TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands AA doubling direct flights

https://news.aa.com/news/news-detai...nd-Latin-America-NET-RTS-06/default.aspx

American will have two direct flights/day in December.

Incredulous. They barely have enough staff to cover jfk-sxm w extra crew in the highly likely case of timing out. Hope their numbers are higher now.

I'm flying MIA-STT tomorrow. AA just sent me a 'special offer' if I'm willing to be flexible on flights. Hey - maybe a free upgrade? Nope - fly to EIS instead, on a flight with more empty seats. I'll take a pass - my boat is on St Thomas.

One flight for passengers...one for their luggage??

Definitely get the skepticism, but fingers crossed and rooting for them to make it work.

Just wanted to jump in here. I'm just back last night from a 10 day trip, and hope to get more details out soon via a trip report. My family of 5 was on the EIS-MIA flight yesterday afternoon. In spite of the well reported issues they encountered on 6/4 and 6/5 (we arrived on 6/4), yesterday's flight experience could not have been better. The arriving flight landed on time, and they turned the plane (which was cool when we boarded - unlike the Silver planes) and took off for Miami inside of an hour.

Many here are opposed to EIS flights, when compared to ferry and STT alternatives. I understand why, and respect the opinions and wisdom of long-time contributors to this site. That said, I am sometimes surprised by the degree of negativity around EIS flights. I'm still a rookie (only 10 BVI charters under my belt), but from where I am in Orlando, EIS flights are an easier/better option. Traditionally, this has been SJU connections on JetBlue via Silver codeshare (MCO-SJU-EIS). This injects some risk into the travel plans due to common delays with Silver. Our experience has been mostly good. It's still better than MCO-MIA-STT and the ferry (I cannot get to STT direct, unless I go Spirit, which I won't).

Regardless, if American Airlines is able to make a go of these direct flights from Miami, I can't see how that's not better for just about everyone. The crew & staffing issues argument doesn't make sense to me. That's true of nearly any/all Caribbean destinations. The runway/weather issues have merit, but my understanding is that the percentage of the time that planes are required to land from the east is very low. Most of the time there is a consistent east wind that makes takeoff (like yesterday) very doable.

It seems to me that more options for access to the BVI is better than less.....even if that includes flights that others would prefer not to take (STT or EIS). Additionally, if American Airlines is successful on this route, maybe it would encourage Delta to take a look at it with their A220 equipment.

Just my two cents, but I'm in the camp of those hoping that American succeeds.

I don’t have issues with the additional flights. Just hope that this coming season isn’t like last with lots of bizarre wind patterns. I just can’t justify the cost from my home airport and the limited # of AA flights if there is an issue. Plus having to pay for bags (we are always taking stuff to the boat) and no upgrades it just doesn’t make sense for me.

I'm not sure if it's the prevailing perspective here, but I definitely do get the perspective that making the BVI too accessible might well ruin what made/makes the place special? In the grand scheme, I'd probably agree with that, but it's also likely already too late (by at least ten years), and there's no stopping "progress". If it's what the BVI wants, I'm not the one to question it, but certainly also accept/respect others that do.

Anyone have any idea how far out AA is scheduling these flights right now? I'm looking to track pricing for next April and the only AA flights between EIS-MIA that I see all show a stop in SJU.

AA is booking into the middle of next May right now, just go to their website. I'm looking and waiting for next June. We're flying that route, MIA to EIS next week.

Seems like AA has this new route pretty dialed in. There were a few unfortunate issues earlier this month. There was one EIS-MIA flight last week (or so) that was diverted to West Palm Beach bc MIA was closed for several hours due to weather. I'm all for this new route option and agree with previous comment....rooting that AA has success. Relieves some pressure on a over capacity STT and maybe injects some competition. I hope AA's pricing settles down. Pretty cost prohibitive for most folks currently, esp big family groups.

We flew in to EIS last Tuesday. Smooth flight, on time, no issues. However, we were a little surprised when the pilot announced that due to the short runway, the landing would be a bit more "abrupt" than normal. But he nailed the landing and I don't think anyone would have noticed anything unusual had he not mentioned it.

If my recollection is correct, the days this flight had issues were days with a more southerly wind (crosswind). This obviously injects more risk in the equation - especially in certain times of the year where the east wind is less consistent. We travel down mid-June each year, so I'd be pretty comfortable booking this route. I wonder if American's decision related to when to offer this is solely related to demand - or maybe wind probability is another consideration.

When the wind direction changes, they reverse the runway, which for some reason becomes shorter. That is what happened when they unloaded passengers and bags and burnt fuel. That can, and does, happen any time of year.

I'm guessing this is purely about demand. It certainly benefits people coming from airports with direct service to Miami but not San Juan. It also benefits people whose final destination is not Tortola, as it gives them more time to get where they're going.

George may know, but I'm wondering if it would be possible to have a flight come in later in the evening and leave early in the morning. That would benefit travelers from further away, who can't get to Miami before 10 am.

This route would definitely benefit us trying to get to Anegada in one day. Hopefully the pricing will come down to help make if more affordable. For December I am looking at $1800+ per person to go that route.

How ARE they dealing with the weight issue?

American Airlines will figure it out, have no fear. It's a well-run company with a great culture among its employees. Full disclosure, it was an anchor client of my law firm before I retired, so I'm not able to claim being unbiased.

A post in April by George C1 resonated with me: "The SJU airport authority ran American Airlines and their inter island operation out of SJU. Prices have soared and customers have suffered. AA had 50 aircraft seating 64 people flying everywhere in the Caribbean from SJU. Probably less than 20% of that capacity has been replaced. The result was 100% predictable."

I saw the very same thing happen in St. Maarten years ago in the early 2000s; I was just starting to get a lot of work from AA and got to know a number of the gate agents at that airport. Even they were complaining about the steady increase in fees that the local government (largely populated by idiots who knew how to run nothing except their mouths) would just keep piling on, feeling like AA was a captive and would just "grin and bear it." Eventually, burdened by legacy costs that prevented it from competing with JetBlue (which had none as a start-up airline back then, in 1998), American ceded the Caribbean to that carrier - and with the severely lamentable consequences that George C1 accurately recites.

The far greater danger to the success of AA's venture are the actions that might be taken by a government that has to sustain a labor action that shuts down the airport for failing to pay raises that were acknowledged to be owed to the staff, but soon thereafter can readily find $250,000 to spend on a "non stop concert" (https://www.bvibeacon.com/non-stop-concert-to-celebrate-direct-flights/) that is purportedly to celebrate AA's return to this market! The irony is other-worldly, as is the fear and loathing it should cause all of us who want to see AA succeed.

It is indeed good to see AA return to the Caribbean market. Regional jets can make the difference.
Wasn’t AA's attempt in the early 2000s predicated on a hub in SJU and utilizing ATR 42 and 72 equipment? AA also received subsidies and incentives from some governments, and when the economics didn’t pan out AA pulled out.

The ATRs didn’t have a good safety record either. Per Wikipedia: “The ATR 72 has been involved in 66 aviation accidents and incidents, including 40 hull losses, resulting in 470 fatalities”

The long history of Caribbean air travel has been a challenge. Regional jets by majors can help, but economics and supply and demand will continue to rule

I thought the problem with the ATRs chiefly involved icing, so they moved them south. PR thought they had AA by the cojones, which back-fired. SJU also had problems with theft, which they were unable or unwilling to fix.

Yes, correct on both counts.

Are these flights only on certain days or every day? I’m searching late April and early May and zero non-stops are coming up. Everything shows a stop in either SJU or STT.

Looks like they end in late March

As per AA's PR, "American is expanding winter seasonal service to its newest destination, Tortola, British Virgin Islands (EIS), with two daily nonstop flights." Thus, because it's seasonal, this route's suspension or termination will likely coincide with what's generally considered the end of "winter," near the end of March or early in April.

Fitzhugh, that is very interesting, because I recall the original press release said daily flight. This suggests they have decided to do two/day.

No, you're correct in that it's daily service and now twice per day; my response sought to explain that whatever the number of flights per day, they will be available for a limited duration (i.e., seasonal). Thus, it's daily, but only until the end of the winter season, which is March or thereabouts - when it terminates altogether.

If there's been enough demand to add a second flight, possibly they'll continue the service later in the year.