TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin SXM affordable flight options

Looking to fly to SXM in the fall 2019. Ticket prices are $1,000 or more. Any advice on if or when prices will come down closer to pre Irma $. Is it just too far out to book? Saturday arrival and departures are especially costly right now.

would help to know where you are flying from?? JB has some great rates on their new route from Fort Lauderdale direct to SXM. If you could get to FLL, it may save you some $$$$

Airlines are keenly aware that timeshare folks usually go from Sat to Sat. You can use a service like Kayak to monitor the rates for you and notify you of the changes in costs. I think most of us check regularly and sometimes get lucky with a temporary drop in price. That does not prevent the possibility of unexpected changes like a forced overnight or additional stops to be added by the airline before your trip but then you may have the possibility for negotiating some changes that work better for you.

Air prices are typically less on Tuesdays, but that has never been positively confirmed. Like Ed asked, where are you flying from? There are always options available if you're willing to do a little homework. Oh, and when in the fall were you intending to visit? Not all available options and prices may be posted quite yet.

We got a better price for our late November arrival and mid-December departure by not taking a Saturday to Saturday flight. We're arriving on Sunday and departing on Friday. Of course, if you only have one week, you probably won't want to do that; I know I wouldn't!

Ed--not sure exactly when she wants to go but Jet Blue is only booking through October 26 as of now.

It's a sacrifice but this year we did the same thing (Dec/Jan) and saved $ and lessened some of the mob movement by going down on a Sunday. Giving a day back but with 2 or 3 weeks it's OK. Lisa and her sister are headed back for 2 weeks to celebrate their birthday in a couple weeks. They got a good rate on direct flight from Phila for $431 RT. leaving on Sunday. They are returning on Saturday but should be less hassle since it's low season.

A little while ago CheapAir did this study about when air fares are at their best. It was a pretty extensive study as I recall, and they reviewed data from thousands of flights. I went back and found their report and for the Caribbean the optimum time to book a flight with a U.S. airline is exactly 207 days before the day you plan to leave. So, almost seven months. If we took today's date and added 207 days to it then flights to the Caribbean for September 9, 2019 should be at their lowest point today. I'm not sure how they conducted all their research, but it may not hurt to keep those number of days in mind (if possible). In addition, their report said flights to the Caribbean are at their cheapest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which is something I very much agree with. Of course, all of that research was done prior to Irma so who knows what overall impact that has had.

Sadly, unless you are flying from one of the metro NYC airports or a few other select cities that currently have a deal with new service or a last minute travel fare, there is not much. The words "affordable flight options" and "St. Maarten" seldom go hand in hand.

Jet Blue has some new route fares from Ft. Lauderdale and a friend recently got very reasonable air from the mid-west on VERY short notice (2-3 days before & mid-week travel) but that is about it other than NYC or vicinity.

BTW, regarding the CheapOAir study, I am not really buying it. Having been going to SXM for 25+ years, I have found no rhyme or reason as to air prices other than Saturday travel is usually the busiest and the most expensive.

I recently booked air for a late fall trip and checked CheapoAir just for kicks. No deal, same price as one can buy direct from the given airline and they added a $10 per ticket service charge. IMHO, that alone would take away any validity to any study the may have done.

And for an upcoming trip and also the late fall trip, the most I have ever paid for air and neither involve Saturday travel. Sunday, Friday and Tuesday are my travel days and the fare was the same for any weekday when I was booking.

BTW, SammyM, click on you blinking envelope as I sent you a private message the other day.

SammyM that report was right. We booked our March trip 7 months before and I've watched the price go up and up.

We could fly Buffalo or Toronto, westjet seems to have the best value but they do not fly Saturdays. Jetblue has not released their November schedule but late October is coming up around $800-$1000

That is useful information! Thank you.

It does seem we should avoid Saturdays. Not sure villa owners would be agreeable to rent outside of Saturday to Saturday.

You can always ask but the bulk of rentals are Sat. to Sat.

Good luck.

Sakislgirl--It's been my experience that villas will rent the specific dates you want, if they are available, especially if it's pretty far in advance.. I wouldn't be that worried about Sat to Sat.

I am currently looking to book my trip from Newark to SXM for December on United which has direct flights. I have the app and check every day, several times a day. My next trip is this March. RT prices were running in the mid $900 from last Summer. First week in December I did my check and booked at $372. Price went back up to the $900 range just days after. Persistence pays off.

That's good to hear, RonDon. I don't always follow this as well as I should. Where we live we are very fortunate because we have four major U.S. airports and one huge Canadian airport all within 190 miles or less of us. And, we actually have our local airport too, but flights here are much more limited. So, we have many options to shop and compare. One thing for that I'll never understand is why the prices between these airports differ so much when so many of the flight details match (same flight length, connection city, etc.). I can see why so many people reach out for assistance on forums such as this one!

Almost forgot my reply to Sakislegirl! You must be located somewhere near us because our last two visits to SXM we flew out of Buffalo on Delta. And, we're about to do it again in March for $535 each. Connection options are Atlanta or JFK, and we found Atlanta works really well (perfect layover times, never had a flight delayed, no lost luggage, etc.). If you go directly to Delta's website and search using the grid method you'll find the prices can really fluctuate depending upon the day of the week. If your departure and return dates are not fixed, this is a great method for securing a lower fare. Also, Buffalo has to be one of the easiest airports anywhere to get to and from quickly. It's right there, with a host of Park/Sleep/Fly hotels literally right across the street. And, finally if you're from the states you won't have to deal with U.S./Canadian customs and potential delays there.

We have also flown out of Toronto's Pearson airport with good results. But, you'll deal with a ton more traffic up there in the Toronto/Mississauga metroplex. Must allow yourself additional time for getting to and from this airport. Never flew WestJet, but some of the folks from Canada on this forum just love them so they must do a good job. I think 'Jeepers' has flown with them in the past. If you ever fly to Europe in the future then Toronto would be a clear choice. Hope this helps!

Just looked at google flights and seeing many fare in $482-630 range.
Have you looked at google flights. If not , try Toronto and Buff and see the difference.

I do recall gong to a wedding in Toronto a few years ago was about to blow a ton of money for Jfk-Toronto when my friend suggested JFK-BUF and drive up. Saved me over $259 per ticket. Landed in BUF and having never been there, visited 3 Buffalo wing establishments within 3 hours before taking the scenic drive up past Niagara. Great times and $$$ saved.

Sat to Sat in Nov, does not give you good price options from Toronto

Other days are around $555 Cdn - which is about $420 US [on stop]

J&B

Captain, Google Flights is a great tool, one that is more powerful than most realize. It takes some time to figure out all of the features, and I’m not 100% certain that I have yet, but it’s worth playing with. Very informative.

Yes indeed! We always check google flights as it allows you to look over various options in a clean meaningful way, all in one spot.

This is our first time hitting SXM during Presidents week and so we expected to pay top dollar. Our timeshare is SAT-SAT and had we traveled those days, we would have paid more $300 more per ticket. An easy glance at google flights showed us that Sun-Sat saved us $1200 so it was a no brainer.

To the original poster, give it a shot. Good luck