Maybe one of of every 20 or so people I pick up at the airport don't get their luggage right away. Sometimes it comes the same day or following morning. It's not that common. Take your meds, toiletries, and a change of clothes in your carry on. As long as you don't have too close a connection, it should be okay.

RL

As Ron said, lost luggage, etc. is not usually a problem. SJ is not a horrible airport under normal circumstances but that 6 hour layover on the way home would be a nightmare to me. Unless you can sit back and read a book in the terminal, there is not much else to do. Not enough time to leave the terminal and see the sights either.

Easy for me to say since it is your money, but I would consider the $400 'penalty' if it improves the connections.

Jill:

We fly out of Newark, NJ on Continental...that's a non-stop flight. You might want to look into Vermont/Newark/STT via Continental.

Regards,

F.I.

Jill,

Sometimes a little extra travelling time before and after flights can pay off. Is driving to Boston reasonable for you?

I've never had any difficulty switching in San Juan. With the $400 saved in airfare you could easily replace most of your things should your bags get completely lost. (Just kidding!) I've had some interesting connections through San Juan and they've all gone smoothly. I am aware though, that anytime you make a connection the possibility of delayed luggage is very real, but that wouldn't stop me from going through San Juan at all.

Gerie

We just returned from a trip to STT. In SJ we did have an extra 2 hour layover as they tried to find a crew to fly the aircraft to STT. It was not a welcomed experience after starting at 2:30 am in Kansas and arriving in STT at 8:00 pm, but we survived and had a great time. We had to take four flights that day to STT and we did take a change of clothes, meds, toiletires, etc in our carry on luggage. We had a group of 10 and all of our luggage arrived fine both coming and going. The $400 you would save could buy a boat load of painkillers at Cuzzins.

Gerie,

Sounds like you are very familiar with the San Juan airport. When we fly back to Chicago from St. Thomas, we go via San Juan. We only have about 35 minutes between flights (American Eagle to American). Will we have enough time to catch the connecting flight?

Carolmo

35 min. is cutting it short. That is our route home and it always takes us 25 min. to get from American Eagle to American gates, if all planes are on time. It's a hike. Good Luck.

Thanks for the heads-up. Guess we will need to have our running shoes on!

Have you already booked your airline? Boston has a DIRECT flight (no stops or plane changes!!!) to STT. We live in NH and take the flight out of Boston. By 2:30 we are usually on our way to the ferry and STJ. Just a thought.

The direct flight from Boston only operates from around October/November until April. Also, the distance from the American Eagle to the American Airlines gates in San Juan depend on which gate your airline is using. It could be anything from a 2 minute walk to a 10-15 minute walk.

We once had the same flight, at STT airport they put us on an earlier flight to San Juan due to empty seats ask at the airport, be prepared they are small planes. We leave Chicago on the 7th of July and change planes in Charlotte SC also facing little time between planes so my daughter got ahold of United and we are now on stand -by on an earlier flight out of Chicago. Hope this works out as I don't want to run through the airport with a 7 and 3 year old! Anyone familiar with this route?

Carolmo,

So sorry, I didn't see this message sooner. I agree with Carole and Dominic about the feasability of making a connection in 35 minutes at SJU. The only issue I'd have with this flight and the short connection time is that you are asking about your return flight home from St. Thomas. I've been the victim of much too many delayed American Eagle flights from STT to SJU and would never consider a 35 minute connection time in San Juan possible on the return trip to the mainland. It would be American Airline's responsibility to get you back home, but who knows when that would be. Of course, if they gave me a free flight to make up for my inconvenience it'd be a no-brainer.

I wouldn't be as concerned about a short time period in SJU to get from American to American Eagle on the way TO St. Thomas, though.

Gerie

Gerie,

Thanks for the reply. I guess since we are on the way back and if we possibly get stuck in SJU for the night, it will not be the end of the world. You're right, a free voucher could make up for it. Sounds like you have had it happen a lot. How long do you get stuck in SJU before catching another flight?

Carolmo

Carolmo,

It's happened to me once, several years ago. The American Eagle flight from STT to SJU was delayed by at least an hour. We missed our connection to JFK, but there was another soon after we arrived in SJU. So, I suppose I guess it depends on your destination. There's always a plane leaving for JFK "soon" from SJU. I don't know if it's the same for Chicago. I doubt they'd give a voucher for a missed connection though. You might finagle some FF miles from them should they cause you to miss your connection.

I've really had very few problems at SJU. Any problem I've had has been my own doing, like last year's overnight layover at San Juan. Ugh. The flight from JFK was delayed by almost three hours or so, getting us into SJU at 1:30 am, long after access to the gate areas was closed. We were stuck up on the ticketing level, where there are no seats at all, waiting for the 5 am opening of the gate areas. The longest, most uncomfortable 3 and a half hours ever, waiting for our 7:30 am flight to STT and our vacation in Paradise.

Coming home from vacation I always try to get bumped. I got bumped once in STT on a flight to SJU. They put me on a Cape Air flight (best plane ride of my life) and I made my connection in San Juan with no problem. Nothing lost, a fun airplane ride and a $600 voucher in my pocket, paying for my flight the following year. I tried to get bumped in San Juan once on the way home. They would only offer me $300, but what the heck. It turns out they didn't need my seat, so no voucher, but a free upgrade to first class.

Otherwise, all flights have been basically uneventful.

Good luck, however it works out.

Gerie,

Thanks for all the great info. I believe there is a later flight back to Chicago out of SJU the evening we are coming back, so if our connection is late leaving St. Thomas, oh well. I am not going to obsess over it - we'll just go with the flow and hopefully make all the connections and if not, maybe we'll get some freebies out of it. Thanks again - can't wait for November!

Carolmo

I would call the airline to inquire whether or not it would be possible to arrange for one of the vehicles to meet you at your arrival gate and transport you to your departure gate. I've commandeered one of those when connections have been tight.