TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin AA April flight changes

Wow. I've always had results with a supervisor.

We got a call back today and they offered us small vouchers ($$) for future flights. Getting an offer of the limited vouchers, on future flights, is kind of like being offered a free meal at a restaurant that just gave you food poisoning. The last three times we have used AA, we have had cancelled flights, changed flights, delayed flights, changed seats, no seats and forced overnight layovers. We now have seats for our May trip but that could change at anytime.

Are you truly in First? Or is this Business.

If First, which flights?

gary

Your AA experience sounds a lot like ours. Wish we had more choices from Eastern NC.

We are thinking of trying Delta out of Myrtle Beach and flying through Atlanta.

We used Delta in Nov. no problems at all, and we were on Delta due to AA screwing badly with the itinerary we originally booked.

We flew Delta out of Raleigh and through Atlanta this past trip, and it was much better than our recent AA experiences (on several different routes, not just trips to SXM). Even so, our flight from ATL to RDU on the return was delayed about an hour. No explanation was given.

We prefer Delta, as well - but prefer CLT to ATL

Also Delta flights for us generally almost double what AA costs - so we go AA

we had an 'equipment change' on our upcoming flights - but suspect that it is due to not selling many 535am flights from Memphis to CLT - could change back again if that changes

Just checked our flights for our May and July trips. No changes and no overnights unless you consider the red eye flights getting there.

So!

I spent the better part of an hour on the phone this morning with an AA CSR today and we were able to resolve all the issues with our April tickets that arose from the latest batch of AA schedule changes. All miles were restored to our FF accounts and refunds for all the taxes and seat upgrades will be returned to our CCs shortly. The irony of all this is the AA reps are just as appalled by these flight changes as we travelers are but I have to say - I think the CSR I was dealing with would have given us the plane if she could have accommodated us without over-nighting us somewhere or putting us on after midnight arrival flights. She checked every possibly routing we could have used for the various relatively local airports we can conveniently use but sadly, the end result was the full refund and restoration of miles and dollars, at least for our return flight. We are still holding on to the outbound flight, at least for the time being until they manage to totally mess that one up.

So whether I like it or not, it’s AA down and JB home. For now........

I received notice today that AA refunded the full price of my cancelled flights to/from St Martin. I had purchased the non-refundable fares ($1,650 for 2 RT from Pittsburgh) but they easily gave me the refund due to their schedule changes. I was glad to get the refund, but I’d be happier if my planned visit to Grand Case we’re still on.

Scubaman, You are one lucky dude, you seem to be the only one who is never affected by any of AA's rotten schedule changes! Why is that?

We have had troubling schedule changes before and when that happens I'm like a dog on a bone. Maybe they have me red flagged to not mess with me.

Glad you got it resolved and hopefully there are no more changes.

I was wondering if there is not another airline that you can take?
It's a shame to cancel your vacation.

I had the same thoughts as The_Lurker.

Could you connect into JFK and use JB or Delta? Or perhaps Newark and United? I’m certainly not happy with the AA changes and the resulting chaos they always create but I would be hard pressed to cancel my trip because of them if there was any other way.

I don’t know about anyone else but I usually notice these changes on a Sunday so needless to say, I’ve got my fingers crossed that this weekend won’t bring about more.

Susancat: No clue what your dates are and I'm assuming a Pittsburgh departure but I checked one Sat-Sat flight (4/11-18) from PIT on Delta and there is a one stop (Atlanta) r/t with decent times

I would assume they have similar flights on other dates

I’m planning our trip from April 15-22. Although I found a decent flight from Pittsburgh to SXM, I couldn’t find an acceptable return flight. Our original schedule had us leaving SXM at 2:25 and arriving in PIT at 9:10. Since AA canceled this return flight, the best I can find gets us into PIT the next day. I’ve already contacted LePetit Hotel to cancel our reservations. I feel so bad about not visiting Grand Case this year, but will definitely try for our next vacation. Grand Case is our favorite town in the Caribbean.

That's to bad.

Something to consider, which may work for some, is to take a voluntary overnight on the way home. If time and budget permits, perhaps breaking up the return trip by overnighting in Miami and having a nice dinner in South Beach may work. Or Lauderdale, or Atlanta, etc. It will take the pressure off of clearing Immigration and Customs and then making a connecting flight, and it will open up a whole range of flights for the next day. I understand that doing this is out of the question for many, but it may work for some. Something to consider.

Always a good option if time allows.

The overnight would work BUT, again, Delta has a return flight on the 22nd that gets into PIT a tad after midnight......no overnight needed Yup, it's a pain to get in that late but it's less of a pain than not going at all.

We are returning to BOS just about the same time in January . I chose that flight because of the 3 hour layover in ATL...less stress about getting off SXM in time to make a connection

I agree with Bahston- when our flights were "reconfigured", we chose an overnight in Phoenix (where we have family) with an early afternoon departure.

The cancelled AA flights made getting back to Pittsburgh more difficult for sure. I calculated that inconvenience with the fact that the French government is not trying to mitigate the problems in St Martin in making my decision to look elsewhere for a beach vacation. I really feel bad about not returning to Grand Case this year...this wonderful little town needs all the tourism it can handle right now. It’s just not for me right now. My husband and I are in our 70’s. We first visited Grand Case in 1982. If we were still 29 we would be there fighting the fight. For now, we’ll look elsewhere....hopefully next year we’ll feel comfortable returning to St Martin. Thank you to all on this message board for your commitment to my favorite island.

Grand Case isn't the only place to stay on island to enjoy the island. Stay elsewhere and drive to Grand Case on days you want.

Susancat,

I get it! The airline flight changes and cancellations are one very definite set of problems. The unrest on the island is a whole other issue but the bottom line - if you’re not comfortable being there in the area you want to visit, then choosing another destination was a good move on your part.

Time for all of us to back off and leave this one alone. ‘Nuff said!

Thanks again, Pat.

Yes, but lately many of those options, in a word, suck - more and more. And despite what the rest of the country may think, we're all more in the same place than we've ever been. A choice of suck vs. suckier vs.suckiest is becoming more common for all of us.