Caribbean flight woes: Airlines surge extra flights as passengers scramble to find seats
Editor's Note
Flights between the U.S. mainland and Caribbean resumed on Sunday — but not without plenty of frustration for travelers stranded over the weekend.
Early Sunday, airlines resumed normal operations to Puerto Rico and islands in the Eastern Caribbean, a day after canceling service to the region in the wake of the U.S. military action in Venezuela.
But travelers faced an uphill battle to catch a flight home on what was expected to be the final busy weekend of the holiday rush.
Airlines announced plans on Sunday to surge extra flights and larger planes to the region, hoping to get passengers home from holiday trips
But TPG heard from numerous vacationers who faced a potential dayslong wait for a return flight.
Air service returns to normal
The good news on Sunday: Flights mostly returned to normal, a day after mass cancellations to Carribean flights — which, most notably, affected service to and from San Juan's Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), the biggest Caribbean hub for flights to and from the U.S. mainland.
By 8:45 p.m. EST Sunday, just 24 departures had been canceled in San Juan, according to FlightAware data.
While far from perfect, that was a major improvement from the 200 flights carriers had to axe on Saturday.
Travelers race to find empty seats
Travelers who had planned to fly home on Saturday, though, faced continued flight woes as the weekend continued.
With few empty seats on departing flights from Caribbean islands, getting a spot on a flight Sunday — or the coming days — proved a major hurdle for many flyers.
American Airlines on Sunday added extra round-trip flights to a handful of popular Caribbean islands, including: Antigua, Aruba, Barbados, Curacao, Dominica, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. Maarten and St. Lucia.
American also announced it would deploy its largest jet — the twin-aisle Boeing 777-300ER — on two round-trips Monday between its Miami International Airport (MIA) hub and San Juan in an effort to get more passengers to their destination after the weekend disruptions.
American's 777-300s seat 304 passengers — far more than the single-aisle jets it flies on most of its San Juan routes.
And, late Sunday, the carrier said it would operate a pair of rare interisland flights in the Caribbean on Monday. The regional American Eagle service was planned between San Juan and the Caribbean destinations of Anguilla and Beef Island, which is located in the British Virgin Islands.
Delta Air Lines, for its part, said Sunday evening that it planned to add some 2,600 extra seats on flights across its Caribbean network for Monday.
The Atlanta-based carrier pledged to accommodate all stranded passengers by Tuesday.
However, Delta warned the increased airlift could lead to lead to flight delays (and perhaps security checkpoint delays, too) at some Caribbean airports.
The carrier urged passengers to arrive to airports at least three hours early on Monday.
Caribbean travel waivers still in effect
Travel waivers remained in place at each of the largest U.S. carriers, which will continue to allow passengers flying on Sunday to reschedule their flight or make other itinerary changes — even if they’re booked on a restrictive basic economy ticket.
Some airlines’ travel waivers will remain in place through Tuesday.
Here’s a rundown:
- American Airlines (runs through Sunday)
- Delta Air Lines (runs through Tuesday)
- United Airlines (runs through Tuesday)
- Southwest Airlines (runs through Sunday)
- JetBlue (runs through Sunday)
- Spirit Airlines (runs through Sunday)
- Frontier Airlines (runs through Sunday)
What should you do if you have Caribbean flights booked?
Here's what to know if you're traveling this weekend.
Keep a close eye on your airline app
If your Saturday departure was canceled, keep a close eye on your airline's app for any new opportunities that might pop up: You may be able to rebook yourself on a new flight, but you’ll want to act fast — before those open seats get filled.
Read more: Flight canceled or delayed? Here's what to do
Ask about alternative booking options
If your airline can’t accommodate you on a nonstop flight to your original city, ask about alternative options. For instance, the large network carriers (American, Delta and United) may be able to route you through a different connecting city if there are open seats on a different flight.
What to know about backup flights
If you’ve been stuck since Saturday and have an urgent need to get home Sunday — but aren’t having luck finding a seat on your original airline — you can certainly look into booking yourself a new ticket on a different airline.
You’d be paying out of pocket (or burning points) for that new booking but you would at least be entitled to a refund for your original flight, under federal regulations.
What to know: Getting a refund for a canceled or delayed flight
Will the airline offer compensation?
Unfortunately for customers, your airline likely won't pay for your hotel night, meals or other incurred costs if you do get stuck away from home, as this is a situation beyond the airline's control.
Carriers have laid out passenger protections for delays and cancellations at FlightRights.gov — but those promises usually only apply when the disruption is the airline's fault, such as a maintenance delay
Keep your receipts!
If you get stranded, keep your receipts, even though there is no guarantee the expenses will be reimbursable.
Travelers who purchased a travel insurance plan prior to Saturday’s military action by the U.S. may be able to submit a claim for any unexpected costs, depending on the details of the plan purchased.
The same may be true for passengers who booked their trip with a credit card that has travel insurance protections. Just note that exact coverage and policies can differ significantly from one plan and card to another, and of course, will depend on the interpretation of those policies by the provider.
For example, the benefits guide for some Chase cards excludes some built-in trip protection coverage for "War, undeclared war, civil war, insurrection, rebellion, revolution, warlike acts by a military force or personnel, any action taken in hindering or defending against any of these, the destruction or seizure of property for a military purpose, or any consequences of any of these acts ..."
Cruisegoers affected, too
The flight disruptions had also threatened voyages for travelers planning cruises in the region. Virgin Voyages on Saturday said customers unable to embark because of flight troubles would get full voyage credit for a future booking.
Some cruise lines delayed departing certain ports to assist travelers arriving on late flights.
Still, cruise passengers disembarking this weekend Caribbean ports where flights had canceled faced a scramble to find a hotel room or other accommodation to wait out this situation.