Should I Fly Air Caraibes Business Class?

From Fort-de-France you could fly Winair to SXM then on to MIA with AA.

You could take the daytime VS departure from JFK.

That way you could visit the Delta One lounge when it opens.

I imagine a daytime eastbound TATL flight review would be useful (or at least more useful than any other DL or VS flight)

I also fully endorse the Air Caraibes flight idea.

There usually award space YQB-CDG on AF (summer only). You'd still have to get to YQB which ain't cheap. Also YOW-CDG on AF.

Ben, when will you review Air Premia?

I'm surprised there's no connection back to Miami from Guadeloupe via Barbados, Antigua or Port of Spain?

They have the same $1,030 fare to Saint Martin (SFG), and it will be very easy to get to Miami from Sint Maarten (SXM), and get a little plane spotting while you are there at Maho Beach!

AF‘s “island hopper” doesn’t hop much anymore nowadays, since they dropped the stop in PAP and PTP-MIA is now always nonstop. To my knowledge, it operates three times a week. Additionally, there should be nonstop flights on AA to MIA both from PTP and FDF, but I believe only once per week each.
There’s one connection, which works every day and is a bit adventurous too:
You could take an island hopper from PTP to SFG, move between airports by taxi or prebooked transfer and continue to MIA from SXM.
I combined MIA with PTP in one trip several times, so I am aware of the challenges. So far I never had to take the adventurous route, but just wanted to let you know, that it is possible!
As far as TX Business Class from ORY is concerned, you will probably be mildly satisfied, although it’s not something to get overly excited about, especially with the usual concern that there’s no direct aisle access for the window seats.
In general, PTP is a destination often overlooked by US travelers, which is a shame, as it is an extremely beautiful destination (totally different from AUA) and very safe with a high standard of living. It also has a better value for money standard than many other Caribbean islands, certainly better value for money than Miami Beach…
I’d love you to do this trip on TX to shed some light on their product and possibly give a glimpse on PTP while you’re there (don’t stay in the city of Pointe-a-Pitre though, which is more of an acquired taste…
Good luck and I am excited to see, which routing you’ll end up with.

Indeed there are no such connections, not even via SJU, which works for may other islands. Probably due to the geopolitical circumstances. It’s easier to fly to CAY from PTP than to most neighbouring islands (unless they’re French…)

You are yet to try UX's 789 J (1-2-1). They use T4 at JFK, so in theory that should grant access to the DL One lounge, shouldn't it? In terms of award availability it's not the best... but out of all "big" programs, I believe FB has the most.

Welp, nevermind, it seems like they are using a wet-leased on the JFK route... Though the MIA route does feature the 789 most days

There are no chain hotels in Guadeloupe (apart from Club Med)
I would imagine this would be a dealbreaker.

PTP is actually a pretty modern airport, I was there a few months ago. They even have a priority pass lounge, something which is not so common in Caribbean region.

Would love to see you in the DFW Flagship Lounge June 29th or the LHR arrivals lounge June 30th!

I can help you get a real good deal on OS if interested

If you want to fly DL metal, you could try booking an economy cash ticket on a flight that's wide open in business and checking the upgrade offer. (I just booked JFK-LGW on 7/8 to test this out and it offered a $999 upgrade to Delta One.)

How much was the economy ticket?

Fly Air Caraibes to the French West Indies and then do the Air France milk-run back to Miami.

Or take the newish Dominican airline Sky High from FDF or PTP to Santo Domingo and then fly InterCaribbean Airways to Tortola and then either ferry to St. Thomas for an American flight to Miami or fly American Eagle from Tortola to Miami.

AA1427? FDF-MIA

Given how Delta-controlled Virgin has limited access for Delta passengers to its flagship Clubhouse at LHR, I imagine the new Delta One lounges will only admit Delta 360 customers and Delta or Virgin Atlantic business-class passengers. I could also see Delta limiting it to only 360s and Delta metal business-class passengers. But if the access policy is more liberal than expected, we could see the Sky Club lounges suddenly become less crowded.

Actually, from SDQ there are direct flights to MIA (with AA and Sky High).

Would they allow Award Delta One? AC does not allow award tickets into their C Lounge in Toronto.

I think the VS Clubhouse @JFK will close once the DL facility opens, either for refurbishment or permanently, it’s showing its age and lack of investment.

I worked in the Caribbean for a number of years and loved the challenge of getting from one island to another. Hilarity at times with the local carriers - and sometimes you just could not get there the same day!

Why not actually continue on to Fort-de-France & fly home from there?

Never count on Delta not being Delta, but I don't see how you can charge a million miles for a Delta One round-trip redemption and not give access to the Delta One lounge.

I know. I was trying to think of creative routing.

I don't know if Sir Richard (to the extent he can overrule the Delta-imposed management) would allow that. It would be such a symbolic loss for Virgin Atlantic.

I would actually think it's all JV partners would be able to access.

There's plenty of unknowledgeable travelers that would expect to be able to access the D1 lounge when they book a business class ticket on JV metal with Delta. It wouldn't be very easy to explain away the differences to people paying such exorbitant prices.

Why? That's my only question. Why are you always flying business class for reviews. I think you should fly premium economy and economy for reviews sometimes. I think you should really compare the difference between Delta Premium Select and Premium Economy. Furthermore, I think the number of readers that would find a review of that airline useful is few.

Why should Ben suffer because you want him to fly Y?

Connections from FDF to MIA are not better than from PTP, if not worse…

I don't know about international connections at Algiers (ALG). But I know visas are very difficult to obtain, so if you go for AH, make sure to check carefully the transfer situation.

There’s no milkrun to MIA anymore. AF flies this nonstop nowadays.

He's a blogger whose income depends on page views. A reader giving an opinion on what he'd like to read seems appropriate.

The reality of it is that economy and premium economy is quite mediocre on most airlines. Ben is a privileged individual with access to tons of points, money, and time, so he is able to fly business and first only unlike the majority of the US.

This blog caters to similarly wealthy people who can afford such luxuries. Anyone telling you otherwise is wrong.

Honestly Azores Airlines is a valuable review. Their fares are great, readily available, and Ponta Delgada is a really enjoyable stop.

Lucky, for an outbound to Europe, fly Boliviana from Miami to Madrid, via Santa Cruz, on the A330! Might have to book separate tickets, but this way you can spend a night in Bolivia!

$573

I visited both Guadeloupe and Martinique and I can't recommend them enough! Connections to the US are hard particularly in hurricane season. I also found out that there are extrenely limited flights to any islands apart from French territories. Your best bet would be to take Air Caraibes to St Martin then transfer to SXM.

Please, Ben, do the Air Caraibes review! For your European readers, that could indeed by useful. I’d also go with Icelandair. But please, do avoid reviews of American carriers for the time being…I couldn’t give a toss about these…any time I read a review of an American airline, I really get to appreciate again LH Business in Europe 😉 How can US airlines be so bad?

How about reviewing Finnair's non-reclining product ? It's a modern product made with polarizing choices. Your review would add even to those not flying the airline and to those in the industry considering those seats. ⁴

I like Icelandair as well as they are very much oriented on a TATL low-cost hub model that gives them reasonably good connections from smaller airports on both sides of the pond.

Otherwise agree that the Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten routing is the most aspirational if you want to review TX and can spend a day over there. But the product is outdated and routings are not convenient. Maybe it only looks attractive due to AF's halo effect

Premium economy would be interesting, and I'd like to see Ben reveiw a few PE flights.

With economy, the product is what it is, any doesn't vary that much between airlines. The reviews would be pretty dull as it would basically be about who has an extra 1 inch of legroom, or slightly less horrible food.

He has: https://onemileatatime.com/reviews/finnair-business-class-a330/

It's easy to turn people away if their airline has their own lounge. Delta already turns away their own elite on economy tickets, despite Sky Team rules. I don't think Virgin Atlantic business-class passengers should use the Delta lounge when Virgin has its own lounge. Same for Delta passengers using an Air France lounge at an airport with a Delta lounge.

From the west french indies you can fly the Air France A320 based there, it flies from CAY to MIA with stops in FDF and PTP I believe.

I guess it's natural that Ben mostly reviews US airlines since that's where he's based, but I agree that reviews of these small carriers are much more interesting than yet another review of no service in US first class (which frankly seems kinda pointless). Stuff like Emirates, Cathay Pacific or Finnair is cool, I like to read it, but there's an additional value in reviewing niche carriers like Air Caraibes since those reviews are hard to find when one's deciding whether to book a ticket with the airline or not (unlike products like Qsuites which have been reviewed by just about anyone and at some point I'm not even interested in reading another review of the same product).

Because there is so little traffic. Most English speaking don't need French attitude.

Don't put yourself thru the agony.

When are you booking your roundtrip for the BA Gold Staus Match? I found a great fare MIA-CPH.

AA flies non-stop from MIA to PTP/FDF but doesn't fly every month of the year. It's a good use of points given the flights are routinely $300+ for a 3hr flight.

I went to PTP a year ago and while it was nice to visit, PTP itself is a rough city and there's no decent points hotels anywhere near the airport. Most visitors are obviously French and returning to the island or visiting relatives. I stayed at an airbnb. It's a beautiful island though.

Thanks, I googled it but somehow could not find it, it felt strange it was not reviewed yet.

Go to SXM instead. And rather than staying in Pointe a Puree you might want to stay in Le Gosier, like at the hotel soleil la marina

This blog caters to similarly wealthy people who can afford such luxuries.

That explains a lot.

American rich 101: be a hypocritical liberal.

I have an idea for you if you want to be adventurous. How about PTP - PAP - MIA on Sunrise Airways? No business class and no lounge, but you'll have a story to tell. 😉

Clearly you have never been in the FWI…

How about a regular LH J review to go along with your Allegris review (you can compare the two) or an Iberia flight in J?

Hi. Had you ever got round to taking this trip with Air Caraïbes? We have tickets in its Madras class but are struggling to find reviews, information