hello. I know that most people fly air jamaica to sandals resorts. I was just wondering, how are the air jamaica flights?

oh, my, gosh!
i swear, after you fly AirJamaica you will begin to get on Delta and American and wonder where all the amenities are. The stewardists, amazingly, are actually nice. I fly a lot and stewardists, let's admit it, ain't always friendly. Plus, leg room is fine, but the best is that you're going to get a full-course meal and, if you drink, all the beer, wine, and champagne you can put down. And no, I wasn't on a long flight.. ..I left from Atlanta, Georgia and it was like a 2 hour flight. Awesome. We're going again and we told our TA that we would fly on nothing except AirJamaica! Irie, mon!

thanks again drperfect for your response. We have a 6 hour flight ahead of us for the Sandals Grande st.lucia and I am glad to hear that air jamaica was a good flight for you. The only thing I heard about them was that they have a lot of overbooking problems, so I was curious how the flights were overall. Thanks for sharing!

We flew on a 5 hour flight (red eye) from Los angeles and we were very happy with Air Jamaica. It never is easy to take an overnigh flight, but the service was great and I would definitely fly on them again.

Air Jamaica sounds o.k. - I think?!? I just gots absolutely no idea what in the heck a "STEWARDISTS" is? Anybody can help me with that one?

<chuckles lightly and condescendingly at GLADIATOR>
what happened? you made a dumb comment on the other thread about not being able to go for a week in the Caribbean without email, everybody made fun of you about it, and so now you bring it back to me in an effort to save your rep? i chuckle again.. ..GLADIATOR. cool screen name, though, maximus. it's all good, though, man. i've made enough people mad on this message board over the past year. you're probably one of them. so i gotta cool it. get down there and enjoy your trip however you like to. there are email capabilities there for some reason so take advantage of them. no worries mon and sharp eye on the "stewardists". . touche! just may wanna watch correcting my spelling using ebonics words like "gots". . irie, my friend!

We've flown AJ out of BWI (Balto/Wash) for 5 different vacations to Jamaica. Very 1st trip we had a 2 hour delay leaving - (8:30 am flight, left at 10:30), no problem - gave us food vouchers to get breakfast. We've been delayed twice coming back from MoBay, once sitting on the tarmac for an hour - mechanical issue & the other was a 15 or 20 minute delay waiting for an incoming flight that had a high number of passengers connecting on our flight.

The meal served is not bad for airline food & as Dr said - don't be afraid to ask for seconds (or thirds) of the red stripe or champagne!

Thanks tom and karen. Did u guys fly economy or 1st? We were thinking about upgrading to first class. Do u think it's worth it? Thanks very much!

We've flown coach every trip. We've heard stories that upgrades can be had at the counter, for anywhere from $50 to $200+. . Even more, we've heard of some instances where after saying "we'll take it" the quoted fee was never collected.

Our flight time is 3 hours, not too long for a coach trip - I think our plane has just about always been an airbus 300. They show a 30 minute tv show (can't remember the name, something like Island Connection, but I could be way off) that features Island happenings (that may be the title!). . After the show, there is a movie - so all in all the time passes pretty quickly. Our first trip in '98, we must have been one of the first to the ticket counter & we were given seats at the exit door - plenty of leg room.

Depending on the cost & how long your flight is, you may find it is worth it. I'd certainly be willing to spend to get it - but probably no more than $100pp. We don't sleep on the flight & you can only drink so many red stripes anyway!!

Tom

We've flown coach every trip. We've heard stories that upgrades can be had at the counter, for anywhere from $50 to $200+. . Even more, we've heard of some instances where after saying "we'll take it" the quoted fee was never collected.

Our flight time is 3 hours, not too long for a coach trip - I think our plane has just about always been an airbus 300. They show a 30 minute tv show (can't remember the name, something like Island Connection, but I could be way off) that features Island happenings (that may be the title!). . After the show, there is a movie - so all in all the time passes pretty quickly. Our first trip in '98, we must have been one of the first to the ticket counter & we were given seats at the exit door - plenty of leg room.

Depending on the cost & how long your flight is, you may find it is worth it. I'd certainly be willing to spend to get it - but probably no more than $100pp. We don't sleep on the flight & you can only drink so many red stripes anyway!!

Tom

Thanks for all the feedback. We are seriously considering upgrading to 1st class. Seeing how much you enjoyed it makes it even more tempting. Anyway I just have one question. How long in advance do you get to the airport before flying woth Air Jamaica? I know its usually 2 hours but being our flight is at 7;10 we were thinking an 1 1/2 before time is sufficient. We are flying out of JFK. I hear AJ likes to bump people a lot. Has anyone heard of this? Well once again thanks!

We have not ever been really bumped, especially leaving the states. But our plane did leave without us when our connecting flight (also AJ) came in late. I would advise getting to the airport 2 1/2 to 3 hrs before just in case. On International flights, you are suppose to be there 2 hrs before but since I don't know your particular airport or the security situation there, I would advise at least 2 1/2 hours before, especially if you fly coach because you will standing in line to check in. 1st class doesn't have much if any line however.

Haven't heard any stories of being bumped. Our flight leaves BWI (balt/wash) at 8:30 - and we use the 2 hr rule of thumb. I'll drop Karen off with the bags at 6:30, then drive to satelite parking & bus it back. That way, if there's a line - she can grab a place. At that hour of the morning, the AJ counter seems to be the only counter operating in the Int'l terminal. We've had times the wait to check-in has been a half hour or more & other times where we've walked right up with no line.

Been haunting this board forever, but have never posted.. .. .

I have flown Air Jamaica on 10 of my 11 jamaica trips. I am flying them again when I go in November.

Frankly, their International service is not bad. I have only flown one other carrier to Jamaica, but have had opportunity to try other carriers to Mexico and Europe. The one time I did not fly Air Jamaica to the Island was unfortunately a horrid experience. I took USAir a couple of years back because the wife wanted to get a later start (still not sure why.. .. .) on our vacation, and Air Jamaica only leaves once a day from Philadelphia.

I said in my last paragraph that Air Jamaica had great International service. The one place their service suffers.. .. . and suffers badly is the inter-island hops. When we go to Jamaica, I am somewhat boring in as much as I always stay in Negril or Ocho Rios. My wife hates the bus rides, so we ALWAYS take a shuttle. Air Jamaica has hands down the worst service on the Island for their shuttle service. If you are taking the shuttle, call TimAir and get your own plane. It is WELL worth it.

Air Jamaica First Class -- Amazing. I have only paid up front for it the last three trips. When I was younger, it was all I could do to even afford the vacations! However, I did upgrade many times at the airport, and I always loved it. One odd thing that made me start paying up front was the last time we tried to upgrade at the counter, we were able to do so on the trip down. Coming back however, there were 4 empty seats in First Class, but they would not let us upgrade in Jamaica.

I have heard and read a lot of bad reports about stewardesses on AJ, but I can honestly say I havbe never had a single bad experience. In fact, I find them to be extremely accomodating, friendly and enjoyable to fly with.

Bottom line -- Fly AJ to the island and home, but use TimAir when you get to the Island.

Air Jam does not fly out of SFO to MBJ.. .. ..we have to use US AIR>>>> any feedback on that airline?

Ruby Ann --

I found USAir service to be atrocious. I am probably spoiled by the treatment AJ gives after so many flights though.

If you have never flown AJ, it will probably be ok, but if you have flown AJ you will be sorely disappointed.

USAir is the major hub out of Philly, and I have to use them frequently to fly for work, and I really do not care for their attitude on the ground or in the planes. I always feel as though they think they are doing me a favor.

Unfortunately, I have had only bad experiences on Air Jamaica. I don't mean to be the "rain on the parade", but in our two trips to the Carribean (both on Air Jamaica), we have had troubles.

We just returned from a trip to Sandals - Dunns River this past Saturday and the only really bad thing I can say about the trip was the return flight on Air Jamaica. (Separately, I'll try and post a note soon about our AWESOME trip and SDR) The plane was overbooked and we got bumped from the flight. We were supposed to have a direct flight from Montego Bay to Atlanta. However, the flight was oversold so they flew us to Miami and then supposedly booked us on a 6:40 am flight on Delta from Miami to Atlanta the next morning. However, when we arrived at the airport the next morning for the flight, we found out that Air Jamaica never made the reservation on Delta for us and that the 6:40 am flight was already overbooked and there were no seats available. Fortunately, we had arrived early enough at the airport (4:00 am) that Delta was able to get us seats on an even earlier flight (5:20 am) and that worked out fine. The other issue with Air Jamaica was some years ago and dealt with crew issues/missed connections.

Net, in our two experiences we have not had good results with Air Jamaica. Once again, I don't mean to spread bad news, rather just the facts of our experiences. I truly hope your arrangements work out better for you.

We have flown AJ since 1990 (16 times) and have have very few problems with them. We have experienced a few delays getting out of Sangster on rare occasions but since we were 1st class, we got to sit in the nice cool 1st class lounge and have free snacks and drinks (and it extended our vacation a bit). . One time we had a connecting flight (ATL-Mobay-St. Lucia) with them and on the return trip they were running late and our connection (AJ) left without us (and 4 other couples). . The airport was packed due to Spring Break and carnival. It was the last flight out to Atlanta. At first it was a hassle but in the end, they put us (and the 4 other couples) up for the night at Sandals Royal Caribbean where we ended up seeing our friends that we ordinarily wouldn't have been able to see and again, it extended our vacation. It was a cloud that had a silver lining. The last time we flew coach with them it was terrible - we swore we fly 1st class (and they make it fairly affordable - more so earlier than now). . I think the last coach trip was due to the time of the year we went (Thanksgiving) when there was a lot of families going. We didn't get to sit next to each other, it was hot, crowded I was surrounded by screaming kids, and at the time, smokers. To top it off I had a hangover. This was before Butch and the free drinks. Needless to say it was not a pleasant trip - I put in my ear plugs, put on eye shades, ordered two scotch on the rocks and pulled a blanket over my head and slept. The attendant felt bad and offered me free champagne (before it was free) . . Despite all that though, with over 15 trips on AJ, they have treated us ok since then. We have always left on time from the US and most of the time from JA. They give you free food (which is pretty good for airline food) and drinks (beer and wine)-how many airlines do that? And now, as long as we can afford it, we go 1st Class on AJ. It is a more pleasant trip and we have never been bumped or overbooked, unlike coach.

FLYING AIR JAMAICA IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO. THIS WILL BE OUR 5 TIME IN SEPT. THE PEOPLE ARE WONDERFUL. WE LEAVE OUT OF LAX RED EYE FLIGHT. THERE ARE NO LAY OVERS.

KATHY [/b]

We've never had any problems with them, yet other guests have. AJ is getting better and still serves meals and drinks. We like it because we can fly direct from LAX to MoBay, non-stop.

Correct, they are the male/female that attend you on the plane.