WinAir & bags....

[woods]

Sooo I'm about ready to pull my hair out trying to get flights worked out for January. I understand that WinAir will only allow one bag and will leave your others behind but how long does it usually take them to get you your bags?
I can deal with a day or two, but if we're talking weeks I'd rather take the ferry!
If anyone has any pointers or help on getting you and your stuff to Saba I would REALLY appreciate it!
Thanks

[KingMo]

Sooo I'm about ready to pull my hair out trying to get flights worked out for January. I understand that WinAir will only allow one bag and will leave your others behind but how long does it usually take them to get you your bags?
I can deal with a day or two, but if we're talking weeks I'd rather take the ferry!
If anyone has any pointers or help on getting you and your stuff to Saba I would REALLY appreciate it!
Thanks

It's usually just a couple days at most, rarely three days. Definitely not weeks. And even if it was weeks, trust me, I still wouldn't take the Dawn II ferry.

[wizard629]

Sooo I'm about ready to pull my hair out trying to get flights worked out for January. I understand that WinAir will only allow one bag and will leave your others behind but how long does it usually take them to get you your bags?
I can deal with a day or two, but if we're talking weeks I'd rather take the ferry!
If anyone has any pointers or help on getting you and your stuff to Saba I would REALLY appreciate it!
Thanks


I want every new incoming student to pay attention to this-
So, if u travel from US airways/Mesa airlines, INC ONLY then u can bring 2 checkins and NOT pay the extra cost(of 1 more bag) because WINAIR and Mesa airlines, INC have worked out a deal, this also means that your 2 checkin bags are be checked-in all the way to SABA.....and you dont have to re check them @ St. Marten
Now, Winair planes are SMALLL....they can never carry the entire laugauge with the 18 passengers at once....so they HAVE to leave laugauge behind and YES usually you can get ur bags within few days BUT i have had a friend who waited 1wk....
I agree with others....DONT take the ferry....WInair is cheaper(mention you are a SABA student) and faster....
hope this helps...

[MedGirl99]

Neither of my bags arrived with me when I got here. However, the taxi driver who picks you up at the airport will take your luggage tag and will usually bring your bags back to the dorm within the next 2 days. Good luck!

[tpw2k]

Ok here's the thing, coming down here with winair is still a risk

ONe of my luggages got lost by Winair (LOST!) from their flight from st martin to Saba. HOw they managed to lose it in that short of a distance i'll never know.
I got call from American Airlines that they found my bag a month later in Dallas, Texas. It wasn't even Winair that found my bag even though i filed a claim.

This is prolly as isolated case, but im just saying it could happen and they are usually backlogged when students come back so chances of your luggage getting delayed is very high.

Taking boat will get you all ur luggage same day, and its really not that bad of a ride, just really long.

Do whatever you think is best for you

[WaiWahine]

I'm thinking of taking the ferry because I LOVE sailing and have spent weeks on the sea. Do people avoid the ferry because of the time involved or for some other (perhaps sinister?? lol) reason?
Thanks!

[MD=)]

I want every new incoming student to pay attention to this-
So, if u travel from US airways/Mesa airlines, INC ONLY then u can bring 2 checkins and NOT pay the extra cost(of 1 more bag) because WINAIR and Mesa airlines, INC have worked out a deal, this also means that your 2 checkin bags are be checked-in all the way to SABA.....and you dont have to re check them @ St. Marten
Now, Winair planes are SMALLL....they can never carry the entire laugauge with the 18 passengers at once....so they HAVE to leave laugauge behind and YES usually you can get ur bags within few days BUT i have had a friend who waited 1wk....
I agree with others....DONT take the ferry....WInair is cheaper(mention you are a SABA student) and faster....
hope this helps...


Hi,

could you tell me how you can check your bacgs all the way to SABA?
My US airways ticket is from Dulles airport to St. Maarten and when I tried to put SABA as the destination, it couldn't find it, so I purchased my ticket to st. Maarten instead assuming that I would have to buy the winair ticket after I land on St. M' so I am wondering how you can check your bags all the way to saba, without having to re-check your bags at st. maarten?

thanks

[KingMo]

Hi,

could you tell me how you can check your bacgs all the way to SABA?
My US airways ticket is from Dulles airport to St. Maarten and when I tried to put SABA as the destination, it couldn't find it, so I purchased my ticket to st. Maarten instead assuming that I would have to buy the winair ticket after I land on St. M' so I am wondering how you can check your bags all the way to saba, without having to re-check your bags at st. maarten?

thanks

You buy the plane tickets separately. You can go to WinAir's website and buy the ticket from SXM to SAB. Then, when you go to Dulles to check your bags, show the US Airways agent your ticket to SAB and he will check your bags all the way to SAB. Some agents don't know what SAB is, but if your agent knows what he/she is doing, he/she'll know how to do it.

[MD=)]

Thanks for the guidance...

Also, it appears from reading the different threads that you would have to leave bags behind on sxm and they'll get them to you at your dorm? in a couple of days, so what school address do you have to provide them with to ensure that your bags get to where you will be on the island?

[KingMo]

Thanks for the guidance...

Also, it appears from reading the different threads that you would have to leave bags behind on sxm and they'll get them to you at your dorm? in a couple of days, so what school address do you have to provide them with to ensure that your bags get to where you will be on the island?

Assuming they've been checked to SAB, just write SABA UNIVERSITY on it or put the school tag on it; the taxi driver knows where to take it.

[animasana]

I want every new incoming student to pay attention to this-
So, if u travel from US airways/Mesa airlines, INC ONLY then u can bring 2 checkins and NOT pay the extra cost(of 1 more bag) because WINAIR and Mesa airlines, INC have worked out a deal, this also means that your 2 checkin bags are be checked-in all the way to SABA.....and you dont have to re check them @ St. Marten
Now, Winair planes are SMALLL....they can never carry the entire laugauge with the 18 passengers at once....so they HAVE to leave laugauge behind and YES usually you can get ur bags within few days BUT i have had a friend who waited 1wk....
I agree with others....DONT take the ferry....WInair is cheaper(mention you are a SABA student) and faster....
hope this helps...

Why do people not recommend the ferry? It's only a 90 minute trip, yes?

[mario345]

i would take a ferry anyday over the plane...not because its a 'better' ride...actually it beats any rollercoaster hands down.
however, regardless of what happens, the ferry will get you to where you want with your luggage with you, even if its raining and storms up. i dont think that there is a single person on saba who can say that about the plane. and trust me, when you are done with your semester, you dont care if you take the plane or boat, you just wanna get the hell off the island.

besides, when you look for examples 'worst customer service', winair tops the list - easily. i have never seen something so ridiculous. the audacity of telling me 'your ticket does not exist' when i am standing at the airport with a paid receipt from SABA to SXM to connect with my flight back home.

therefore, i am willing to barf three times and spend another 1 hour after the boat ride recovering, than rely on winair. and winair is actually more expensive than the ferry. they charge you a lot more for luggage...

so when you are coming down with all that food and items you need with you ASAP, forget winair. also, remember, SABA is not like U.S. or Canada. there is no concept of urgency and no one gives a hoot if your luggage got lost, stolen, damaged, etc.

if i dont have my luggage with me where i can see it between st. maarten to saba, the chances of me getting it within the next week hassle free are close to 0%.


p.s. ask ANY locals, and they will tell you the same about which one is more reliable. the above advice actually comes from SABA legend, i.e. Manny (he left, so you wont find him)...who laughed at me like a maniac when i told him naiively that 'i thought the plane was gonna go'.

[KingMo]

Why do people not recommend the ferry? It's only a 90 minute trip, yes?

Some people call it the puke ferry. I call it the puke-violently ferry.

[mario345]

:D
haha, there are other names as well, which I cant write