OK, here is what we did. This might help. Because we did have luggage on Delta and did NOT have our boarding passes for WinAir, we did go through Immigration (a two second deal as we were first in line-if you fly first class you can get out fast), and then went to pick up our luggage at baggage claim, which took a bit of time. THEN, we went to the recheck luggage spot next to baggage claim, got in line to recheck our luggage at the WinAir counter, and THEY gave us our boarding passes before we exited baggage claim and went back upstairs to go through security again.
Although you don't have luggage to recheck, if it is not crowded, you may be able to go to the recheck luggage WinAir counter and get your boarding passes there, since you have to go through security anyway.
One hour is not a lot of time when you are dealing with luggage, but time on WinAir is sort of fluid when you are at your upstairs Boarding Gate; you need to be up, sitting at that boarding gate and wait for the call for your flight. (That means you can't go looking in the adjacent stores; thanks, DD for that commercial interruption to our program!) If you happen to be early for your stated flight, you can always go up to the Boarding Gate Desk and ask them if they can get you on an earlier flight. They will graciously see if they have any seats left on the earlier flight, and if they do, they tell you to stick around and sit/stand right by that Desk, because they might tell a bunch of other people the same thing, and when they call the earlier flight you want to get on, you need to be first at the counter as they run out of those extra seats quickly. (We were first up so we got on an earlier flight.) Sometimes planes get delayed, due to wind or weather, and do NOT believe one word of the posted flight time on the sign behind the Boarding Gate Desk as they do NOT update it and if you think you can go wandering around and get some food/drink, DO NOT do it, as they can call you in a second with no warning and if you are not at the Gate when you get called, you are out of luck. Seen it happen a million times. (Ok, a few..)
Now, after your flight gets called, make sure you check the flight number on your boarding pass, because a lot of the flights have very similar numbers and the accents that the people there have may make it difficult for you to understand your destination and flight number on a loudspeaker. (Even we had trouble when people were announcing Saba (pronounced SAY-BUH, not Saah-bah) and it sounded exactly like Saint Barth..and I am a linguist/dialectologist, so believe me, it can get confusing.)
Next, you will take your carry on luggage and go down a staircase where you will see glass sliding doors, leading to the outside where you will board a bus to transfer to your little airplane. You do not go outside; sit or stand on the staircase. You might be waiting there quite awhile, as other groups are going to other islands, so another group might be taking off before you, even if their flight time is after yours. No worries; you are on vacation. Talk to the people around you, as you are all going to SBH and you will undoubtedly be seeing each other during the week somewhere. You can meet some really interesting people on that staircase. One time, I met one of the judges for Les Voiles (he was a really big deal, apparently in the sailboat judging community), and this time we met this adorable family of 5 with 3 gorgeous little kids from Alabama. Saw them a few times, exchanged email addresses. Then there was that French guy who was too cool for school, so we didn't talk...but I digress.
So off you go in a line like ducklings to get on the bus. If you want to sit at the front of the plane (I always do), get on up there quickly. Not everyone likes the front, but you get a good view. This time, we came in backwards :culpability: so no La Tourmente for me.
NOW, for another subject, when you RETURN from SBH and go through check in at SXM to go back to the USA, that is another story. Once you get to SXM, you can probably get your boarding passes from a Kiosk by the Delta Airlines check in, since you don't have luggage to check. We checked in online but still had to check luggage. Listen carefully: we went into a "Checked In" line, second from the right, even though we still had baggage. It was part of the SkyTeam Elite lines. It is different and shorter than the Not Checked In line with luggage people on our right. Look at the signs above you for clarification. Then you go upstairs to go through Security.
Here is the important part: Make sure you have lots of layover time in SXM because you need to be DOWNSTAIRS (stairs are at the far end totally opposite the WinAir boarding gates) at the Boarding Gate
WAY earlier than you think you do, as lots of flights go out of a very crowded area and people are milling around, and there are not enough seats if you don't like to stand. Again you will have to take a BUS out to your plane, so this takes the ground agents time to organize with people flying to many destinations, all taking buses to their planes. If you think you want to stop in the Priority Pass lounge (have your card with you), go ahead but go fast. They have to fill out a paper before you can go sit down, so that will take MORE time. There is not much food there, plenty of drinks, and free French magazines, which are yours to take. At least, I took mine..) Internationally, you know that planes board much EARLIER than in the US, so don't be late or you will get left behind. You are NOT going to make it in an hour from SBH to SXM because there are lots of potential bottlenecks along the way in SXM, although the Delta ground staff is exceedingly nice and sweet. So going out is no picnic, and I did not do any SXM shopping around, except for DD doing a Veuve check for Kevin. ($58 for regular Veuve..don't bother).
Anyway, this is a lot of info but I don't want you to be unaware of the pitfalls of traveling in SXM to the US.
Voilà, there you go. I hope your trip is wonderful and that you are standing around down at that boarding gate, wondering why I told you to get there so early. Just watch the other flights when people come flying down the stairs, running at top speed, and the ground staff says that their bus has already left. You're welcome
! DM
