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

We just returned from SXM via Jet Blue from FLL. The 10:30AM flight to SXM left on time and got into SJU 5 minutes late. At SJU we arrived at gate A1 and the flight to SXM was scheduled for 1:55PM from gateA3. Even though the gates were seemingly next to each other they aren’t that close. By the time we arrived at A3 they were already boarding.

The return flight was supposed to leave SXM at 3:55 and connect to the 6:45. In reality we left SXM 10 minutes early and customs was a breeze. We have global entry but even without that the lines were minimal. They held the 6:45 flight for 15 minutes to accommodate some late connections.

The on time performance of the return flight may depend on the day of the week. We returned on a Monday but for Saturday and Sunday it appeared that Jet Blue used the FLL plane to schedule a flight to and from STT. Although our Monday arrival was on time the Saturday and Sunday returns didn’t leave SJU until 9:00-9:15 with a FLL arrival around 11:30PM. I would recommend creating a free account with Flight Aware (flightaware.com) to check historical performance. They also have a great app that provides up to the minute flight tracking.

The seaweed was back at Orient although on Friday they raked and buried it. Aloha apparently is closing June 15 for the demolition and rehab of that end of the beach. Although we like the rustic charm of that section of Orient it’s clear that moving the structures back is the only way that the beach will be accessible for walking.

Thanks for posting this about JB from SXM to FLL. While we live in Connecticut and usually go in and out via JFK, this time we have scheduled a trip to our place in Naples for a week. So we are returning from SXM on a Tuesday via JB to FLL. I believe we are taking the same return flight that you took and then rent a car to drive across to our house. Glad to hear that it worked out timeless etc.. Was getting a little nervous about doing this but you made us feel more comfortable.

Our last Jet Blue flight from SXM through SJU and into Orlando (June 2014) was a disaster. We ended up being I think a total of 4 hours late leaving SJU. JB had switched us involuntarily from a connection time of 87 minutes (approx) and put us on a flight that was a scheduled 3 1/2 hour layover. With the extra time, we ended up in SJU something like 7 hours. Not a fun time...

I went on their site and couldn't make a FLL-SXM-FLL flight come up. When do they fly that route?

I just typed it in and 6 flights a day came up. I picked a week in July 2015

This is crazy. When I put in round trip it said that I couldn't there from here, but when I did each leg one way I got one for both legs. Weird. By the way, the 7:45 departure from FLL to SXM is only $199 which is about one and a half times cheaper than any other of their times that they leave.

Sometimes Jet Blue website seems to have a brain f*rt at times, which I have experienced myself, but I assume you know it's SXM-SJU-FLL??

Carol:
Yes I do know the routing. As far as the six departures daily, half of them are code shares out of SJU. Also, if you want a good laugh, go Expedia. It has some unbelievable routings.

Re: JB website. Many times if I search BOS-SXM I will get no flights or the BOS part will disappear and it will tell me to enter a departure location <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />

BUT..if I choose "Boston Area" (which is BOS) I have no problem and it defers to BOS

I have often had the JB website tell me they have no flights to SXM on dates when I know darn well they do. I think it has some bugs in it..

Two years ago we booked Jet Blue for FLL to SXM via SJU. About two months prior to departure they cancelled the return due to a schedule change.

I called JB and they explained that before the schedule change we had 1:31 to clear customs and get to our gate but that after the schedule change we had 1:28 to get there. The computer wouldn't allow a connection unless there was 45 minutes to change for a domestic flight and 1:30 if you had to clear customs and immigration. A supervisor over rode the system and we had plenty of time to make the connection.

I suppose that it's possible to book the legs independently if that makes logical and financial sense to you.

That was my situation, it became a non-legal connection. I did not trust them, that if something happened, and I missed the connection, that they would still get me home, if I accepted a non-legal connection. As it turned out, we certainly should have risked it since we ultimately ended up with a 7 hour layover in SJU, but I don't trust airlines as far as I can throw them.