I've taaken them about five times round tripping from St. Thomas. Its a very simple commuter flight. I would take them over a tourist flight with AA. Its a twenty minute flight with very little boarding time because of considerable less passengers. A lot less of a headache. If you are buying the flight as part of a bundle, you might be able to save a little by purchasing independently.

Hi,

It.s only a 35 or 40 minute trip. It can't be any worse than some of the major airlines. At that point in your trip it's just... get me to the island. I'm sure it will be a smaller plane just like all the rest of the island hoppers. By time you get seated you're almost there. I recommend, relax and enjoy.

We bought tickets similar last year and ended up having to pick up our luggage from ATA in San juan (we had 45 minutes to reach our flight) and by the time we got to the place to recheck the luggage with Carribean sun, they had given our seats away and ended up staying in san juan for four hours to the next flight. Had we gone with cape air they leave, much more often.

Donna,

Why did you have to pick up your luggage? Wasn't it just transfered from plane to plane for you?

Lynn

Same thing happened to my husband just last week. HIs first airline didn't have an agreement with Caribbean Sun to transfer baggage and so he had to pick up his bags and then recheck them with Caribbean Sun. He said this involved carrying two 50 lb bags upstairs (he couldn't find an elevator or escalator) plus his carryon. Was a real pain. But the flight itself wasn't a problem once he got that far. Good Luck

I don't think any of the small commuter lines transfer luggage. Flown Cape Air and I know they don't.

Lynn, just like the person said after my note. There was no agreement where there was when we flew cape air. both times our original was with ATA and I bought tickets from travelocity. good luck.

We are flying them last week of March. Flying in night before on AA, staying at newly renovated SJU airport Best Western that is right at AA gate, catching 8am CSA to STT, so we will be starting our vacation with a full first day. Havent seen anything out of ordinary about CSA that would make me not use them.
Besides baggage transfer issue, be mindful of per person luggage weight restrictions that are more strictly enforced on smaller planes. CSA has limit of 50 lbs.

Thank you all for your comments! This board is so very helpful!

Have a great day!
Lynn

We had issues trying to return To San Juan this summer. We came to the counter 1 hr before the flight, they told me the flight was closed and we could not board the plane. I "convinced" them to get us on, and then we sat for 45 minutes in the plane, as they said it was oversold and asked for 1 person to give up a seat. Turns out a flight attendant had a class in San Juan, and she finally got clearance to ride next to the pilot. Wasn't really happy w/ them. I lived in St Thomas/PR for 7 years and always flew American, never had an issue w/ them.

I have never flown Caribbean Sun.. They do have a baggage agreement with US Airways, as they are an affiliate airline. Cape Air does do baggage transfers to most major airlines.. I know this for a fact, even the Cape Air website says it. However, for SJU-STT or SJU-STX travel, I do not recommend flying American Eagle during the Christmas season, or any other busy time for that matter. They are highly disorganized whenever there are big crowds, and cancellations are rampant.. especially if there are no replacement aircraft for cancelled flights. I got stuck in SJU for 6 hours because my flight to St. Croix was cancelled, and they were giving people hotel vouchers at 3 in the afternoon!! However, I asked them to put me on a flight to St. Thomas and I took the Fast Ferry from St. Thomas to St. Croix. I never want to repeat that kind of ordeal again (though the boat ride was fun 🙂 )

Cape Air has a much better on-time performance and less crowds... I can't speak for Caribbean Sun, as I have never flown with them though.