Is Tiara Air reliable?

[Hintermann]

I have a trip planned that includes a diving holiday in Bonaire followed by a liveaboard cruise of Socorro Isles. I will be flying from the UK on Delta for all flight connections except one. On a Friday, when there are no direct flights between Bonaire and Atlanta, I have to fly between those two destinations. The best option is to go via Aruba but the crux is that I have to arrive in Aruba airport no later than 13:00 hours on that Friday to have enough time to connect to the afternoon Delta flight to Atlanta. I cannot afford to miss the Aruba-Atlanta flight because after an overnight stay in the Atlanta, I have a Delta flight to Los Cabos the following morning, one that I have to take.

I have 3 options, all giving enough connecting time to catch the Delta flight to Atlanta from Aruba.

Tiara Air has a flight departing Bonaire at 09:10 hours and after a brief stop at Curacao, the same plane arrives in Aruba at 10:35

Dutch Antilles Express has a flight departing Bonaire at 07:00 hours to Curacao; after a 3-hour stop there, a connecting DAE flight takes me to Aruba, arriving at 11:00 hours.

Insel Air flight departs from Bonaire at 09:55 hours to Curacao and I have only 50 minutes there for the connecting flight to Aruba which arrives there at 11:20 hours.

To me, the Tiara flight, departing at a reasonable time and with no plane changes involved, seems the best option. The DAE flight departs a shade too early in the morning for my liking and in any case I have heard unflattering reports about the airline's reliability. The Insel flight cuts things too close in Cuacao and so the most risky.

Therefore, my question is whether Tiara Air is a reasonably reliable and punctual airline?

 

[jimw]

Your post prompted me to look further into Tiara as we live near Ft Lauderdale and could use their services to Bonaire--- www.flightstats.com indicates that in June and July, '13; Tiara flew 24 times Bon-Aua, on time 70% of the time, average delay 86, max delay 270. I assume these times are in minutes. 1 flight was cancelled in the 2 months. DAE, Cur-Aua, same time frame--86 flights 58% ontime and no cancelations. avg delay 42, max 218.

Could use is key--they stop in both Aua and Cur on the way to Bonaire and take their time making the connections. AA Mia--Cur(2 flights a day)and DiviDivi Air to Bon is waaay faster!

 

[Hintermann]

I do not plan to use Tiara Air to get to Bonaire because I will be flying there direct from Atlanta on Delta in a Saturday. But when it comes to returning to Atlanta from Bonaire, it has to be the following Friday, when there is no Delta flight out of Bonaire. But there is out of Aruba and so my problem is to get from Bonaire to Aruba in time to catch that Delta flight to Atlanta

 

[jimw]

Some years ago I went thru Aua on a Delta award ticket. It was ok, but the easiest way to the US is AA out of Cur. Idk what the AA schedule Mia-Atl is, but I would consider that route to Atl. There are 2 nonstops Cur-Mia daily--take the earlier one and I would guess Atl would be an easy connection..........I also use the only local airline that I consider reliable, DiviDivi Air from Bon-Cur. Divi does not fly to Aua.

That said, I was suggesting that Tiara's 70% ontime is NOT bad, it's on par with Delta and Southwest for example. Tiara is your best option as you suggested; from Bon-Aua. I am only saying that there is another possible route which I feel is more reliable...............

 

[lmorin]

To the OP: For what it is worth, we have flown BON-AUA about 6-7 times and had no out of the ordinary problems with Tiara. We have now been on the 9:10 AM flight two times. The most likely problem you will face may be the transfer from Tiara to your connection to Atlanta. To be safe, you really must have 2 hr between the Tiara flight arrival and the departure time to Atlanta. In AUA, you must first go through Aruba customs (pretty quick because there will be only a few passengers involved), then retrieve your luggage (also pretty quick). You must then take your luggage out of the arrival terminal, go next door to the main departure terminal and check in for the next flight departure. If your airline allows it, check in via the internet, then drop your luggage at the check-in counter. In our experience, this process is likely to be reasonably fast. However, you will now have less than 1.5 of your needed transfer time, so any time spent in the check-in line starts to seriously cut into the remaining time before scheduled departure. After checking your luggage, you must proceed to Aruba customs, then through security, then you must find your bags, sorted by airline, in a big room before going through US customs and immigration. Then, you drop the bags on a belt specific to your airline and go through a second security check point. As you can imagine, all this takes time. On our last trip, things became worse when I was selected for "random" specific attention at the security check point. I sent my wife on ahead because it was only about 35 min prior to departure. The extra check took about 5 min. When all was said and done, we boarded on time in regular fashion. If you depart closer to noon, the shorter the lines and delays. If you are on a flight leaving early to mid-afternoon, the delays can be extreme because of all the people trying to depart at the same time on different airlines.

 

[Hintermann]

Thanks all.

To Jimw - Going by the Bonaire-Curacao-Miami-Atlanta is a bit too complicated. I have to reach Atlanta by Friday evening in order to be sure of connecting to the Delta flight to Los Cabos next morning. I have to take that flight; otherwise, I cannot get to the liveaboard boat on time. That is why I chose the Bonaire-Aruba-Atlanta route - one less flight and one less chance of getting delayed.

To Imorin: I have allowed 4 hours between the time the Tiara flight lands in Aruba and the Delta flight to Atlanta.

 

[lmorin]

4 hr -- you should be fine. Plan on airport tedium, however.

 

[toddthecat]

4 hr -- you should be fine. Plan on airport tedium until reaching a bar, however.

What hell airports would be without bars...

 

[Kharon]

I have to say - I absolutely hate the procedures in the Aruba airport. I think they set it up to be as obnoxious as possible. I will never fly to or through Aruba again.

 

[Hintermann]

4 hr -- you should be fine. Plan on airport tedium, however.

As things stand it is 4 hours and 45 minutes between flights. No problem with airport tedium. I'll have lunch somewhere and read a good book. Used to such things over the years.