Which Flight to Choose??

[vanduse1]

I have two flight options that are the same price. What is better?

Arrive in BON from Atlanta on Delta at 1:44pm on Saturday
Depart BON to Atlanta on Delta at 2:45pm on Saturday

Arrive in BON from Houston on Continental at 5:11am on Saturday
Depart BON to Houston on Continental at 7:30am on Saturday


I guess the question would be would you rather have a full day when you arrive of diving (Continental) and leave early the following Saturday? Or would you rather take your time on the Saturday you arrive and start diving on Sunday but stop diving a bit early on Friday before you leave on Saturday at 2:45pm?


Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Dan

 

[diversteve]

How many dives do you want to do?

If you go through Houston, you'll be on the ground in time for breakfast followed by the BMP orientation. So you can dive part/all day Saturday. Assuming you'll want to after flying all night. Since that flight was instituted most of the resorts have provisions to at least hold your bags, some do early check-in also when possible.

It's very easy to do 4 dives/day on Bonaire, the south dive sites follow one another, some are within a couple hundred yards of each other. A couple times we dove, changed tanks, drove 2min. to the next site and dove again after waiting our required SI. And if you go north/south, you'll likely pass your resort at least once.

Assuming the DAN 18hr. rule:

Consensus Recommendations for Flying after Diving
(May 2, 2002) Dives Within No-Decompression Limits
Multiple Dives per Day or Multiple Days of Diving: A minimum preflight surface interval of 18 hours is suggested. Dives Requiring Decompression Stops: There is little experimental or published evidence on which to base a recommendation for decompression dives. A preflight surface interval substantially longer than 18 hours appears prudent.

and you do 4 dives/day, that could give you 24-25 dives potentially. You'll burn one waiting for the BMP orientation Saturday morning, they're usually around 9AM followed by a mandatory 1st dive before you get your tag and they cut you loose. If you stop before 11AM on Friday, only 2 dives most likely. At least that's what we did. To minimize your exposure, dive Bari Reef, it's shallow and interesting even sub-40'.

The Atlanta option means you don't dive Saturday and only do 3 on Sunday since you'll most likely have to wait for the Sunday morning orientation. But you pick up 2 extra dives on Friday since you can dive till evening. So I make that 23 dives. Maybe talk to your resort about doing the orientation Sat afternoon followed by the dive, that puts you at 24 since it's now 4 on Sunday - not counting night dives in either scenario. Atlanta gives you couple extra hours of no-fly time also assuming you stop diving around 5PM.

 

[DiverVince]

Vanduse..I wish I had that choice! For me the answer would be a no brainer.I'd take the first flight arriving at 1:44pm. The red eye is really a lot tougher than many folks think!

 

[vanduse1]

Vanduse..I wish I had that choice! For me the answer would be a no brainer.I'd take the first flight arriving at 1:44pm. The red eye is really a lot tougher than many folks think!

I would be on a red eye either way. If I take the Delta it would be a read eye into Atlanta or on Continental it would be a red eye into BON.

I realize the red eyes are a pain. I travel quite a bit from Phoenix to the East coast have have taken MANY red eyes so that I can catch a morning meeting in New York...

 

[DiveMaven]

We take the Continental redeye through Houston and really love that we can catch a short nap upon arrival, do our dive orientation, and be in the water by 11. We usually just do 2 dives the first day since we like to take it easier, plus go to the grocery store, etc. 4 dives a day starts on Sunday! We also get 2 early morning dives in on the Friday before we leave on the early Saturday flight, doing a 20 hour SI prior to flying.

Personally, I'd rather have a full day on Saturday upon arrival, but YMMV.

 

[cstreu1026]

I am doing the Continental red eye tomorrow night. I can't say I am looking forward to it since I don't sleep on planes (or in cars). I don't know that it will be much worse then the last two times we went to Bonaire and flew American. We would leave the local airport around 6:00 AM and not get in to Bonaire until 9:00 PM

 

[driftwood]

The American flight is pure torture. The only real pain flying with Continental is that it is a very early wakeup for your return flight.

 

[diversteve]

The American Eagle flight from SJU doesn't exist anymore. AA canceled it April? 1st.
You can fly AA to Curacao then over on DAE or Insel.

http://www.aa.com/aa/i18nForward.do?p=/aboutUs/whereWeFly/maps/caribbean_aa.jsp

Infobonaire no longer lists it: http://www.infobonaire.com/airlineinfo.html

 

[DeputyDan]

The Redeye has you up very early on the return trip.

The Delta flight allows for a leisurely morning before flying out.

If you can't sleep on the way down do Delta....

 

[dvrliz1]

van....

We get a lot of guests that have used both flights. Here are the "pros and cons" that we hear most often:

Continental: Couldn't sleep on the red eye, seats were tight. (We have done this flight). Agree seats are tight. We make the following suggestion: Go to your resort/hotel, have breakfast, and a copy of coffee or tea. Go directly to your checkout dive. Go back take a 2-3 hour nap (don't sleep past 11- 12 noon). Get up do your second dive in the afternoon. Go to bed early that night, you will be good. Love the fact that we can dive when we arrive, almost like getting an extra day of diving. Avid divers LOVE the Continental choice for this reason.

Delta. Only complaint we have heard is that it gets in later so you cannot dive that day. By the time you get out of the airport and to your resort, checkin, etc. It is usally close to 4pm, so no diving that day. Most people, that stay with us (we have apts. with full kitchens), go shopping for groceries for the week and any other small things they need. The get their gear ready, sit by the pool had have a beer, then head out to dinner, or cook at the BBQ area. This flight is perfect for the "casual diver", who doesn't want to do 3-4+ dives a day.

Hope this helps with your option.

Liz