A little late- sxm transfer information

Eve

Eve

Senior Insider
If I can remember that far back…
we exited the plane, got on the bus, went into arrival. Actually the SBC guy grabbed us before we went into the door with everyone else, I think. Gave a SBC guy our baggage claims and I think jet blue boarding passes. Then we followed the main guy down the long hall to the transit desk, and he needed passports, test results, sxm electronic approval. Gave us boarding passes.
went to a woman who checked it all and moved us into security.
went to the head of the line and we went through, and headed to Gate 1, basically a podium at the top of the ramp to the door.
plenty of room to spread out in the terminal if you wanted.
even though we were on a chartered plane, we still had to wait an hour for a plane to arrive, and it was scheduled for 1:30 anyway.

Timeline
plane landed 12:10
Through security 12:45
Boarding 1:15
Plane takeoff 1:40
Through immigration 2:00
in villa 2:20
lunch at Pearl Beach 3:00
 
You remember correctly that you had to hand over your JetBlue boarding passes. Doing so proves to SXM that you are in transit, and avoids you having to pay an SXM departure fee.
 
KevinS said:
You remember correctly that you had to hand over your JetBlue boarding passes. Doing so proves to SXM that you are in transit, and avoids you having to pay an SXM departure fee.
Click to expand...
It use to be that the departure fee is included in your ticket regardless. I don’t know that has changed.
 
I knew to keep the boarding pass safe, I just wasn’t sure at what point I gave it to them.
no money was paid. Must have been in the ticket
 
Eve said:
I knew to keep the boarding pass safe, I just wasn’t sure at what point I gave it to them.
no money was paid. Must have been in the ticket
Click to expand...

Ours were asked for so they could fetch our baggage.
 
Eve said:
If I can remember that far back…
we exited the plane, got on the bus, went into arrival. Actually the SBC guy grabbed us before we went into the door with everyone else, I think. Gave a SBC guy our baggage claims and I think jet blue boarding passes. Then we followed the main guy down the long hall to the transit desk, and he needed passports, test results, sxm electronic approval. Gave us boarding passes.
went to a woman who checked it all and moved us into security.
went to the head of the line and we went through, and headed to Gate 1, basically a podium at the top of the ramp to the door.
plenty of room to spread out in the terminal if you wanted.
even though we were on a chartered plane, we still had to wait an hour for a plane to arrive, and it was scheduled for 1:30 anyway.

Timeline
plane landed 12:10
Through security 12:45
Boarding 1:15
Plane takeoff 1:40
Through immigration 2:00
in villa 2:20
lunch at Pearl Beach 3:00
Click to expand...

eve, thanks for this. this is great information.
 
KevinS said:
You remember correctly that you had to hand over your JetBlue boarding passes. Doing so proves to SXM that you are in transit, and avoids you having to pay an SXM departure fee.
Click to expand...

I recall, Kevin, days in the past when you taught many of us to go to a cashier window at SXM to get a refund of the transit tax that was pre-charged as part of our ticket fares. It only required showing boarding passes for flights from the US.
 
KevinS said:
You remember correctly that you had to hand over your JetBlue boarding passes. Doing so proves to SXM that you are in transit, and avoids you having to pay an SXM departure fee.
Click to expand...

Au contraire, mon ami. I believe that the transit fee is built into your original purchase price (taxes and fees). Used to be an easy fix on AA. In our experience, JetBlue offered us a refund, once, as a courtesy. As John would say, YMMV.
 
andynap said:
It use to be that the departure fee is included in your ticket regardless. I don’t know that has changed.
Click to expand...

Oops. Just saw this, after my later post. Yes, Andy, that has been our experience as well. AA used to reimburse it, only after that fact, with proof of transit. Haven't flown AA there in quite a while, so I can't speak to current situation. Our experience with JetBlue has been a refund, just once. Standard answer from JB has been - SXM charges us, so we pass it along. "We have no control."
 
I got a refund just once from USAIR after I threatened suit. After that the transit fee was listed as "non-refundable."
 
I am referring to an inbound transfer from a scheduled US flight to a charter, which is what Eve is referring to, not a connection to a scheduled inter-island flight or a scheduled connection back home the US.

I was once successful in getting a cash refund of the departure tax at the AA counter in SXM. I rarely transit through SXM anymore.
 
AA seems to have surrendered its Caribbean destination position in SXM. Not as visible as it once was. AA dropped the ball after Debo retired. IMHO.
 
amyb said:
AA seems to have surrendered its Caribbean destination position in SXM. Not as visible as it once was. Aa tumbled Downhill after Debo retired. IMHO.
Click to expand...
AA always lightened it’s trips toSXM in the summer. It will be back if not now soon with a full schedule to SXM.
 
andynap said:
AA always lightened it’s trips toSXM in the summer. It will be back if not now soon with a full schedule to SXM.
Click to expand...

Perhaps if all those furloughed pilots and flight attendant actually come back to work. I know one who isn’t too excited about returning. Post pandemic airlines are suffering. NeJets on the other hand is not taking any new members - full up and hiring pilots and buying new planes by the hundreds.
 
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