Booking
I was headed down to St. Maarten for vacation. Since I was (supposed to be) heading down on a Wednesday and coming back on a Tuesday (during the off season), I couldn't get non-stop flights on either end without booking on two seperate carriers. So in the interest of easing connections (plus the fact that one of my travel companions had already booked her flights), I booked on AA the whole way, stopping in SJU both ways. If only it ended up being that simple.
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
John F. Kennedy Int'l (JFK)-Luis Munoz Int'l (SJU)
AA1635
Scheduled Departure: 8:05 AM
Scheduled Arrival: 11:55 AM
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300
Reg: I wish I had the oppurtunity to find out-I wasn't that lucky.
Luis Munoz Int'l (SJU)-Princess Juliana Int'l (SXM)
AA5170 operated by American Eagle/Executive
Scheduled Departure: 2:50 PM
Scheduled Arrival: 4:00 PM
Aircraft: ATR-72-500
Reg: Again, I wish I had the oppurtunity to find out.
Check-in
I arrived at the Terminal 8 at around 5:30. I walked inside to find a skycap/contract security guard/ticket agent who asked me what flight I was on. When I told him I was on the 8:05 to SJU he informed me that the flight was cancelled due to "damage to the aircraft" (a great thing to tell passengers). We were put on a long, meandering line to rebook. About 20 minutes later my friend (who was on the same ticket) arrived. Since he was AAdvantage Gold, he went onto the business class line, and at around 6:15 made it to the front. Since we were on the same ticket, I went over to that line to rebook together. The agent put us on standby for the 9:25 (AA699) along with the entire 767 worth of people on our original flight. We were also confirmed for the non-stop JFK-SXM flight the next morning. She was very nasty, and acted like she was doing us a favor by putting us on this flight. She was also completely unwilling to help our other friend, who was on a seperate ticket (she ended up getting down that day, in first class on Delta no less). When we asked about our checked luggage, she said that if it were put on the plane, we would have to put a claim in for it once we arrive to SJU, a totally unacceptable option (we got many different versions of what would happen to our bags during the day). We checked our bags and headed to the gate.
We went through security and arrived at the gate at around 7:00. Since we still had two and a half hours till we might have gotten on a flight, we went out of the sterile zone for breakfast. We returned to find a completely chaotic scene at the gate, with everyone clamboring to see if they would make the flight. The agents wouldn't tell anyone their position on the standby list. They also refused to help anyone rebook until the already overbooked flight boarded and they could see who would make it off standby. This proved to be costly, as any available seats on another carrier became hard to find. I started calling all of the airlines, trying to see if there was anyway to get to SJU from any of the NY area airports (HPN, JFK, LGA, EWR). One thing I notice about airline phone lines is that they all ask you for O & D cities before you even get to an agent, only to have an agent reask you. My search came up empty. Meanwhile, my friend was on the phone with his travel agent, who found us a way to get there through FLL and SJU, part of the way on DL. After the flight pushed back with no standby passengers on board, they started calling the passengers up one by one to find other options. Half the plane went on standby for the 1:45 flight. When we asked the agent about the Delta option. She said she couldn't access DL booking info (which I believe to be BS)
We returned to the check-in desk armed with a new set of flights, which again included DL, this time in first class. When we got to the front of the line, we were greeted by the only nice agent we saw all day. She went to check with her manager about the DL option, who said he couldn't book us on first class because we had a coach ticket. When I got him to come over, he was, like many of his employees, very nasty. He refused to budge on the first class issue, and when I said I'd never fly AA again, he replied "maybe that's what you have to do." The FLL-SJU flight had filled up, so there was no sense in pushing it any further. We were confirmed to be heading down non-stop tomorrow (I must admit, I was disappointed a little that I wouldn't get to connect). I called the AA baggage line later that day who informed me that my bags were in SXM. Things were looking up.
Thursday, June 28, 2007.
John F. Kennedy Int'l (JFK)-Princess Juliana Int'l (SXM)
AA667
Scheduled departure: 8:15
Scheduled Arrival: 12:20
Aircraft: Boeing 757-223
Reg: N639AA (delivered 02/91)
Seat 11E
Check-in, Security, and Boarding
I arrived at the airport at around 6:00, staying conservative in case I were to get unlucky two days in a row. My flight was from the new Terminal 9, and as soon as I walked in, I was very impressed. It was my first time in the new terminal, and all I can say is, WOW, AA did a great job on this one. I was already checked in, so I headed straight to security, which was quick and painless. I headed down to the underground walkway to head to gate 34. I arrived at the gate to find N639AA, the plane that happened to be parked next to flight 699 the day before. I went to grab some breakfast at Au Bon Pain, and returned to the gate. I went to the gate agent to double check my seat, as my boarding pass and the online reservation said two different seats, one of which had me in the emergency exit row. When I approached the agent and explained the situation, she barked back at me, "how old are you" to which I replied 15, and she told me I had to be 16 to sit in an exit row. I said I thought it was 15, and she replied nastily, "you thought wrong" and that I would need to come back so they could move me. It turns out I was right-15 is the minimum age, not to mention I was probably one of the few passengers on the plane who had ever opened an over wing exit (on an A320 mockup). She never called me back. Boarding started on time, but was paused due to mechanics coming on board to fix an F/A jumpseat. When I went to board, the agent I previously dealt with took my boarding pass. She told me I wasn't in an exit row, based on the seat on my boarding pass. I reexplained to her what it said to me online, but she didn't seem to care. Nor did I really, I was finally on my way.
Inflight
I made my way to seat 11E. The aircraft looked well worn from the inside. The appointments were tired, my seat back pocket was falling off, etc. I had assumed it was an ex-TWA bird and that it would soon be getting a great new interior, but I was wrong. From inside the plane, boarding seemed very chaotic. Everyone finding a place for their carry-ons, etc. The chaos was broken by the Captain's welcome aboard message, which came before the purser's. He informed us that we would be heading south (obviously) over Bermuda to St. Maarten at FL330. Before we pushed back, we were given customs and immigrations forms for St. Maarten. Pushback was on time. We were shown the safety video as we taxied out (I'm not sure the runway). There was not a long line for takeoff, and we were soon airborne.
The in-flight service was the usual drinks and buy on board (A Turkey Sandwhich and snacks). I didn't purchase anything. The IFE was CBS's Eye on American and then "Wild Hogs." I didn't watch either. The F/A's were unexceptional, not particularly friendly but not nasty. The flight went uneventfully, and we were soon in the pattern for SXM. We made the famous approach, which isn't as spectacular from the air as from the beach. It was a short walk to immigration. We got our bags (which had arrived and were waiting for us at the lost luggage stand. Customs was non-existant, and we walked right out. We had finally made it.
Return trip to follow. I apologize for the lack of Pics.
I was headed down to St. Maarten for vacation. Since I was (supposed to be) heading down on a Wednesday and coming back on a Tuesday (during the off season), I couldn't get non-stop flights on either end without booking on two seperate carriers. So in the interest of easing connections (plus the fact that one of my travel companions had already booked her flights), I booked on AA the whole way, stopping in SJU both ways. If only it ended up being that simple.
Wednesday, June 27th, 2007
John F. Kennedy Int'l (JFK)-Luis Munoz Int'l (SJU)
AA1635
Scheduled Departure: 8:05 AM
Scheduled Arrival: 11:55 AM
Aircraft: Boeing 767-300
Reg: I wish I had the oppurtunity to find out-I wasn't that lucky.
Luis Munoz Int'l (SJU)-Princess Juliana Int'l (SXM)
AA5170 operated by American Eagle/Executive
Scheduled Departure: 2:50 PM
Scheduled Arrival: 4:00 PM
Aircraft: ATR-72-500
Reg: Again, I wish I had the oppurtunity to find out.
Check-in
I arrived at the Terminal 8 at around 5:30. I walked inside to find a skycap/contract security guard/ticket agent who asked me what flight I was on. When I told him I was on the 8:05 to SJU he informed me that the flight was cancelled due to "damage to the aircraft" (a great thing to tell passengers). We were put on a long, meandering line to rebook. About 20 minutes later my friend (who was on the same ticket) arrived. Since he was AAdvantage Gold, he went onto the business class line, and at around 6:15 made it to the front. Since we were on the same ticket, I went over to that line to rebook together. The agent put us on standby for the 9:25 (AA699) along with the entire 767 worth of people on our original flight. We were also confirmed for the non-stop JFK-SXM flight the next morning. She was very nasty, and acted like she was doing us a favor by putting us on this flight. She was also completely unwilling to help our other friend, who was on a seperate ticket (she ended up getting down that day, in first class on Delta no less). When we asked about our checked luggage, she said that if it were put on the plane, we would have to put a claim in for it once we arrive to SJU, a totally unacceptable option (we got many different versions of what would happen to our bags during the day). We checked our bags and headed to the gate.
We went through security and arrived at the gate at around 7:00. Since we still had two and a half hours till we might have gotten on a flight, we went out of the sterile zone for breakfast. We returned to find a completely chaotic scene at the gate, with everyone clamboring to see if they would make the flight. The agents wouldn't tell anyone their position on the standby list. They also refused to help anyone rebook until the already overbooked flight boarded and they could see who would make it off standby. This proved to be costly, as any available seats on another carrier became hard to find. I started calling all of the airlines, trying to see if there was anyway to get to SJU from any of the NY area airports (HPN, JFK, LGA, EWR). One thing I notice about airline phone lines is that they all ask you for O & D cities before you even get to an agent, only to have an agent reask you. My search came up empty. Meanwhile, my friend was on the phone with his travel agent, who found us a way to get there through FLL and SJU, part of the way on DL. After the flight pushed back with no standby passengers on board, they started calling the passengers up one by one to find other options. Half the plane went on standby for the 1:45 flight. When we asked the agent about the Delta option. She said she couldn't access DL booking info (which I believe to be BS)
We returned to the check-in desk armed with a new set of flights, which again included DL, this time in first class. When we got to the front of the line, we were greeted by the only nice agent we saw all day. She went to check with her manager about the DL option, who said he couldn't book us on first class because we had a coach ticket. When I got him to come over, he was, like many of his employees, very nasty. He refused to budge on the first class issue, and when I said I'd never fly AA again, he replied "maybe that's what you have to do." The FLL-SJU flight had filled up, so there was no sense in pushing it any further. We were confirmed to be heading down non-stop tomorrow (I must admit, I was disappointed a little that I wouldn't get to connect). I called the AA baggage line later that day who informed me that my bags were in SXM. Things were looking up.
Thursday, June 28, 2007.
John F. Kennedy Int'l (JFK)-Princess Juliana Int'l (SXM)
AA667
Scheduled departure: 8:15
Scheduled Arrival: 12:20
Aircraft: Boeing 757-223
Reg: N639AA (delivered 02/91)
Seat 11E
Check-in, Security, and Boarding
I arrived at the airport at around 6:00, staying conservative in case I were to get unlucky two days in a row. My flight was from the new Terminal 9, and as soon as I walked in, I was very impressed. It was my first time in the new terminal, and all I can say is, WOW, AA did a great job on this one. I was already checked in, so I headed straight to security, which was quick and painless. I headed down to the underground walkway to head to gate 34. I arrived at the gate to find N639AA, the plane that happened to be parked next to flight 699 the day before. I went to grab some breakfast at Au Bon Pain, and returned to the gate. I went to the gate agent to double check my seat, as my boarding pass and the online reservation said two different seats, one of which had me in the emergency exit row. When I approached the agent and explained the situation, she barked back at me, "how old are you" to which I replied 15, and she told me I had to be 16 to sit in an exit row. I said I thought it was 15, and she replied nastily, "you thought wrong" and that I would need to come back so they could move me. It turns out I was right-15 is the minimum age, not to mention I was probably one of the few passengers on the plane who had ever opened an over wing exit (on an A320 mockup). She never called me back. Boarding started on time, but was paused due to mechanics coming on board to fix an F/A jumpseat. When I went to board, the agent I previously dealt with took my boarding pass. She told me I wasn't in an exit row, based on the seat on my boarding pass. I reexplained to her what it said to me online, but she didn't seem to care. Nor did I really, I was finally on my way.
Inflight
I made my way to seat 11E. The aircraft looked well worn from the inside. The appointments were tired, my seat back pocket was falling off, etc. I had assumed it was an ex-TWA bird and that it would soon be getting a great new interior, but I was wrong. From inside the plane, boarding seemed very chaotic. Everyone finding a place for their carry-ons, etc. The chaos was broken by the Captain's welcome aboard message, which came before the purser's. He informed us that we would be heading south (obviously) over Bermuda to St. Maarten at FL330. Before we pushed back, we were given customs and immigrations forms for St. Maarten. Pushback was on time. We were shown the safety video as we taxied out (I'm not sure the runway). There was not a long line for takeoff, and we were soon airborne.
The in-flight service was the usual drinks and buy on board (A Turkey Sandwhich and snacks). I didn't purchase anything. The IFE was CBS's Eye on American and then "Wild Hogs." I didn't watch either. The F/A's were unexceptional, not particularly friendly but not nasty. The flight went uneventfully, and we were soon in the pattern for SXM. We made the famous approach, which isn't as spectacular from the air as from the beach. It was a short walk to immigration. We got our bags (which had arrived and were waiting for us at the lost luggage stand. Customs was non-existant, and we walked right out. We had finally made it.
Return trip to follow. I apologize for the lack of Pics.
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