# St Barts Forums > Getting To St Barts Forum - Airlines, Ferry Service, Charters >  >  CHECK YOUR RESERVATIONS!

## tim

I check my winter flight reservations at least monthly.  Today I discovered that Winair had changed our flights to SBH, thereby causing an illegal connection.  I bought the tix through US Air, and they graciously changed the flights back for me.  I urge all travelers to verify their flights while there is still flexibility with the carriers!

----------


## andynap

Tim- what's an illegal connection?

----------


## JEK

> Tim- what's an illegal connection?



A connection with too little time to practically accomplsh. 

http://boardingarea.com/thegate/2008...erary-illegal/

----------


## tim

> Tim- what's an illegal connection?



A US Air/Winair connection to SBH in less than 60 minutes and from SBH in less than 90 minutes are "illegal" connections(unless there's been a recent change).  Shorter connection times will likely result in not being able to check luggage through to one's final destination.  Or if US Air's arrival in SXM is late enough to cause one to have to spend the night in SXM, it gives the passenger more leverage to argue that US Air should pay for the night's lodging.

----------


## cassidain

Mille mercis, Tim ! Same thing had happened to us on US Air/Winair connection. I'd never known it without your heads up.

The problem was that Winair had changed the times associated with existing flight numbers but had not adjusted the existing reservations to the new flight numbers corresponding to the reserved times. Not particularly on-the-ball but not ill-intentioned either. A phone call to USAIR then one to Winair then back to USAir fixed all.

----------


## phil62

One trick I've learned over the years is to book my Winair flight at least 2 hours after my scheduled arrival in SXM. It's a lot easier to get on an earlier flight than to have to stand by for a later one if you do miss your connection.

Phil

----------


## andynap

> A US Air/Winair connection to SBH in less than 60 minutes and from SBH in less than 90 minutes are "illegal" connections(unless there's been a recent change).  Shorter connection times will likely result in not being able to check luggage through to one's final destination.  Or if US Air's arrival in SXM is late enough to cause one to have to spend the night in SXM, it gives the passenger more leverage to argue that US Air should pay for the night's lodging.



Ah. Illegal to me means some type of criminal activity. I didn't put it into a flight connection meaning. A new definition.

----------


## dalbys

We check all our flights to anywhere often.  Delta has a bad habit of changing reservations.  We've also had the same thing happen with USAir.

----------


## katva

Good advice, Tim. I just got notice that our AA flight for our November trip has changed-- but with the opposite problem. We get into SXM a half hour earlier, and now our layover there is 2.5 hrs. Hoping Winair can get us on an earlier flight!  They did this for us last year.

----------


## julianne

AA has changed some flights between JFK and SJU, too. It plays havoc with connections. I check frequently even though they usually send a message about changes.

----------


## NHDiane

Flying AA next month, for our mini vacation to Provo, Turks for the first time in MANY years...have to go from Boston to Miami..UGH!  Only one hour layover but from what I see, we're within the same terminal for our flight out of MIA.  It will be a true test for sure with such a short turnaround.

Tim - I have been checking flights every other day.  It's great advice

----------


## KevinS

Emma,

If you're concerned about your connect time in MIA then consider American's Five Star concierge service.  It's pricey, but they do take good care of you.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/fivestarservice.jsp

----------


## JEK

> Ah. Illegal to me means some type of criminal activity. I didn't put it into a flight connection meaning. A new definition.



Like an illegal formation in football? That new too?

----------


## andynap

Actually I heard of that one but not the illegal flight connection.

----------


## NHDiane

> Emma,
> 
> If you're concerned about your connect time in MIA then consider American's Five Star concierge service.  It's pricey, but they do take good care of you.
> 
> https://www.aa.com/i18n/urls/fivestarservice.jsp



Thanks Kev - I did look into that but just don't think I'm willing to spend the bucks for this trip. Should we miss the connection (and I'm sincerely hoping we don't) there is another flight out from MIA but quite a bit later.  I'll take the chance this time. I always fly out of MHT, even when going to SBH, but this trip was booked through AmEx and it didn't make any sense to go out of NH with them and what they were offering. We do know where the Admiral's Lounge is at MIA so I guess we could always drink til that next flight  :tongue:   Stay tuned.

----------


## KevinS

My experience is that the Admirals Club lounges in MIA are overcrowded, and at least one has an external overflow area.  Still, it's the best port in a storm.

----------


## elgreaux

an hour can be tight in Miami as the gates can be pretty far apart, but leaving the States you have a chance, going back not possible... but 5 Star Service might really be worth it to not take any chances, we have loved using them!

----------


## ShipwreckPat

You are all lucky that you are not forced to fly LIAT (Leave Island AnyTime). Last week they changed my non stop from St Thomas to St Maarten to include a nice little jaunt down to Antigua. Now we get in too late to make the last flight to St Barts and must overnight in SXM. They take no financial responsibilty but did offer a full refund, however there is no other way to get there. Trying to just look at it as an extra days vacation. Anyone have a favorite restaurant in St Maarten that I don't need a reservation for since it will be tonight?

----------


## andynap

What part of SXM are you staying?

----------


## debd

Thanks, Tim.   We did just get time changes from AA for our upcoming trips.   Had to do some quick dancing with Winair, relatively easier this far in advance.  The change was AA, not Winair.

Also looks like AA has modified flight #s.   From what I'm seeing for the 2014 trip 660/667 are now 1596 (same flight # in both directions, no less?).

----------


## NHDiane

Thankfully, the one hour connection in MIA takes place on our way to Provo...coming back we have almost three hours which I think will be time to clear customs and make the returning flight...fingers crossed.  I'm hoping that if we get through all that and have time to kill, that the Admirals Club will be an option.  Our flight numbers have all changed since we booked our flights and I am keeping a close eye on them.

----------


## KevinS

> You are all lucky that you are not forced to fly LIAT (Leave Island AnyTime). Last week they changed my non stop from St Thomas to St Maarten to include a nice little jaunt down to Antigua. Now we get in too late to make the last flight to St Barts and must overnight in SXM. They take no financial responsibilty but did offer a full refund, however there is no other way to get there. Trying to just look at it as an extra days vacation. Anyone have a favorite restaurant in St Maarten that I don't need a reservation for since it will be tonight?



Pat,

An alternative may be to fly Tradewind Aviation direct from STT to SBH.  It won't be cheap, and at this last minute it may be too late, but it may be an option.

----------


## elgreaux

> Pat,
> 
> An alternative may be to fly Tradewind Aviation direct from STT to SBH.  It won't be cheap, and at this last minute it may be too late, but it may be an option.



That is certainly a good option, and if not possible, do you arrive in SXM too late to take the ferry to SBH.. might be a better idea than overnighting if LIAT is willing to refund...

----------


## ShipwreckPat

Thanks for the suggestions. We were stuck in the STT airport for 8 hours before LIAT would let us out of that tiny 60 degree waiting room and fly us to Anguilla. Too late for last ferry to SXM so they did put us up overnight. On the first Anguilla ferry to SXM, taxi to airport and on the 10am Winair. Arrived in a downpour. Nerves shattered and have been sitting in SVV watching the rain and  sipping rose ever since. Today I am ready to face the small part of the world called St Barths.

----------


## amyb

Enjoy!  Let the relaxation continue.

----------


## tim

Verifying regularly ones' flights can avoid serious aggravations on flight days or even trip interruptions.  I'm going to stick this reminder at the top of the Travel Forum.

----------


## JEK

Frequent flyers should use Tripit.com -- continuously monitors and sends (text or email) updates. Sign up, forward your itineraries to plans@tripit.com and enjoy!

----------


## BBT

> Frequent flyers should use Tripit.com -- continuously monitors and sends (text or email) updates. Sign up, forward your itineraries to plans@tripit.com and enjoy!



Even tells you if you can get a refund from a fare reduction. They net against change fee and tell you if you are entitled to it. 
However they don't take reservations from Tradewinds

----------


## JEK

They may soon -- Tradewind is now on the big res systems

----------


## tim

> Frequent flyers should use Tripit.com -- continuously monitors and sends (text or email) updates. Sign up, forward your itineraries to plans@tripit.com and enjoy!



Sounds like a worthwhile service to make up for the airlines' not providing the same communications.

----------


## JEK

Most do for premium FFs.

----------


## tim

Even when I was Chairman's with US Air, I seldom got communications on flight changes.  I've been "Preferred" status now for 8 years or so.

----------


## goldold25

JetBlue just notified me of a schedule change from JFK to SXM.  Never had that before.

----------


## tim

I just discovered another flight change that made for an illegal connection with Winair in SXM.  Thankfully, Winair corrected the mistake with just a phone call.

----------


## tim

US Air just made minor changes to their flight schedules RIC to SXM in January and February.  For tight connections, these minor changes can be problematic.

----------


## korcutt

That happened to us too!  We had a flight change with Winair also.  They put us at the end of the day ( 5:30 pm!) we were to go out at 3:15 p, but that would leave us only 30 minutes from arriving SXM from US AIRways.    Anyway, all the earlier flights from 4:15 pm + were sold out by the time we were informed.  It's a hard place to get to!

----------


## andynap

Korcutt- if you have about 2 hours in SXM try the renamed Executive Lounge- at the opposite end from the Winair gate- it's $20 and has free wifi, snacks, drinks and comfortable chairs. 

Executive lounge.jpg

----------


## tim

> That happened to us too!  We had a flight change with Winair also.  They put us at the end of the day ( 5:30 pm!) we were to go out at 3:15 p, but that would leave us only 30 minutes from arriving SXM from US AIRways.    Anyway, all the earlier flights from 4:15 pm + were sold out by the time we were informed.  It's a hard place to get to!



Check in with Winair when you arrive in SXM, and there's a good chance they'll put you on an earlier flight.

----------


## Keith and Alyson

Tim, has you ever used Turbe car rental? I usually use Avis but with our villa we get a 15% discount if we use Turbe?  Thanks Keith

----------


## tim

I've never used Turbe for personal reasons.  I use Gumbs exclusively, for what it's worth.  Odile Gumbs takes good care of me.

----------


## Keith and Alyson

Thanks!

----------


## pascaleschmidt

we do the same as Phil... much easier to get an earlier flight....

----------


## stbartshopper

We are like Phil and always book our Win Air two hours after arriving. Without fail, we have always gotten on an earlier flight. Sometimes we have to wait 15 minutes for our luggage, which has arrived on the next flight. 
I swear, I am not sure Win Air keeps track as to who is on which flight.
Thanks for the heads up. We will regularly check on line to make sure Win Air is not up to their usual tricks.

----------


## LHC

I have also found Flightaware to be extremely helpful on recent trips, especially for the day before and day of travel http://flightaware.com
It has a smartphone app, on which you can set flight alerts (also sends you gate changes), check airport status, check inbound flights, etc.

----------


## cbuncamper

> I check my winter flight reservations at least monthly.  Today I discovered that Winair had changed our flights to SBH, thereby causing an illegal connection.  I bought the tix through US Air, and they graciously changed the flights back for me.  I urge all travelers to verify their flights while there is still flexibility with the carriers!



Hi All

Indeed Winair just added addtional flights for the Winter which might have caused some changes in some bookings as the flights might have shiffted. Not an issue, please email us at control@fly-winair.com copy cbuncamper@fly-winair.com and we will change your booking to a suitable connection. travellers can check there bookings at   https://mytripandmore.com/    your enter your last name and booking confirmation and this will provide you with your latest Itenerary 

Any questions, you can email me at cbuncamper@fly-winair.com


Regards

Claudio Buncamper

----------


## andynap

> Hi All
> 
> Indeed Winair just added addtional flights for the Winter which might have caused some changes in some bookings as the flights might have shiffted. Not an issue, please email us at control@fly-winair.com copy cbuncamper@fly-winair.com and we will change your booking to a suitable connection. travellers can check there bookings at   https://mytripandmore.com/    your enter your last name and booking confirmation and this will provide you with your latest Itenerary 
> 
> Any questions, you can email me at cbuncamper@fly-winair.com
> 
> 
> Regards
> 
> Claudio Buncamper



I just got an email today from Winair changing my flight in March- not a big change tho.

----------


## SherylB

I too received an email from Winair yesterday changing our flights for November. But appears to be within 20 minutes or so of our original flights so no biggie.

----------


## tim

My monthly check of our January and February St. Barth flight reservations uncovered some minor changes in our Winair flights both coming and going.  The changes did not warrant my contacting Winair, so I just accepted them.  I'll repeat my advice in the opening post of this thread - ​CHECK YOUR RESERVATIONS REGULARLY!

----------


## SherylB

Wow, we just had a bit of a scare! Rob was in his AA account to check a flight he has booked for an upcoming business trip and suddenly asks me why I booked our November flight to SXM for a 9 PM arrival time??  WHAAAAAT?  AA changed our flight that was originally scheduled to leave YYZ at 6:30 am and arrive on SXM at 3:10 pm - we were now leaving YYZ at 11:30 am and arriving on SXM at 9 pm! Rob didn't remember receiving anything from AA to advise us of this change so thank goodness he just happened to have checked on another flight.

Made a call to AA and we're now on a US Airways flight arriving on SXM at 2:36 pm.  Seats were scarce so that could have been a disaster if we didn't catch the change as early as we did.

So another shout out to CHECK YOUR RESERVATIONS!!

----------


## JEK

Another tip for tracking changes is to turn on notifications for the reservation and use the app for notifications on your mobile devices. This from my Apple Watch

image.png

----------


## tim

> Another tip for tracking changes is to turn on notifications for the reservation and use the app for notifications on your mobile devices. This from my Apple Watch
> 
> image.png



Got it on my iPhone.  Thanks for the suggestion.

----------


## Bart -my real name-

> Another tip for tracking changes is to turn on notifications for the reservation and use the app for notifications on your mobile devices. This from my Apple Watch
> 
> image.png



What app is that?  The American Airlines app or the Apple Wallet thing?

I've never used the wallet thing for anything.  Don't even know what it is, does or purpose!!  :nightmare:

----------


## JEK

Both. The wallet holds boarding passes, movie tickets, affinity cards and the like. The AA app (top) give gate and time changes. When you near the day of departure the boarding pass shows on the lock screen and can be accessed without unlocking.

----------


## JEK

Also, Apple Pay cards are stored there. Just paid at The Container Store with Apple Pay.

----------

