TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin free carry-on

American Airlines just announced they're going to allow free carry-on as a way to compete with other airlines. Too bad they didn't look into the other reasons why people are choosing other carriers, like cancellations, changes, basic fees.

I always used AA as my airline for 35 years then they started making changes to there pricing which was not low before but convenient to ct residents , flights and schedules . I could not make it to SXM leaving BDL at 6am without a day in Miami , because the BDL flight landed 15 min after the SXM flight left . Now I fly out of JFK JET BLUE and even though I take a service to JFK it’s still less expensive and get home at 8:30 pm not 1:00am the next day
At one time AA had all of the Caribbean,now they are the third or fourth choice FREE BAG not going to do anything to improve there image

I don't understand. You always got a free carry on plus a personal item.

I'm with you, SandS--We flew AA on a domestic flight in April 2018 and to SXM in June 2018 and had free carry on bag, plus personal item, on each flight, in regular coach seating. EDIT--apparently that change is for something called "Basic Economy" seats on AA, which I would never book anyway, as you have to PAY to choose a seat.

Basic Economy

Just looking at a few dates, Miami to SXM, I never even see Basic Economy as an option. I also checked some dates from Orlando to DC and never saw it. Perhaps it's only an option on certain domestic flights?

Oh and by the way, I have been perfectly satisfied with AA over the years.

American and United both offer the "Basic Economy". It is printed on your boarding pass in bold letters 'no carry-on'. You get one personal item that has to fit under the seat. American now is allowing a carry-on starting Sep. 5th according to Carol's link and United does not though they may follow American on this.

Travel in this day and age isn't perfect and none of the airlines are but you have to go with what works for you.

Agreed, most of the country does not have the options that people from the NY area have and we have to take what we can get!


As I said, that Basic Economy must be available only on certain routes or something, as I have never even seen it offered on trips I wanted to book.

Agreed.... Used american for alot of years, now jet blue only... Have no issues with this airline.... Of course we fly out of jfk and lots can not do that... American has lost alot of folks due to being so inconsistant... Too bad

I have been on several flights where the boarding announcement made it very clear that "Basic Economy" boards last and no carry on's.

And by boarding last chances are there won't be any overhead storage left by the time you board. So free isn't such a big deal.

I have found fares from the Midwest but it is usually off days or times and you have to book a few months out. Personally the price difference isn't worth it for me because you don't get any of the perks of having status. E.G. seat assignment, boarding and no chance for an upgrade.
I have seen fares differences between basic and regular economy as low as $10. Guess there is no rhyme or reason.

Delta is showing 4 classes of service for SXM, including Basic. No charge for carry-on but space is limited and it may have to be gate checked at n/c. No advanced seat assignment.

I doubt free carry-on is a determining factor for most of the country. It is availability of flights and price and like Carol said, most have to take what they can get.

The no advance seat assignment would be a big deal to me, especially for the flight to SXM. We recently booked Delta on frequent flyer miles and were able to pick seats. Like I said, I haven't even seen that basic economy being offered on AA flights to SXM. AA has taken to charging extra for seats closer to the front, which offer nothing other than being closer to the front. I just take a seat closer to the back and get assigned seats with no issue.

Right now, only JetBlue has an option for a non-stop flight
from NY to SXM.

Sometimes it changes.
We have flown Delta in the past, but haven't been able to find a non-stop for AA
in a long time and you get into NY very late, even with the connecting flights.

Using up our miles now for AA.

I thought some of the front seats had an extra 2 or 3 inches of leg room between you and the seat in front of you?

Delta definitely has that, perhaps AA, but I was talking about the exact same seat, just closer to the front..

Yes they do.