# St Barts Forums > Getting To St Barts Forum - Airlines, Ferry Service, Charters >  >  Good 'Ol American Airlines!

## Dennis

Got a Flight Schedule change email this morning. I guess I should be happy that I was notified.

AA eliminated the 5:00 AM AUS-CLT flight on 11-27.

Changed my AUS-CLT-SXM outbound flight to AUS-MIA-SXM. My original schedule had me in SXM by 2:30 to catch the 4:00 St Barths Commuter.

The new schedule arrives in SXM at 4:30. No Bueno!

Thankfully, I booked with AMEX on points. So  a call to AMEX and I was able to change to a less than ideal but workable solution.

11-26: AUS-CLT

Overnight at the CLT Sheraton on points.

11-27: CLT-SXM arriving at 2:30.

The upside is I won't have to wake up at 3:00 AM to start my vaca!

Check your flights, people!

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## Hawke

Maybe the most stressful part of St. Barts. Airlines!!!

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## marybeth

Do not get me started on AA. We booked about 4 months ago and shortly thereafter got notice of a flight change on the return. Leaving SXM about an hour later but had us overnighting in Philadelphia and not getting home until 9 PM the following day. We held on to the flight until about two weeks ago, hoping for a better option. Finally switched to United (for way more $$$) and decided to move our arrival up a day (bonus for the hassle!) AA gave us zero problems with the cancellation but still...
On a positive note, St. Barth Commuter was lovely to deal with. They changed our inbound flight, and since we now have to leave from Grand Case (SXM was sold out) put us on a waitlist for SXM. Love them.

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## Dennis

> Do not get me started on AA. We booked about 4 months ago and shortly thereafter got notice of a flight change on the return. Leaving SXM about an hour later but had us overnighting in Philadelphia and not getting home until 9 PM the following day. We held on to the flight until about two weeks ago, hoping for a better option. Finally switched to United (for way more $$$) and decided to move our arrival up a day (bonus for the hassle!) AA gave us zero problems with the cancellation but still...
> On a positive note, St. Barth Commuter was lovely to deal with. They changed our inbound flight, and since we now have to leave from Grand Case (SXM was sold out) put us on a waitlist for SXM. Love them.



Yikes!

As I was on the phone today with AMEX, explaining the trials and tribulations of getting to SBH, she commented that it must be a poor island 'cause the airport closes at dusk....

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## Tiffany

We went through this with AA a few months ago for our upcoming November trip.  After 3 changes, we switched to Delta through ATL.  So far, so good with that flight.  Fingers crossed!

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## marybeth

Tiffany, are you going to be on the island for the 70th at Le Select?

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## Tiffany

> Tiffany, are you going to be on the island for the 70th at Le Select?



Yes, will you be there too?

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## stbartshopper

We always overnight in CLT coming from Indianapolis with the weather risks in February. Out of curiosity, have you considered going through SJU on Tradewind, realizing it is probably more expensive?

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## Dennis

> We always overnight in CLT coming from Indianapolis with the weather risks in February. Out of curiosity, have you considered going through SJU on Tradewind, realizing it is probably more expensive?



Hop, as Kevin always says: "run the numbers". I have. They don't work for us.

We'd still have to overnight in San Juan and the Tradewind cost is a no-go vs. what we're doing.

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## marybeth

> Yes, will you be there too?



YES!! See ya there...can't wait.





> Hop, as Kevin always says: "run the numbers". I have. They don't work for us.
> 
> We'd still have to overnight in San Juan and the Tradewind cost is a no-go vs. what we're doing.



My issue with Tradewinds is that from Pittsburgh, its still 3 legs. If I lived in a city with a direct to SJU I'd be all in. But if I still have to do three legs, why pay all that $$$?

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## Nanette

Atleast it wasnt the day of! We happened to get a text at 5 am that our Austin to Htown 8;40 flight was canceled ..we had to make the Htown to Puerto Rico flight,  otherwise it would have screwed up our entire trip..United dodnt offer any alternative options..so my husband said jump in the truck..we will drive to Houston! Luckily it was a Saturday. he drove about a 100mph, while i tried to finish packing in the back seat..needles to say it was stressful to HOPEFULLY make it to the airport..we got there in about 3 hours...made the flight by maybe 8 minutes to spare! Crazy..it was our very first time to St.Barts and i put a ton of planning in to our trip..thanfully we got on that flight due to my husband's quick thinking!

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## Dennis

> My issue with Tradewinds is that from Pittsburgh, its still 3 legs. If I lived in a city with a direct to SJU I'd be all in. But if I still have to do three legs, why pay all that $$$?



Yep. It's still AUS-Somewhere-SJU-Overnight-$$$$.

I think the TW flight would be over $1300 for 2, one way to SBH.

Our entire flights + hotel in CLT will be about $1800.

I wish I could make it work but as MB said, without a direct AUS-SJU, it doesn't.

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## Dennis

> Atleast it wasnt the day of! We happened to get a text at 5 am that our Austin to Htown 8;40 flight was canceled ..we had to make the Htown to Puerto Rico flight,  otherwise it would have screwed up our entire trip..United dodnt offer any alternative options..so my husband said jump in the truck..we will drive to Houston! Luckily it was a Saturday. he *drove about a 100mph, while i tried to finish packing in the back seat..*needles to say it was stressful to HOPEFULLY make it to the airport..we got there in about 3 hours...made the flight by maybe 8 minutes to spare! Crazy..it was our very first time to St.Barts and i put a ton of planning in to our trip..thanfully we got on that flight due to my husband's quick thinking!




OMG! This vision!

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## Tiffany

[QUOTE=marybeth;1014169]YES!! See ya there...can't wait.



Look forward to meeting you.   :cool:

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## Carfell36

> We always overnight in CLT coming from Indianapolis with the weather risks in February. Out of curiosity, have you considered going through SJU on Tradewind, realizing it is probably more expensive?



Booking our flights now from Indy for next June and saw there was a Delta flight through Atlanta. Curious if you or anyone has experience with this flight? Trying to avoid the AA cancellation issue, but also concerned since thats the only flight out of Atlanta to SXM for the day.

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## stbartshopper

We have always gone through CLT and once thru WashDC which was a mistake. Since it is the only flight so it will probably be full and you won’t have the winter weather concerns, I would book it to go the whole way in one day.

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## Carfell36

> We have always gone through CLT and once thru WashDC which was a mistake. Since it is the only flight so it will probably be full and you won’t have the winter weather concerns, I would book it to go the whole way in one day.



Okay thank you! The AA flight is in one day too. Just trying to decide between delta connecting through ATL, or AA connecting through CLT. Both are the same price and about the same times.

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## cec1

> The upside is I won't have to wake up at 3:00 AM to start my vaca!



I'm with you on this point, Dennis!  During "the season," there's a reasonable AA departure out of JAX (10:30 or 11 AM) that I can use to get to SBH in one day (three flights), but in the off season,  a 6 AM departure is required.  It's no longer in my world!  So, on my current trip (arrived SBH yesterday), Wendy and I "overnighted" in the hotel at MIA on Monday.  It's not a great place, but not expensive, and we were there only about 10 hours.  It made our arrival on SBH (3 PM) -- and the rest of the day -- much more comfortable.

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## GramChop

> Okay thank you! The AA flight is in one day too. Just trying to decide between delta connecting through ATL, or AA connecting through CLT. Both are the same price and about the same times.



I had a Delta one-day routing ticketed from AUS-ATL-SXM (5:00am departure) only to have Delta eliminate the 5:00am flight.  I ended up taking a late evening flight the night before my ATL-SXM leg, using Bonvoy points to stay at the ATL Marriott and arriving at SXM in time for the 2:00pm SBC to SBH.  My point:  Be careful, Delta plays the same cancellation game as American.

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## amyb

The lesson here is to “keep checking”

What is the part of ‘customer service’ that airlines No longer use.

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## PeterLynn

> Okay thank you! The AA flight is in one day too. Just trying to decide between delta connecting through ATL, or AA connecting through CLT. Both are the same price and about the same times.



Done both, flying out of ATL last year and can't say I noticed we difference with the SXM leg. Our problem was the <1 hr "layover" and the fact Delta kept tinkering with the incoming flight times. Ended up landing in the southwest corner of ATL and departing from the northeast corner. The underground train was the only reason we made the flight. Couldn't imagine the same scenario snaking through CLT. This year we did Tradewind. Fortunately we have a direct flight to SJU, so the premium we paid wasn't too bad. Stress level was almost non-existent and making it all worth it.

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## Tiffany

> Okay thank you! The AA flight is in one day too. Just trying to decide between delta connecting through ATL, or AA connecting through CLT. Both are the same price and about the same times.



Keep an eye on it if you book through CLT...they’ve (AA) cancelled the CLT to SXM flight on two of our last three bookings and routed everyone through MIA.  The MIA flight usually arrives too late to make a comfortable connection to SBH unless you sprint and have no checked bags. We also tried PHL and the same thing happened. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon.

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## chiz

I probably shouldn't make this statement....I just know that I am jinxing our next trip!!  In the 30 odd yrs we have been traveling to St Barts we have never had a problem with the flights from AA (USAir in it's previous life)….even after Irma we had to book via Miami (we hated MIA) but we didn't have any issues with AA.  We normally fly thru Charlotte; we spend a night in Charlotte and then take the 9 am (ish) flight just to make the overall travel day to SB's a little less trying and tiring.  We have had our share of issues in SXM including a last minute cancelled Winair flight that eventually ended in all of the passengers chartering a flight to SB's within 1 hr of the Winair cancellation and a flight cancellation resulting in taking the last ferry out of SXM in stormy weather that was a "sickly" experience for most of the passengers.
Have fun!!!

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## SherylB

Imagine the surprise we got when we received notification that our WestJet flight from YYZ to SXM we had booked for 11/22 had changed to 11/21 - a FULL DAY earlier!!  Thank goodness our villa is available that extra night - and we were able to make the change with Winair - but for a change fee of course  :Frown: . 

But another vote vote for confirming your travel plans on a regular basis - I had another flight booked to Jamaica for a wedding that has been postponed.  So when I called to cancel I was informed that there was a schedule change that I hadn’t accepted so therefore I was entitled to a full refund! I looked back in my emails and I don’t have anything telling me that the flight had been modified. So a good idea to log in every so often just to check your flight info hasn’t changed.

Can’t wait to get back on island after a two-year hiatus!

Sheryl

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## marybeth

> Thank goodness our villa is available that extra night - and we were able to make the change with Winair - but for a change fee of course .
> 
> Sheryl



Airline drama = Extra night is my formula!

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## Hawke

Is there any other destination other than St. Barts that people would put up with all the airline disruptions? St. Barts is heaven, getting there can be hell.

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## NancySC

> Imagine the surprise we got when we received notification that our WestJet flight from YYZ to SXM we had booked for 11/22 had changed to 11/21 - a FULL DAY earlier!!  Thank goodness our villa is available that extra night - and we were able to make the change with Winair - but for a change fee of course . 
> 
> But another vote vote for confirming your travel plans on a regular basis - I had another flight booked to Jamaica for a wedding that has been postponed.  So when I called to cancel I was informed that there was a schedule change that I hadn’t accepted so therefore I was entitled to a full refund! I looked back in my emails and I don’t have anything telling me that the flight had been modified. So a good idea to log in every so often just to check your flight info hasn’t changed.
> 
> Can’t wait to get back on island after a two-year hiatus!
> 
> Sheryl



I would have challenged Winair on whatever the change fee was, not your fault that WestJet changed their schedule not you, sometimes you can bargain with Winair as I did a couple times in the past.  You scored with the refund for the Jamaica trip !  So many times AA via CLT has changed our flights or cancelled them, was able to get refund since unacceptable changes for us, reworked via SJU instead of SXM.  And sometimes SXM is more expensive.   

Absolutely everyone should check their reservations often, sometimes weekly for schedule changes, cancellations.  Used to be that carriers would change things with change of seasons & daylight saving time.

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## Carfell36

So maybe connecting through Miami instead of Charlotte might be the better option since it sounds like AA is doing that regardless?  my only concern is the 1 hour 10 min layover, hopefully that’s enough time?

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## marybeth

Not to be a downer, but MIA can be equally problematic. It’s always construction and last minute gate changes. Customs can be dreadful. And the flights arrive later, which reduces the options from SXM to SBH.

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## andynap

> So maybe connecting through Miami instead of Charlotte might be the better option since it sounds like AA is doing that regardless? �� my only concern is the 1 hour 10 min layover, hopefully thats enough time?



Miami should be your last resort. Check with those who have gone thru there.

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## Tiffany

> So maybe connecting through Miami instead of Charlotte might be the better option since it sounds like AA is doing that regardless? 😂 my only concern is the 1 hour 10 min layover, hopefully thats enough time?



If your CLT flight will stick, you will be fine.  If you end up through MIA, you usually wont arrive on SXM until 4 pm or later.  You cant fly into SBH after dark, so the last flights over are typically between 5 and 5:30 pm.  If youre even a little late, youll get stuck in SXM for the night.  Thats why we swear by Premium IV...been there, done that!  Plus, when we land in MIA, it takes forever to walk to the international part.  Avoid MIA if you can.  When AA switched us this time to go through there, we got our money back with no penalties and switched to Delta.  

Once you go to the island, youll see why its worth the trouble (no understatement there!) to get there.

Weve had good luck with the Delta ATL flight before, and praying that continues.

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## KevinS

> Airline drama = Extra night is my formula!



I plan for airline drama.  I have the flexibility to plan in an overnight each way, and I do.  I get to San Juan, and I plan to spend the night there.  If I book it right, I can actually save a few bucks.  If I book it wrong, it costs me a few bucks, which I mentally write off to cost-averaging over time, lol.

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## Carfell36

So bottom line I should just pick one and hope for the best!

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## Tiffany

> So bottom line I should just pick one and hope for the best!



Yes, up until the time it takes off.  Ha, ha.

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## KevinS

> So bottom line I should just pick one and hope for the best!



Correct.  You now have a better understanding of the US airline industry.

Based on past experience, with an understanding that DL's low season schedule appeared to me to sometimes be an estimation of an approximation of what they might like to fly, I would stick with AA.  DL was more reliable with their schedule this year than they have been in past years, but I no longer trust them (and I was a Platinum level DL FF for years).

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## Dennis

And now, our return flight has been cancelled and replaced routing through MIA with an overnight!

Dear Valued American Express Customer, 

There has been a change to your travel itinerary due to an airline schedule notification. Your flight times may have changed or it may just be a flight number change. Please review your new itinerary carefully. If you need more information, or this change significantly impacts your trip, please contact American Express Customer Service at 800-297-2977. 


option 1 Sat, 7 Dec - American Airlines 2219 - 3h 21m Departing: Princess Juliana Intl Airport, Philipsburg (SXM) at 5:17 pm Arriving: Miami Airport (MIA) at 7:38 pm --------Long Connection--Transit Time: 12h 10m-------- Sun, 8 Dec - American Airlines 4368 - 3h 10m Departing: Miami Airport (MIA) at 7:48 am Arriving: Austin Bergstrom Airport (AUS) at 9:58 am 

option 2 refund

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## phil62

I just checked on Travelocity and United has service on Dec. 7 from SXM to AUS through EWR. Leaves SXM 1:55 PM and gets to AUS at 11:18 PM. Price for one way is $287 p/p for what they call basic economy, but you only add $30 p/p for what they call economy. Don't know if this works for you, but you should check it out.

Phil

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## Dennis

thanks Phil 

i checked delta no luck. Got busy with work and hadn’t had a chance to check United

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## Dennis

Problem 1. I can’t get to SXM in time for that flight on SBC

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## phil62

I just checked Winair and they have several flights that day that gets you to SXM when you need to be there. Price is $124 p/p, which is not much more that SBC. Worst case, you might have to eat your SBC tickets, but you get home the same day.

Phil

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## Dennis

> I just checked Winair and they have several flights that day that gets you to SXM when you need to be there. Price is $124 p/p, which is not much more that SBC. Worst case, you might have to eat your SBC tickets, but you get home the same day.
> 
> Phil




Yeah, I'm on WA's website now. Doable but gotta check with the boss and see what see prefers. I should tell her we can get home in 1 day but we have to stay an extra day and come home Sunday...

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## phil62

That would be my move!!! :Wink-slap:

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## NancySC

> Got a Flight Schedule change email this morning. I guess I should be happy that I was notified.
> 
> AA eliminated the 5:00 AM AUS-CLT flight on 11-27.
> 
> Changed my AUS-CLT-SXM outbound flight to AUS-MIA-SXM. My original schedule had me in SXM by 2:30 to catch the 4:00 St Barths Commuter.
> 
> The new schedule arrives in SXM at 4:30. No Bueno!
> 
> Thankfully, I booked with AMEX on points. So  a call to AMEX and I was able to change to a less than ideal but workable solution.
> ...



Dennis, exactly what I post about American Airlines, exactly so once again, check your flights & I would do weekly.  Dennis did you get this info in your AA profile ?  I was in mine & noticed that we had yet another sked change on our flights in Dec, SAV CLT SJU still ok with a few minutes change, but the return STT CLT SAV became STT MIA aka UGH SAV...so between Aug 26 when had AA make changes to our outbound date to SJU, & 9/3 the sked change.  NOT happy about MIA which as we all know is miserable, but the option was STT DFW SAV which would have added 3+ hrs to that actual flight time.   Something must be going on at CLT to have these changes happening ?

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## Dennis

nancy,

We booked the flights using AMEX points so AMEX notified us.

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## Tiffany

> Something must be going on at CLT to have these changes happening ?



Since Irma, we’ve had flights to SXM from Philly and Charlotte changed to Miami.  I’m assuming the traffic going there doesn’t justify multiple flights for now.  If they’re going to do that for the foreseeable future, it would be nice if they’d schedule the MIA plane to leave a little earlier.

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## cec1

> Miami should be your last resort. Check with those who have gone thru there.



The perspective is interesting, Andy.  Personally, in transit to / from JAX, I much prefer MIA to CLT with AA   Layovers at CLT are so much longer!  (Theres only so much guacamole that one can take at the Admirals Club as a 3 - 4 hour wait is endured, even if MIA distances are extraordinary.)

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## Dennis

Using the Google, lot's of AA's problems with scheduling is a result of the 737 Max 8 issues.

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## shihadehs

Yes, the 737 Max issues have created schedule changes for my family for Christmas travel out west.....American accommodated us on other flights with no problem

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## Dennis

Cancellations extended through Dec. 3
American Airlines remains confident that impending software updates to the Boeing 737 MAX, along with the new training elements Boeing is developing in coordination with our union partners, will lead to recertification of the aircraft this year. We are in continuous contact with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Department of Transportation (DOT), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other regulatory authorities.
American is extending cancellations for the MAX through Dec. 3. By doing so, our customers and team members can more reliably plan their upcoming travel on American. *In total, approximately 140 flights per day will be canceled through Dec. 3.*
Our Reservations and Sales teams will continue to work closely with customers who are impacted by these cancellations.

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## Logan

Who wants to fly in the Max 8 even if they do clear them to fly!

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## Dennis

> Who wants to fly in the Max 8 even if they do clear them to fly!



Right? I can imagine people at the gate and suddenly realizing the plane they are about to board is a Max 8 and wanting a refund/flight change.

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## NancySC

> nancy,
> 
> We booked the flights using AMEX points so AMEX notified us.



Dennis, 
No AA profile about you that you can go to to check up on 'tings ?  I didn't get a personal email or text, but saw in my AA profile that 'you've had changes, here's what they are' king of message in red print no less ! Nancy

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## Dennis

> Dennis, 
> No AA profile about you that you can go to to check up on 'tings ?  I didn't get a personal email or text, but saw in my AA profile that 'you've had changes, here's what they are' king of message in red print no less ! Nancy



Actually, On AA.com there is a message that something has changed but it still shows my return flight thru CLT and home in 1 day.

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## amyb

Welcome to the 21st century communications via technology world!  Pathetic

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## Dennis

So we've completly cancelled the flights that American changed us to that would require an overnight each way.

We now will fly to SXM on 11-26 and over night there since we can't get there utill 4:30.

We'll head over to Grand Case and stay at the GCBC for the night and have a nice dinner there where we will feel like we are on vacation time as opposed to staying at the Charlotte Sheraton.

We'll fly from Grand Case the next morning and arrive around 10 AM, have a nice lunch and head to the villa whenever it's ready.

On return, instead of flying AA thru MIA and overnighting, we'll fly Delta thru ATL and get home at midnight. Long, late day but I'd rather plop into MY bed and wake up in ATX than stay at the MIA airport hotel and fly home the following day.

AMEX and AA were very helpful with allowing me to cancel and I recouped all my AMEX points back, credited immediatly and rebooked using them.

Waiting to hear back from SBC on changing my flight.

It's just insane that when it come to SBH, you can't get there from here...in 1 day!

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## PeterLynn

> It's just insane that when it come to SBH, you can't get there from here...in 1 day!



We're about 150 miles closer than you, but the SXM route is still tight (1am wakeup for a 3am drive to the airport, etc...). Thought we found our solution this year. Although expensive, United 10am direct flight from IAH, landing in SJU at 3:45pm and then the 5pm Tradewind. Sun setting, but still arrived.  

Next year, the last Tradewind flight is now 4:30pm (45min connection time. Ugh!) so it looks like we either take the red-eye arriving at 5:15am and then the early Tradewind flight or overnight in either SJU, CLT, ATL or SXM.

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## Dennis

Simple email to SBC and flight changed.

Now after all that, I'm sure AA or Delta won't change flights again...RIGHT?

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## amyb

One can only hope. 

Dennis, all agree that air travel is not what it used to be. Totally unreliable. Buyer, beware!

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## marybeth

> Simple email to SBC and flight changed.



They are so great to work with.  Love SBC!

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