USVI-On-Line

Been looking at airfare for late April,early May.Question.....let's say the tickets are $319.00 round trip from O'Hare.Arrival time {St.Thomas}would be 3:45 p.m. Now if I would spend another $20.00 I could get a arrival time around 1:30 p.m. Would you be smart to buy the early arrival ticket or do you think the airline will bump that 1:30 to a 3:45 time down the road? Hate to waste money on something I might not get.But I think we all would like a 1:30 arrival time!!! Parafins

$20? That is a no brainer, book it

Xislandgirl wrote:$20? That is a no brainer, book it

Exactly...Think of it this way...Is your time worth $10 per hour? Getting there 2 hours earlier, for me, would be worth $20

I would definately spend the $20. I have spent more to get earlier arrivals.

I think your cynicism about the airline bumping that flight time is well placed.

I have done this before. Paid more based on arrival time only to have them change the flight times.

For $20 bucks it's probably worth the gamble. But don't be surprised if that ends up wasted when/if the airline decides to cancel the earlier flight and bump you to the later one.

Of course you could always document the fact that you could have booked the later flight at the time you booked the earlier one and saved the money but purchased based on the times promised. Then if they pull a switcheroo, you could write a letter to the airline (providing said documentation) and ask for the difference back.

Chances are they will tell you to go pound sand but it's worth a try.

I too purchase tix that aren't solely based on price but based on times. It pisses me off when I go to that trouble and select an airline - sometimes paying more for the ticket to get that time -- only to have them put me on another flight with different times.

These days it's such a crapshoot. Gone are the days when you booked a flight at a certain time that you actually get that flight.

Nowadays, the airlines seem to think that as long as they get you there within 48 hours of your orignial reservation (I've had airlines try to reschedule me on atotally DIFFERENT DAY) they've fulfilled their end of the deal.

Consumers have to be vigilant.

parafins wrote:Been looking at airfare for late April,early May.Question.....let's say the tickets are $319.00 round trip from O'Hare.Arrival time {St.Thomas}would be 3:45 p.m. Now if I would spend another $20.00 I could get a arrival time around 1:30 p.m. Would you be smart to buy the early arrival ticket or do you think the airline will bump that 1:30 to a 3:45 time down the road? Hate to waste money on something I might not get.But I think we all would like a 1:30 arrival time!!! Parafins

I think it is worth the $20. April/May are very benign weather months in Chicago, so I think the chances of a departure delay are very low. But, the difference of catching the 3pm ferry vs the 5pm ferry are worth it to me. Extra time to head to the villa and unwind before heading out for dinner...

I agree that it is worth the $20 to get there sooner.

Gromit wrote: Of course you could always document the fact that you could have booked the later flight at the time you booked the earlier one and saved the money but purchased based on the times promised. Then if they pull a switcheroo, you could write a letter to the airline (providing said documentation) and ask for the difference back.

Chances are they will tell you to go pound sand but it's worth a try.

Let me know if you need help with that email...I'll get you 100,000 Marriott points as a bonus.

But, I had the same thought...

Thanks to all including Gromit.To me a earlier flight time would be worth $50.00 more,but as Gromit stated it's a crap shoot that the airline will stick to the time stated.I think I will take her advice and document the ticket difference and hope that the earlier time prevails! Parafins

Parafins, that's what I would do. Give it the college try.

I do think however some folks are missing the core point and why you were asking the question in the first place.

So to be clear, I think there are two important issues that newbies should be aware of regarding this subject.

So here goes...

If you book a ticket to STT from just about anywhere in the country it is common, more common than just about anywhere else I fly to, for the airlines to screw around with:

1)the flight numbers;
2)departure and arrival times; and
3) even the days of departure on either end of the trip.

They do this after you book the flight and often WELL BEFORE the actual date of departure. It has nothing to do with travel delays on the day of your trip.

These are issues created by the airlines well in advance, especially for those folks who like to book airline tix months ahead of time to get a better price.

This is especially problematic if you are trying to get to STJ before 5pm to pick up rental cars (fortunately the car companies have worked around this buy allowing folks to pick up the car after hours so long as people return the next day to do paperwork).

Obviously, many of us want as much time on island as possible so the earlier arrival flights are attractive and most of us are willing to pay a premium to get there a couple of hours earlier vs. sitting at a hub for several hours waiting for a connecting flight.

HOWEVER, it has been my experience that every time I try to book an earlier arrival time (I'm coming from DC) the airline cancels that earlier flight and puts me on the usual flights which generally arrive on STT around 3:30 - 4:25 or so.

I'm not sure if it's because they can't sell the earlier flight out or if it's just a game they like to play to fuck (pardon for the offensive word, but this is an offensive practice and the word is appropriate) with me. Either way, it's annoying.

And it is particularly annoying when you paid extra at the time for the earlier flight. Or if you chose one airline over another for the schedule and paid more as a result. Often it's not a lot of money $20-$50 bucks, but still.

Another piece of advice for newbies: Check your flight reservation early and often.

As just stated, they like to move stuff around-- a lot. Sometimes I think they have a "flight shuffle" button and the Airline CEO's invite their three year old to come in every once in a while to push it.

When they do the "Shuffle" the changes can be minor or drastic.

On the minor annoyance side:

-they change aircraft size and you lose your carefully selected Seatguru pick in aisle 14 and your three year old is suddenly in the back of the plane seated next to a total stranger while you are conveniently placed in front.

- they adjust the departure or arrival times by 10-15 minutes in either direction (not a biggie if you are anal retentive liek I am and get there 5 hours in advance, but a huge problem if you're one of those roll-in-at-the-last-possible-minute-and-slip- thru-security-with-10-mins-to-spare people).

On the drastic annoyance side:

-they adjust the arrival and departure times by several hours in either direction so much so that you either arrive too early or too late to catch the first leg of your flight OR so that the first leg of your flight arrives AFTER the second leg departs.

- they re-route the flight thru another airport (this is particularly a problem in winter when I would prefer to fly south rather than north for flight connections for obvious reasons). and you get snowed in.

-they move your flight to a completely DIFFERENT DAY thus screwing up your villa rental/hotel options for the trip and forcing you to lose a day of vacay or scramble to find a place to stay for an extra night.

Bottom line is this: once you book, there is no guarantee that you will get what you booked and as far as the airlines are concerned you should be lucky they get you there in the same general time frame at all.

So once you book, check the reservation every few weeks (for times, days, seat assignments etc and make sure they are the same) to make sure you're still on track.

DO NOT count on them to notify you of the changes. I'm signed up for all those e-mail alerts and they never alert me to the change (or rarely do).

Just know the game and you can stay ahead of the curve.




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I'd for sure pay another $20 to get to STJ a couple of hours sooner. Just watch your connection times.

I'm cheap and I'd gamble on the 20 bucks. AA has changed our scheduled times twice now. We first arrived at 1:30 now were at 3;30. But then again these are free miles flights so I can't complain,just be prepared to have them changed.