Wowsa...What's going on with flights?

[Tribs]

Hello Bonaire Fans!

So I'm planning a trip in July and can't seem to find flights home any more that don't require an overnight some where. I'm totally flustered right now and really close to just giving up.

Here is the scenario, any suggestions, ideas, or comments are greatly appreciated.

My trip is 7/21-7/28. I was planning on flying United. I have a $100 credit with them I would like to use, plus I have the mileage card with them. The flight home is forcing me through Newark with an overnight. The "airport hotels" are almost as expensive as a plane ticket. LOL I have found some offsite hotels at reasonable rates, but even though most of them list airport shuttle, I'm finding that they mean JFK, not Newark. I'm to the point of seriously considering just staying over night in the public area of Newark.

I've looked at Delta. They have a flight that would put me at ORD around midnight, but the price is higher, I don't get miles, and I don't have their credit card (do they even offer one?). And yes, looking at baggage and overnight with United, Delta is still slightly higher.

I'm really secretly (ok, not so secretly) hoping that someone on this board will chime in and say - hold on buying tickets. The Houston flight is coming back! Seriously, what happened to flying through Houston? I could always get home from there. It's not like I'm trying to fly to some po-dunk airport. I'm going to Chicago people.

Any ideas?????

[DrDirector]

Hi Tribs,

The United flight to Houston leaves Bonaire on Sunday morning. Try changing your date for your search.

[Tribs]

Can't change the dates. Thanks though.

[Canuck52]

I am not sure when American Airlines starts its flights In/Out of Bonaire from Miami, nor do I have any idea on the schedule or costs. But, perhaps another option??

Bonaire is not a real easy place to travel to from the US, or Canada where we live unless your schedule is flexible or you do the short hop from Curacao, which can have its own flight challenges. We got caught up in the Insel Air flight stoppage a few months back that cost us a fair bit to rebook with United out of Bonaire. We had to do the Newark thing with an additional costly overnight stay at the Newark Airport Hotel.

Good Luck

[tursiops]

Hi Tribs.
A lot of folks are opting for United going down, and American (via MIA) coming back. Two one-way tickets.

[Tribs]

Well, I found that Delta has a few mileage cards and one of them provided $150 off the first Delta purchase. That made up my mind. I'm flying Delta. I will just use my United credit to go somewhere else. LOL Is it wrong to long for the days when Air Jamaica flew to Bonaire or dare I recall when AA flew several days a week. We were actually joking that it is easier to get to the island on a cruise ship now than it is to fly. Sigh....

[thom]

I fly out of Albuquerque, I must overnight both ways. I find it easiest to overnight each way in Curacao.

American now flies direct to Bonaire from Miami but the schedule still requires an overnight somewhere. Really, flying AA to Cur then on the next morning on Divi works best and cheapest.

[Neptune Nick]

Tribs -
Love Air Jamaica flights. We used them flying from Baltimore to Jamaica, change planes, then on to Bonaire. They always held up the planes so folks had time to get off the one plane and on to the other. Never had a problem. Wish they would bring them back and compete with Delta so their prices would go down.

[wwguy]

Love Air Jamaica flights. We used them flying from Baltimore to Jamaica, change planes, then on to Bonaire. They always held up the planes so folks had time to get off the one plane and on to the other. Never had a problem.

For a while they were running flights from MIA to BON with a stop in Port-au-Prince in Haiti. The cultural differences between Haitians returning home and American tourists headed for Bonaire were interesting to say the least.

Wish they would bring them back and compete with Delta so their prices would go down.

LOL, the route or the airline? Air Jamaica went out of business in 2015. Anyone else here remember ALM airlines service from Miami to Bonaire in the 90's? That was a good one too.

Regarding competition driving down airfare prices, that doesn't seem to be the case with the Bonairean market. American Airlines and Sunwing have recently begun serving Bonaire and both Delta and United fares continue to rise anyway.

[larrygross]

Air Jamaica from Boston, ALM for many years, and I had no problems with either, tho there was a lot of luggage lost, and of course a lot stolen in San Juan from American flights. I used to love the vast boxes of clothing and such being flown home to sell from Miami, and the chickens and roosters traveling from San Juan and Curacao to various destinations. But now the monopoly has us all paying through the nose.