers, the Beaconite wonders if leaders here should take a similarly strong stance. Given his own problems with the airline, he hopes they at least consider it. Travellers who have tried to contact InterCaribbean officials in the past doubtlessly will not be surprised that the airline did not respond yesterday to a request for comment.

https://www.bvibeacon.com/reporters-notebook-aug-17-2023/

George is very plugged in, and this is great advice! I travel pretty often to and from the BVI and I do generally prefer Silver, but if the flight times don't work out I often end up on InterCaribbean and have a pretty high success rate.

Definitely try to get on that 10:15 flight if you can.