wladi755 From Puerto Rico, joined Aug 2008, 7 posts, RR: 0 Posted (2 years 7 months 2 weeks 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 6639 times:
After almost a decade of ceasing service, British Airways will return to San Juan!! British Airways CEO Willie Walsh announced the new twice-a-week year round service from Gatwick Airport during a visit to the Caribbean for the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) Leadership Strategy conference that was attended by political and business leaders.
This is a great news for the industry here in San Juan, after loosing a lot of international carriers in the past years (British Airways, Lufthansa, Condor, Martinair, Lacsa, KLM, Mexicana, Avianca, BWIA, Air Guadelupe, and others) and leaving San Juan with just 3 international carriers at the present time (Iberia, Insel, Copa and Liat). But we hope this is the beginning of other new International Routes announcements to San Juan to come, after GOL, was approved by the DOT to fly to San Juan from Sao Paulo via Bogota, also in 2011.
PRAirbus From Puerto Rico, joined Apr 2005, 1017 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 5534 times:
Won't last...SJU is a low cost market; Europeans love all-inclusive resorts and Puerto Rico has none. BA flew to SJU when the economy was stronger and during the AA SJU HUB glory days. Really doubt that now, even more w/AA/AE cuts in SJU it would make sense for BA to make the route work. Puerto Rico has a strong Spanish heritage in contrast w/the English speaking Caribbean that still has cultural and VFR traffic to the UK. I'm sure BA has plenty of access to Puerto Rico via JFK/MIA on AA codeshare flights.
mastermis From Cayman Islands, joined Apr 2008, 127 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 5497 times:
I think it makes sense.
For Brits who want to go to the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, etc the current option is to connect in Miami and then to San Juan via AA. With this they will be able to skip Miami.
BY738 From US Minor Outlying Islands, joined Sep 2000, 1985 posts, RR: 1 Reply 4, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 11 hours ago) and read 5464 times:
Quoting vv701 (Reply 1): Already being discussed here:
...and even more recently here BA To San Juan (by bavlmsq Oct 18 2010 in Civil Aviation)
Do people not do pre posting searches anymore ?
LimaFoxTango From Antigua and Barbuda, joined Jun 2004, 693 posts, RR: 0 Reply 5, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 5281 times:
Quoting mastermis (Reply 3): For Brits who want to go to the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, etc the current option is to connect in Miami and then to San Juan via AA. With this they will be able to skip Miami.
I'd think going via ANU would be the simpler way (and hopefully the cheapest).
You are said to be a good pilot when your take-off's equal your landings.
PBOA380FAN From UK - England, joined Aug 2010, 21 posts, RR: 0 Reply 6, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 17 hours ago) and read 4773 times:
I think the service will do well for BA especially as San Juan is becoming a cruise hub with more itineraries starting and finishing here. Im sure BA will market the route well and will work closely with tour operators to offer packages to the island. Not every european wants a all inclusive resort.
airbazar From United States of America, joined Sep 2003, 6883 posts, RR: 7 Reply 7, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 16 hours ago) and read 4677 times:
Quoting PRAirbus (Reply 2): Won't last...SJU is a low cost market; Europeans love all-inclusive resorts and Puerto Rico has none.
BA flies to a few low cost markets, especilly from LGW. I don't think the service is targeted towards SJU O&D traffic but rather connections to the Caribbean as well as cruise ship traffic. If Europeans love AI resorts, there is no better place to serve those than SJU since BA and AA are essentially one airline now.
luckyone From United States of America, joined Aug 2008, 1586 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 16 hours ago) and read 4629 times:
Quoting LimaFoxTango (Reply 5): I'd think going via ANU would be the simpler way (and hopefully the cheapest).
I highly doubt that it would be simpler, and perhaps not cheaper. LIAT is not exactly cheap -- $150 for a 45 minute flight to Barbados ONE WAY is a bit extortionate if you ask me. Also, LIAT does not interline and could not care less about any onward connections you might have--considering they are habitually late I would consider them a serious problem. Having flown them more times than I'd ever care to and having several friends who've had no choice I can certainly vouch that this is the case. I can easily rattle off over a dozen friends who've been stranded over night in Antigua, St. Kitts, and San Juan with absolutely no compensation from LIAT, and it was their fault the flights were delayed. An absolutely horribly run airline from a customer service standpoint. A connection in SJU onward to other islands can not only be done on one itinerary, but the customer service is INFINITELY better!
luckyone From United States of America, joined Aug 2008, 1586 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 10 hours ago) and read 4274 times:
Quoting LimaFoxTango (Reply 5): For Brits who want to go to the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, etc the current option is to connect in Miami and then to San Juan via AA. With this they will be able to skip Miami
I'm not sure how we both interpreted his statement. I interpreted it as passengers bound for the BVI and Anguilla etc should take the existing BA service to ANU. Did you interpret it as LGW-ANU-SJU? I could see how we both arrived at our separate conclusions, lol.
Quoting vv701 (Reply 9): There will be no change of aircraft. Passengers bound for SJU will stay aboard as those ending their flight at ANU disembark.
FCAFLYBOY From United Kingdom, joined Nov 2006, 472 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 19 hours ago) and read 3584 times:
Quoting PRAirbus (Reply 2): Won't last...SJU is a low cost market; Europeans love all-inclusive resorts and Puerto Rico has none
I disagree entirely with this statement. If you stop most of the pax disembarking from any BA flight to most of the Caribbean, and ask them what type of holiday they are on, very few would answer all-inclusive, and some of those would be high-end all inclusives. Many go to the wealth of luxury boutique hotels now spread throughout the Caribbean.
It's no longer an arena for mass-market all inclusives on the cheap, yes, they still exist, but BA's market share of those clients is very small, which is why BGI still supports (very succssfully) a FIRST cabin, and why the premium cabins on most other routes are nearly always full.
AA767400 From United States of America, joined Jan 2001, 2271 posts, RR: 25 Reply 13, posted (2 years 7 months 5 days 18 hours ago) and read 3540 times:
Quoting PRAirbus (Reply 2): Won't last...SJU is a low cost market; Europeans love all-inclusive resorts and Puerto Rico has none. BA flew to SJU when the economy was stronger and during the AA SJU HUB glory days. Really doubt that now, even more w/AA/AE cuts in SJU it would make sense for BA to make the route work. Puerto Rico has a strong Spanish heritage in contrast w/the English speaking Caribbean that still has cultural and VFR traffic to the UK. I'm sure BA has plenty of access to Puerto Rico via JFK/MIA on AA codeshare flights.
BA is not banking on all-inclusive passengers. With ATI/JV, AA/BA can operate this route with cruise traffic, and a multitude of AE destinations throughout the eastern Caribbean. Yes, BA flies to many Caribbean destinations on it's own, but some not daily. And this provides funneling of traffic, especially to AXA and the BVI. Liat as stated above is a disgrace, and connecting in ANU is not as smooth as rum punch.
Quoting 8b775zq (Reply 11): Goin to AXA and the BVI when flying BA from the UK is best connected thru ANU on LI and much closer than MIA.
MIA? How did that come into the equation? Transfers from the U.K. to AXA/BVI are much smoother thru SJU. ANU is not a good transfer airport, and Liat as stated above is unreliable.
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