TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Southwest to SXM?

I just received email from Divi marketing stating I can now book air/room packages on Southwest for Aruba and SXM.

When did SW start flying to SXM? Anyone know?

They certainly don't fly to SXM as of NOW. They may be planning on announcing it soon. While I loathe SW myself, any new competition is great! (...speaks a person who is flying SW in about six days....)

Would love to see direct flights from their Hub in Providence.

Careful with those Providence comments, or you'll get an earful about how well those of us in the Northeast already have it when it comes to flights.

It's more likely that SW, if and when they're ready to start SXM service, will do flights out of FLL, MCO, or HOU. Nothing has been announced, and I don't have a contact inside SW to ask.

Their not fleeing the same weather we are........... :

I believe that if it happens, it is supposed to be out of FLL. A nonstop out of MCO might 'force' me to go with SW to SXM, but I don't think there's any way that will happen.

Or their weather might be worse... Last January in Chicago was a low of minus 22 F.

Carol--just curious why you don't like Southwest. I'm not a fan of their "no assigned seats" but otherwise I generally enjoy flying with them.

She hates the no assigned seats.... so then standing in a line for 30+ minutes to get a seat or I guess now, PAY EXTRA to get some sort of priority seating. Crazy! So now you have to pay extra to get a good seat, but they do not want to change their policy... but this is exactly what they are doing by charging extra. And the reason that they are doing this.............. people hate the cattle line to go to the meat house.

And Delta and AA are doing and have been doing the same thing, reduced fare for no preassigned seating. Want to choose your seat, extra $25-$50+.

Exactly. The early boarding fee is kinda offset by the two free checked bags. While SWA is not one of my top two airlines (JB for most flights and Delta for International) I would not hesitate to fly with them. Decent flight experience and usually a friendly crew.

....and the standing for 30 minute thing is way in the past. EVERYONE gets a boarding number and get in line when your group (A,B or C) is called. If you want to board early (I do) it's your choice.

It is also number three in best US airlines behind Delta and Alaska....note: the same survey had JB below AA so take it with a huge grain of salt.

Top 10 US Airlines link

Is anyone else old enough to remember the"bad" old days of government regulation? You paid a bit more, but prices were set - no games or "fees", and the airlines had to compete based upon service.

JD--sorry, not at ALL the same thing to me. You can always pay when you book and get an actual seat, on everyone except Southwest. Or when you check in, you are assigned a seat, if you don't want to pay anything. Yesterday I flew Spirit (in the US, not SXM, unfortunately), and paid extra for an assigned seat. With Southworst, you NEVER get an assigned seat. I am willing to pay a few bucks more for an assigned seat at booking, or if I don't do that, take the luck of the draw and get one when I check in. Just give me a d*mn seat!!!

I’m with Carol on this one. No assigned seat, no buy.

What a silly post. "You paid a bit more" ??? My first flight in 1975, Pittsburgh to LA, cost $1,008. Applying inflation to that is $4,440 in today's dollars! How many people would be flying if costs were that high? In 1975, less than 1 in 5 had ever flown once in an airplane!

Houses in 1975 cost an average of under $40k, cars cost an average of $3500. Imagine today paying 20% of a car to fly to LA!!

Sorry, those were not "the good old days" when it came to flying.

I'm sorry you found my post silly - I guess we had different experiences. In the early '70's I regularly flew between Boston and LA for around $450 and was served an edible mean by flight attendants who were earning a living wage. And your inflation doesn't take into consideration technological progress - especially when comparing services as opposed to commodities.

Just received answer to my email query and SW said their plans prior to Irma have fallen through and they're not sure when SXM will be added to their line up so that note from Divi was incorrect.

Regardless of how I personally feel about SW, sorry that they won't be flying to SXM soon.

I am a regular SW flyer and occasionally speak with middle-managers flying through their Dallas HQ. While they have had their eyes on SXM for some time, I do not believe they will commit to any expansion of service until the 737Max is returned to service. In addition, the rebuilding of PJIA must be completed and operational.

I love Southwest for the simple reason that I don't have to pay for 2 bags, my carryon is free, and I can change/cancel my flight anytime for free if something comes up. That has happened a lot for me while flying in the US. They almost always run on time and I would love it if I could get a flight to SXM on Southwest! I have done the early bird but recently haven't as the cost has gone up. I just check in at the correct time. Very organized and easy. Honestly, having flown AA and JetBlue recently they are both full of the cattle lines. People carrying ALL their worldly possessions onboard because they don't want to pay the baggage fee. Backed up the whole boarding process! Planes left late, barely made our CLT connection on the way down. We need to find a better way. Traveling to JFK for a non-stop isn't close to being an option.

What do you mean, " Check in at the right time?" I understood your boarding assignment on SW was determined by the day and time of purchasing your ticket, not at the time you check in? Correct me if I a m wrong though....Thanks

Boarding position on SW is determined when you check in. Back when I flew on them a lot and they didn't offer an option to buy your spot in line, I'd set an alarm for 24-hours prior to departure to ensure I got that coveted 'A' group.

With all the early board it is tough to get an A. Business select gets you in A 1-15 so if you travel as a couple one goes on and saves the seat next to them. Most people ask if the seat is taken. On some flights you can upgrade to Business Select at the gate for $40.00.

Last few trips I haven't done the Early Bird.....not as cheap as it once was! Also after the A group they board all the families with young kids. Doesn't pay to spend money for Early Bird if you aren't given the position in line. Son was A60 I was B1....we didn't get to board at the same time. I had to wait for the families. People with little kids behind me were mad because they didn't realize they could get on before B group. I had paid for early boarding and so did they. I did send an email to Southwest and got my money back. Now we just take our chances unless I know that I won't be near a computer to check in exactly 24hrs prior to my flight!

I used to fly them three times a month for about 11 years. Had automatic A and a ton of miles. I would rather be home.

My limited experience with SW has been less than desirable. Feel like I'm dealing with the days of living in NY and riding the subway . First there's having to deal with the bozos in the waiting area either cutting the line in the group or just being disrespectful. Then the cattle call to get into the plane occurs and by the time you get in the plane all the overhead bins are full. I guess that's why SW is also known as the Greyhound of the Sky. Thanks, but for the extra few bucks I;d rather be treated like a human being.

Half correct....if you opt in for the early boarding it is determined by date of purchase since there will be more than one early boarders. SWA auto assigns the boarding number before regular check in is available. Check in time determines the rest.

..and yes, if you are near the end of the boarding bunch the overhead bins might be full like any other airline BUT the chance is greatly decreased because of the two checked bags free thing.

It all comes down to personal preference. If your perceived opinion of an airline is bad then just fly another airline. They do tend to make those fares lower by their (SWA) presence

boucharda--you are definitely right about that. More competition always seems to have the effect of lowering prices. Overall, however I personally will only fly SW as a last resort, which includes my upcoming flight on Thursday on SW. I couldn't find anything else that fit into my timeframe. I do hope they eventually fly to SXM though.

While standing in line for Southwest boarding it has always seemed less chaotic to me. People politely are asking "what number are you". Compare that to AA or JetBLue where everyone herds to the line as soon as their group is called. Even people who AREN'T in the group are crowding the line. That is where people are cutting each other off! I also disagree with your assessment of carryons. I saw people boarding AA who decided that they weren't going to carry their bag to the back of the plane so found a bin in the front. I actually heard a woman say "I'm leaving my bag here" and she walked many rows to the back. Ok, so now, people getting on have no room for their carryon in their bin so THEY have to go several rows back to find space and THEN fight the herd to get back to their seat. As you can imagine after several incidents like this our plane was late taking off. We barely made our connection. Not sure why people don't put their luggage in the bin at their seat or why some insist on putting small bags and coats in the overhead. Just my opinion. There is always a lot less confusion on Southwest as most I think check their bags. No matter the airline we always put our backpacks under the seat in front of us.

I guess that's why there's chocolate and vanilla. My experience on the limited number of flights on SW I have taken were less enjoyable than other airlines.

PreK176 I totally agree with you.

Also what airlines need to do is really enforce the carry-on size. Why do they have a size box in place if they don't use it. Sometimes I can't find room for a bag that adheres to the airlines web site measurement for carry on because there's a super big bag taking up half of the overhead above three seats.

And those of you who take backpacks please take care moving down the isle to NOT smack me in the head as you pass OR to turn around hitting me when I'm walking in back of you. Take it off your back and carry it in front of you.

Just another gouging tactic