Flying to Puerto Rico in January

[goat rancher]

We are tentatively planning (economics notwithstanding:)) to go on a cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico in January 2011. I looked through the flight possibilities from California (southern Cal.) to Puerto Rico and am a bit worried because there are no straight through flights....my worry is that whatever connector flight we take could get delayed if it originated in mid to northern U.S.....So far, our best option is one that connects in Dallas, Texas but I have no idea how to figure out where that connector flight originated at...I just want to make sure that that connector flight doesn't originate from somewhere that has high risk for cold weather delays....Anyone know how to check for that??

We are tentatively planning to fly in the day before the cruise with arrival being early evening....should that be enough time or should we play it safe and plan to get there even one day earlier than that??

Thanks!!

[CruiserBruce]

Doing some random dates in January, and using LAX as your departing airport, I found:

 

US Airways will take you there thru Charlotte (and thru Philly coming home).

 

AA, UA and others will take you there thru Atlanta.

 

I found the fares to be reasonable ($380-390).

 

The last time I went to SJU, we went SFO-ORD, spent the night, and had an early flight to SJU. These routes above all have overnight issues.

 

Then there are some AA flights with tight connections in Miami, but these are not overnights. And, they have non-stop returns. Just over $400.

 

Probably the most appealing is a AA flight during the day, to Miami, spend the night, catch the first flight to SJU then next day. $405pp.

[klfrodo]

Have you considered a multi segment flight. If time allows

 

LAX to MIA. Spend a day or 2 in or near the keys. This also allows the body extra time to adjust to the time zone changes.

MIA to SJU.

 

Who cares about delays coming home. ;)

[dalitos]

We are tentatively planning (economics notwithstanding:)) to go on a cruise out of San Juan, Puerto Rico in January 2011. I looked through the flight possibilities from California (southern Cal.) to Puerto Rico and am a bit worried because there are no straight through flights....my worry is that whatever connector flight we take could get delayed if it originated in mid to northern U.S.....So far, our best option is one that connects in Dallas, Texas but I have no idea how to figure out where that connector flight originated at...I just want to make sure that that connector flight doesn't originate from somewhere that has high risk for cold weather delays....Anyone know how to check for that??

We are tentatively planning to fly in the day before the cruise with arrival being early evening....should that be enough time or should we play it safe and plan to get there even one day earlier than that??

Thanks!!

 

Where are you departing from? Using LAX as your departure there's an AA direct almost daily.

If you decide to go with a connecting flight try to make it with the same airline and buy both sectors on the same ticket so you get some kind of responsability from the airline should the first flight be delayed and you don't make the connection.

And yes, try to fly a day early if you can afford it, it will give you peace of mind plus you will get a good night's sleep before boarding the cruise, I find it much nicer to start the cruise refreshed and not after a flight.

[goat rancher]

Thank you so much for all the suggestions.....

 

We had been planning to fly out of Ontario, California...because the airport is so much closer to us and less hectic than LAX...a 10 minute drive from here as opposed to over an hour........However, if there are direct flights we may need to reconsider.....

I hadn't even considered the repercussions of ticketing with different airlines vs. ticketing with only one....so will keep that in consideration as well.....

 

Thanks everyone:)

[DanJ]

Also, there isn't any real way to tell where your plane is originating from. It's probably not the case where a plane comes from city A and continues on to city C every day. Even same flight numbers might have a plane change in a hub city.

[parody]

Also, there isn't any real way to tell where your plane is originating from. It's probably not the case where a plane comes from city A and continues on to city C every day. Even same flight numbers might have a plane change in a hub city.

 

While a plane change is possible, it is not a likely event. The hard copy of the North American edition of the OAG lists the itinerary of every US flight. So, if you are connecting to another flight, you can use that information to find out where the connecting plane is coming from. As reported previously on these boards, Continental has now put this information online. Simply click here, insert the flight information that you are interested in and then click flight status and the hyperlink, "where is this aircraft coming from".