TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Jet Blue FLL to SXM!!!

Just got this email from Jet Blue, doesn't say specific dates, but says

We'll also be adding new routes between the following cities:
• Boston (BOS) and Rochester, NY (ROC)
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Phoenix (PHX)
• Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and St. Maarten (SXM)
• Providence, RI (PVD) and West Palm Beach (PBI)

Can't figure out exactly when flights start, but a flight in March 30 to April in the cheapest fare category, is $260 round trip!!!! Flight leaves FLL at 8 AM, arrives SXM 11 AM, so not great for anyone wanting to connect to that flight, but great times for those of us in Florida!! The fare with a bag included is $310 roundtrip. Not sure about seat assignment, I THINK the cheapest fare doesn't include an assigned seat?? Not sure..

Really surprised that no one is interested in this except me. As I said, the flight is too early for anyone to make a connection to there. So maybe that's why no one else is interested??

My daughter and her family can come more often!

I got that info in email and I was just ready to post it here then I saw Carol beat me to it.

Since we're in New England no use to us except if we decide to visit grandchildren before a trip to SXM then it's good news. Could fly to FLL night before then on to SXM.

I'm hoping they will provide some competition for AA and bring their prices down.

From your lips to God's ears. Is this closer for you? Where do you fly from now?

Only 30 miles closer to us than Miami. Right now we normally fly out of Miami for nonstop, which is 3.5 hours one way. Our closest airports are Tampa and Orlando, but even those are 1.5 hours away.

YOu beat me to the punch!!! We just got the email from JB!!!!! We booked our trip March 16 to April 6.....with luggage checked AND insurance it cost us for two....702.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND......TO answer Carol's concern....we chose are seats....NO EXTRA COST.

Yes, I went through booking all the way to payment and even the cheapest seats (which DON'T include checked bags), include assigned seats, at least on this itinerary.

YEA.....i do hope that JB will continue with these lower fares in the years to come. Since we go for three weeks...it is next to impossible for us to just do a carry on....so I chose the one bag each, and still got the great fares. We both will be going for less than we would've paid for one on AA. And....i think with JB flying from FLL direct, it will probably kill Spirit....and hopefully Southwest will join in like they were rumored pre Irma, and join the list of decent flights to SXM. A VERY NICE surprise for us Floridians!!

That is something we'll look into also. From the west oast of Florida everything is a connection through either Atlanta or Charlotte. We were contemplating driving to Miami (3.5 hour drive) but now we can do the FLL which is about 30 minutes less. Even with the additional overnight stay in FLL, the cost may be cheaper than using Delta or AA from Sarasota or Tampa.

We've been doing that 3.5 hour drive to Miami most of the time, the past few years and as you say, FLL will be 30 minutes less. If you find a hotel that has free parking, the cost for the overnight is basically nothing, considering how much it costs to park at the airport.

That's exactly what we were thinking about. Depending on the departure and arrival time(s) we'd stay the night before departing and/or both departure and arrival days.

The one good thing about the early times for these flights is that on the return, I personally wouldn't see any reason to overnight on the way home, as the flight arrives back in FLL around 3 pm or so, I think, so plenty of time to get home at a reasonable hour.

Glad more folks will get what we out of jfk have had for years now. American is not reliable, and they keep proving that time and time again... Jet blue is our choice and we do have choices... Good for those that can take advantage of this great airline...

there is a park n go lot right outside FLL. nine dollars a day prepaid...and the shuttle is usually pretty good back and forth. we have been using them for years now.

Well I'm thrilled although will still have to take Spirit this year since I leave in January. Since moving to Florida, FLL is the nearest to me

Ed--ok, thanks for that info. We probably are set for our trips for next year on AA, but will keep track of that in the future.

sasasal--We have had absolutely no problems with AA for years. Since we routinely book the nonstop from Miami, no problems with cancelled flights, rescheduled flights, etc. They have been our preferred carrier because it has been our only option for a nonstop, even though we drive 3.5 hours one way. It will be nice to have another option though, and hopefully it will keep AA prices lower, with some competition.

This is WONDERFUL NEWS! I used to take this flight a lot, though it had a connection in SJU. I can fly standby on Jet Blue and was pretty successful with this route. I wonder which aircraft they will use? After Jet Blue stopped flying FLL to SXM a couple of years ago, had to take American out of MIA. It was always very expensive not even considering the checked bag fees. So happy that Jet Blue decided to return!👍👏✌️❤️

they are using A320 aircraft...and this is the first NON STOP JB flight from FLL. The ''old route'' was with a total plane change and hours in SJU airport. This is now a ''dream flight'' for us Floridians.

Well, I don't know about a 'dream flight', as I would much prefer a flight from Tampa or Orlando... It is good news though.

With all due respect, I hope they hold the fares down too but I think they will probably creep up once they’re well established back in FFL just as they have in NY. Not to say you can’t catch a deal but I looked at Spring flights from JFK and the date I wanted was almost as high as the AA n/s BUSINESS fare once you added forward seats to the JB price. And AA business gave me two checked bags up to 70 pounds each.

I know I’m in the minority here but I still prefer AA but the real truth is, I’ll book whoever gives the best deal for the flights I want to book. But coming home, I really do prefer JB and their T5 in NY when coming in on an international flight.

In the end I’m just happy to see the Floridians catching a break. The Miami AA pricing doesn’t make any sense to me.

We are on that AA flight out of JFK in May in business. When you go?

Scuba,

We are supposed to be going in April for weeks 15, 16 and 17 but as of right now that’s very questionable. There’s a moratorium on construction repairs and a lien against all of Ansary’s properties and dealings in SXM and Curaçao so we are very much in limbo right now. They were supposed to reopen Oct. 1 and that got moved to Nov. 1 and then the properties were liened so who knows. We’re going down in Nov. for two weeks and staying at BSV but nothing to do with our timeshare. I do plan on stopping by to check it out while there. We really need our SXM fix. Those two weeks in Antigua back in March were nice but it just wasn’t St. Maarten.

Once upon a time jetBlue (B6) had a wonderful morning A320 nonstop from Tampa (TPA) to San Juan (SJU) where, after a layover, you could connect to their E-190 flight to St. Maarten (SXM). Today that TPA-SJU flight is an afternoon departure which leaves the passenger stranded in San Juan with no connection onward to SXM. Tampa International is a wonderful airport and its airport manager Joe Lopano has worked miracles getting new nonstop European flights and additional airline service to new destinations. My wish is that Tampa would make it easier to fly to Caribbean destinations like St. Maarten or Montego Bay without a connection in Miami (American) or Atlanta (Delta).

Hope it all works out for you. We go for weeks 19, 20 and 21 but as you know Flamingo won't be ready till following year. We are renting the same 2 bed villa we rented last year for same time frame right in between La Vista and Flamingo. Could be available for your weeks. Great place.

Sorry to highjack this thread but it kind of went that way.

According to the story in today's Daily Herald, Jet Blue will be launching Mint Service on the FLL route toward the end of the year.
Daily Herald story

Carol,

We did a JB MINT booking from JFK to SXM once, and for reasons I won’t go into and while it was very nice, IMHO, it’s a great deal of money for the luxury. If I was paying full freight I would have to be flying a far greater distance both in miles and time. The semi-private pod was comfy but for three hours? Now if I was flying n/s from the west coast I wouldn’t hesitate, although I’m sure it would probably be even more expensive, but from Florida to SXM? Not worth the money IMHO.

YAY!!!😀

Agreed. I wouldn't do it either. I am surprised that they are even going to offer it from FLL, although the story said it's a money maker for them.