My flying experience this vacay

My loyal readers, I'm back!!! A vacation is not only food for my stomach, but also food for my soul. I feel so relaxed and energized now (not really right now, since I'm quite sleepy after a late night movie) and can't wait for the next vacation. Yeah,...love travelling. Can't someone just pay me to travel the world and try out all kinds of food and lodgings?

One thing that's not really likeable is flying. I know that there's not really a way around it, unless you have the same opinion as a guy I met in Aruba, who told me he had been sailing from Boston and was gonna make it a year long trip. For most travels, flying is a necessity and everyone who has to fly a bit further knows the hassle of flying out from Suriname. You have at least one layover, some (can be 9-10hrs) waiting time and then the ignorance of online check-in.

For this trip, I took the matter into my own hands and have booked online. Since I was going to 3 destinations, I glued several airlines to make my ticket price a bit cheaper. SO...for this one trip, I had experience with 5 airlines: SLM, Air Tran, Southwest, JetBlue and Caribbean Airlines.

First was of course SLM. I had earlier experiences with them and the advantage of flying with them to Aruba is:

- it's a direct flight, so shorter travel time
- you always get food ( I believe it's part of being Surinamese)

What I didn't like about them and this time:

- there was a delay of 6 hours and I had to hear it from Travelocity, where they not only mail me about the delay, but someone who couldn't even pronounce Suriname correctly called me to ensure I knew about the delay. I confirmed it by calling the airport and leaving a message at Facebook. And no memo whatsoever on their page about this delay. Real disappointment!
- I checked-in online, printed out my boarding pass and still had to stand in the long line. After some complaints from a colleague traveler, we were put in a different lane, which should've happened from the beginning

Overall, I still would fly with SLM out of convenience, but I just hope they would work on these points though.

It was my first time flying with Air Tran and Southwest, so I was not sure what to expect. I had to connect in Atlanta with Southwest for my final destination. Air Tran was ok. The only thing that was not pleasant and I am not sure which airlines fault it was or just human error, but my luggage didn't arrive with me on my destination.

Southwest on the other hand was an experience like no other and I don't mean in a good way. First of all, at time of departure our flight attendants haven't arrived at the gate yet. The announcer talked about it as if he's talking about the weather or something totally normal. Then during the flight, the flight attendants were constantly chitchatting with guests, which is so different to what I'm used to. I'm not really sure yet about how I feel about it. It's a bit mixed. Partly it's nice to see the flight attendants enjoy themselves, on the other hand, it appears so unprofessional.


JetBlue was really the best airline experience so far!! The price was reasonable, have one free checked luggage per person and there was a list with unlimited snacks and drinks you can choose from. And best of all, TV with nearly all channels and for a flight that's about 3hrs long. The flight attendants were friendly and really service with a smile from the counter to leaving the plane. I would recommend this airline to everyone I know, but unfortunately they only have domestic US flights.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/travel/sirens-skies-flight-attendants-years-gallery-1.46299?pmSlide=1.46355

And there's of course, Caribbean Airlines. The service got better since the last time I flew with them, the state of the interior in the planes got worse, but probably because I didn't expect a lot from them, the overall experience was ok. The only thing that I always hate is the long layover in Trinidad. This time it's 9/10 hours and thank god there's Rituals.

Before I left, I already did some research and read about a VIP lounge, but in which you only gain access through membership or at least introduction by a member. The annual fee for this membership is about $300+ and the introduced one will have to pay $27,- for that one time.

Since we don't know anyone who could be from that club, we were already worried about what to do in 9-10 hours. We lunched at KFC, which I do have to admit is the best KFC I've had so far. The line was so long, but totally worth it. We took our time with every step we had to follow and finally got up to the 1st floor. There was some shops, but only Rituals actually sold something to eat and drink. I saw the couches and I was in love. You know in cartoons, when an object suddenly lights up as if send from heaven. Well, this couch just lighted up in front of me. It looked so comfy (and it is too) and we spend most of our hours here. I felt to thankful that all the TT$ I had left, I put it in their tip box. However it's not mandatory, but I believe everyone who uses this 'facility' should do the same. The ladies are nice and should surely be rewarded for not kicking you out.

My food experiences at all 3 destinations are soon to be read on my other blog: https://atastybit.blogspot.com/