American airlines and Caribbean travel

skipm45 · Oct 4, 2012

Hi everyone, new forum member here.
What effect do you think the recent problems that American Airlines are
experiencing will have on travel to the Caribbean from the U.S.?
They seem to have most of the Caribbean routes and appear to be on shaky ground.

Skip

lmorin · Oct 4, 2012

They used to go everywhere in the Caribbean. Now, much scaled back and probably the trend will continue.

redacted · Oct 4, 2012

Even if the flight to/from the Caribbean destination goes OK, there is still the potential problem with any connecting flights.

Rhone Man · Oct 4, 2012

It is a very worrying time for Caribbean tourism. Visitors like to connect through all on one airline. Having to change to a smaller carrier for the final flight will deter visitors.

To be honest, I thought American was bluffing in an attempt to extort concessions out of Caribbean governments (who were too cash strapped to pay up), but it looks like they are really following through. Destinations with direct flights from alternate carriers (St Thomas, Cayman, Dominica to name just three) will presumably be the beneficiaries.

Bryan Cunningham · Oct 6, 2012

Flew my wife up to Canada from Antigua last month. With all their delays and cancellations it took 3 days.

Bryan
SCUBA DESTINATION DEALS - HOME

DivemasterDennis · Oct 7, 2012

Debbie and I have not had very many bad airline experiences but the three we have had all involved American Airlines. We do not fly them if there is any alternative at all. In fact carrier service is one factor we consider in selecting dive destinations.
DivemasterDennis

lmorin · Oct 9, 2012

Read about the AA disaster HERE

agilis · Oct 9, 2012

Rhone Man:
It is a very worrying time for Caribbean tourism. Visitors like to connect through all on one airline. Having to change to a smaller carrier for the final flight will deter visitors.

To be honest, I thought American was bluffing in an attempt to extort concessions out of Caribbean governments (who were too cash strapped to pay up), but it looks like they are really following through. Destinations with direct flights from alternate carriers (St Thomas, Cayman, Dominica to name just three) will presumably be the beneficiaries.

I know that Cayman has direct flights from a few US cities, and St Thomas from many places, but I'm unaware of any direct flights to Dominica. American Eagle flies there from San Juan, but that entire American Eagle/San Juan operation is scheduled to shut down completely in March of 2013. That leaves LIAT, a very marginal and unreliable airline on the verge of insolvency that flies between several islands with the small two engine prop aircraft required for the tiny airport in Dominica. The runway there is much too short for jets. I go to Dominica frequently, and am concerned that travel there by air will become even more difficult in 6 months, if it is possible at all.

mathauck0814 · Oct 9, 2012

I fly American every week to conduct my business - sometimes with more than 8 segments in a week. I have only had one issue with them in the last two months and it was remedied in a matter of a couple of hours. Don't let the news scare you too much. They're just another airline dealing with just another union. This too shall pass.

Damselfish · Oct 9, 2012

agilis:
I go to Dominica frequently, and am concerned that travel there by air will become even more difficult in 6 months, if it is possible at all.

Are the ferries servicing Dominica a useful alternative in any way?

American airlines and Caribbean travel

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