If you believe the premier and FB, AA plans to start direct flights in June, with booking to start tomorrow. We shall see.

From Miami to Tortola?

MKGrey--thanks for the link.

This is wonderful news! Direct to Beef makes the trek from the west coast much easier.

Let's see what the $$$ is before getting too excited!!!

Depends on where you are coming from, probably require an overnight in MIA. I miss the old AA Eagle, playing checked bag roulette, what would be stolen from your bag in SJU

There was no Roulette involved. Anything valuable in your bag belonged to the baggage handlers!

I hope they are still enjoying my collection of Soul and Ska CDs....

Does anyone know when these will become available for booking?

Ahoy Captains,

Yes, the Captains Compass Yacht Charters, Management and Brokerage will offer a Free Sleep Aboard on any charter in 2023 where the Captain arrives on this flight.
Lets hope this Works!

Fair Winds, Brent from thecaptainscompass.com

Looked this morning and didn't see any of these flights.

I thought I saw that booking window would open up today. I just searched flights this morning and I'm not seeing MIA - EIS as a direct flight option.

I just talked to American and the agent said she couldn't see anything about this flight. However, she also said that they wouldn't see it until it become available. She had no way of seeing when this would be. So, basically, we have to just keep checking online.

I checked AA.com earlier today and saw the MIA/EIS flights. An hour later they did not show up anymore.

Which is why they probably stole a very old and very dirty monogrammed LLBean boat and tote bag from my luggage, to carry their small stolen goods.

This was posted by Ian Clark on Facebook earlier today:

"Update on American Airlines booking of flight from MIA to EIS!
On Friday, American Airlines uploaded the schedule changes for booking direct flight MIA-EIS starting 1st June 2023. It is visible to reporters who have Cirrium database access but the actual load isn’t published to AA.com and other distribution channels until late this Saturday evening and is typically viewable overnight Saturday into Sunday morning."

The flights are now there. Round trip from Miami in economy: $3958 (July 8-15).

Ouch...cheaper by far to do DCA - SJU then Island Birds to EIS. Hopefully the prices come down over time

Nuts..back to the old faithful ferries!

AAL air fares usually are highest when they are first posted. They tend to come down after a week or so once they see how reservations are going. Perhaps these will follow same pattern....

Charlotte - MIA - EIS is similarly ridiculous: $3,800.

Interesting that while still expensive, it's $400 cheaper flying from my home airport through MIA-EIS, than just flying MIA-EIS.

xrayman--nonstops are almost always more expensive than a connecting flight between the same destinations.

I don't know if it's just my connection or not, but I have been having troubles even connecting to AA this weekend. Are other dates cheaper?

^^^Not a bad price for a family of 4 ;-)

I just went to aa.com and priced a round trip June 14 - 21, ORD-MIA/MIA-EIS: $1,883!

Mid week flights were always a lot cheaper than weekend flights.

I always try to book our flights the day they post. I’ve noticed that American often has crazy prices the first day they post, so sometimes you have to wait until the second day. I would continue to check throughout the day and tomorrow. We paid $820 round-trip from Raleigh, NC through San Juan to Tortola for next June. If we can get this new flight for a few hundred more each, I think we will change to remove the uncertainty of flying Silver. Fingers crossed, but I don’t have my hopes up.

We just priced Monday travel dates in June - $2138 MIA to EIS and $1700 from our home airport in Detroit to EIS with a stop in Miami. Of course you can connect through SJU for much less 😂. I do not have status on American so have to pay for perks and bags but interesting. Will see how this plays out.

It was also cheaper from Memphis than from Miami, but not yet reasonable.

Like Steve, we would pay a couple hundred more for this flight because the timing is a game changer. After a 65 minute layover in Miami, we would arrive in Beef Island at 1:30 pm, which means we can pick up groceries and get to our house well before dark.

Avoiding a boat passage in the dark or spending a night in a hotel is well worth a few dollars more in flights.

I would imagine prices will change since this is a newly posted route, but I will never understand airline pricing. For reference, CLT and ATL are about the same driving distance for us:

June 1 from the AA website;

ATL - MIA - EIS - Main $2,291, Business $3,565

CLT - MIA - EIS - Main $2,215, Business $3,815

MIA - EIS - Main $2,213, Business $3,742

And June 8 to 19, Miami to Beef Island, round-trip--$594......

Prices seem to be correcting and dropping. Unrestricted business is cheaper than unrestricted economy. The good news is we found FF tickets (one way) for 35k in June, and restricted economy tickets for $563.

Rates will vary tremendously over the next 6 months. However, if it becomes reasonably competitive in pricing, and not establish a reputation of cancellation/delays, it will become a preferred route for us. So following closely.

I just checked for a June 7 flight to June 15 and all return trips had a stop in San Juan

So why bother??

Flying from EIS to CONUS always means a customs visit. That isn't news, that's just normal.

Miami is an international airport. For me it was exciting news I could fly from CMH-Miami-BVI with only one stop in Miami. From what I see, it’s a 2 stop flight home with the extra stop in San Juan. Factoring in total time and potential hassles, I’m still content flying into St Thomas and taking the ferry just like over been doing for the past 8 years.

Look again, you can fly through Miami both ways.

Direct is not Non-Stop. Common and incorrect description.
Direct makes a stop or stops without a change in planes.

Non-Stop is just that.

Did anyone already dig deep enough to see what plane AA is using for the MIA to EIS and back? Curious…