Airlines

Northwest Airlines will  begin a non-stop Saturday flight from Detroit to Str. Thomas January 6.  "The timing couldn’t be better, said Pamela Richards, the Tourism Commissioner, according to the St. John Source.  "It’s coupled with projections for another robust winter season."  Northwest’s Web site, nwa.com, prices the flight at $414.50.  Other airlines flying to St. Thomas include American, USAir, United, Delta, and Spirit.

The waiting area at the King Airport has been unpleasant, off and on during the past week.  The air conditioning has failed intermittently, despite repair efforts by service people from Puerto Rico. 

"This is an ongoing situation that happens quite often" said Bob DeLugo, the station manager for Delta Airlines. "It’s something we’ve brought the attention of the Port Authority many times," he told the Virgin Islands Daily News.

Half the baggage conveyor belts at St. Thomas’s King Airport have been inoperative since late January.  That means only one is working.  That also means there has been near-chaos on busy Saturdays during the season, when various airlines, simultaneously, have just landed flights and are trying to off load suitcases and people.  On those days, as many as 9 flights arrive within an hour of each other. 

Desperate passengers have been seen climbing through openings above the belt to the other side to try to offload their own bags from the airline’s carts, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News.  "It has passengers literally climbing all over each other and employees getting verbally assaulted, said Joanne Bohr, manager of cargo, ramp and passenger services, for Worldwide Flight Services.

Landed Monday afternoon, 5 minutes late, via Spirit’s all-new-looking, spiffy A-321 from Fort Lauderdale.   

84 degrees and clear 🙂

Leftovers from the northeast snow storm were slowing operations down a bit in Florida – LaGuardia in an air traffic control hold until 1pm, for instance – but Spirit handled us fine.

I gotta tell you, the operating people on Spirit – attendants, ticket agents, baggage handlers, pilots – were fine. They were victims, too, of the screwy events of Saturday.

But … the plane coming down from DC was an MD80-series aircraft. The same as we had Saturday, the equipment that the co-captain said wasn’t suitable for us.

Was there more baggage on board Saturday? Did the slight mist from the incoming storm change the flight rules for balancing of the airplane or runway requirements?

I don’t know. One day the MD80’s no good, two days later, it’s OK. Any pilots out there?

We were supposed to be arriving on island Saturday.  But a miscalculation of the number of people our Spirit Airlines plane could accommodate began tumbling dominoes that resulted in our being grounded, just as a 10-12” snow storm hit Washington, DC.

Two hours after we were supposed to take off for Fort Lauderdale, the airline bumped 25 passengers from the flight, including two guys who said they would miss their cruise sailing.They even offered $400 if two other people would agree  take their place in  getting bumped.  No takers.

After Spirit had unloaded all the baggage of the bump-ees, then the airplane intercom system failed.  Security regulations require it be in order.  The airline saw that there was no way they could find us all hotel rooms in Fort Lauderdale, since all of us with connecting flights (us, to St. Thomas) were going to miss them.  They told us to leave the plane, offered us a refund or re-booking a day or two later.

The airline had a couple of standout staffers in the mess. Carlos, one of the pilots, was helpful, and embarrassed as he could be. It was he who explained that someone in charge of scheduling airplanes had made a big mistake by assigning an MD-80(81-82-83)-size plane to our flight instead of an Airbus 319.  The former cannot handle the number of passengers and baggage and still meet the operating safety requirements of Washington’s National Airport.

At the ticket counter, after we got off the plane, the customer supervisor on duty, Curtis, could not have been more helpful – or embarrassed, too.  He helped us and gave us his card and invited us to call 24/7 if there were more problems.  There were.  And we did.  Curtis is a keeper.

But whom ever couldn’t do the math in Logistics or Facilities, or whatever department, ought to be fired.

The snowstorm that it the Capitol canceled our flight Sunday.  We’ll try again Monday.

If you bring your dog or cat to St. John, be prepared to pay up to $120 to get from the airport to Red Hook.   The main reason for the high price is a $90 fee for an "exclusive taxi" plus kennel fees to make up for luggage the drivers miss by carrying fewer people.

The president of the V.I. Taxi Association said there is no policy requiring pet owners to travel alone with their pets. "People can talk with the driver and try to work out something," he told the Virgin Islands Daily News.  But taxi drivers and dispatchers told the newspaper requiring exclusive taxis is not negotiable because other passengers might be allergic to animals.   

Andrew Rutnik, Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner, told the paper he brought complaints about the policy/non-policy to the taxi group several weeks ago.  He was told the association does have an exclusive taxi policy.  "They felt their insurance policy would be jeopardized if someone had an allergic reaction," Rutnik told the Daily News. "I asked if it was a little dog under someone’s arm, was it OK?, and they said no."

The executive director of the Port Authority wants to move rental cars at the St. Thomas airport from right in front of the terminal to land further away.   The current rental lots would then be open for public parking, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News.  "I can see the lot from my office," Darlan Brin explained.  "I’ve been observing people who are coming to pick up people who can’t find a parking place.  The circle around or double-park." 

Spokespeople for the airport’s three rental companies had few comments. The local manager of Budget Rent a Car said, "Some port authorities pay for running a shuttle bus, but we haven’t sat down with them, so I cannot say where it’s positive or negative."

Spirit Airlines is offering great air fares to St. Thomas.  But you have to act fast.  "Warm Up Winter Sale" fares end Monday night. 

Flights from Atlanta to STT, $99 one way; New York Laguardia, $179, and Washington National, $129. Details here.

Spirit Airlines has landed. The low-cost airline began offering nonstop service from Fort Lauderdale to St. Thomas last week, funneling island-bound passengers from its other airports including Washington/Reagen and New York/LaGuardia.

One-way coach seats start at $99.

The first plane was met by government officials, and a mocko jumbie on stilts. Spirit operates Airbus 319 equipment, two classes of service, all leather seats. The new flights are scheduled to arrive daily at King Airport at 2:35pm and depart at 3:35pm, according to the Virgin Islands Daily News.

On the heels of adding service to St. Thomas, Spirit Airlines has kicked off a wintertime sale which includes the Caribbean.

Advertised prices include Washington National to STT for $159 each way. (I tried but couldn’t find it … probably you have to fly Tuesday night and come back the following Thursday Monday at midnight or something).  Similar deals from Atlanta, Chicago, Providence, and others. I’m sure if you hunt and are flexible, you can save a bunch.

Sale fares must be booked on spiritair.com by 11:59PM ET on October 9, 2005!  Travel dates for this sale are Monday through Thursday between October 11, 2005 and March 31, 2006.

Read moreSpirit cuts air fares to Virgin Islands