Airlines will sometimes try to sell you roundabout routings, and I can’t help but share one that gave me a bit of a chuckle. While I won’t be flying it this time around, it’s definitely some inspiration for a future review trip…
Miami to Nassau via Port of Spain and Kingston?!
I need to fly between Miami (MIA) and Nassau (NAS) for a quick upcoming trip, which is a short 184-mile flight, even shorter than my typical 204-mile flight to Tampa (TPA). The route is well served by American (among other carriers), so my obvious assumption was that I was going to fly nonstop.
However, when I looked at business class options between Miami and Nassau on Google Flights (I always check, just out of curiosity), I was presented with a surprising routing. Specifically, Google Flights recommended a $553 business class itinerary from Miami to Port of Spain (POS) to Kingston (KIN) to Nassau.
So rather than flying nonstop, I could turn this into a 13-hour adventure. It’s not often you see an airline selling you a 3,264-mile routing for a city pair that’s 184 miles apart. That’s nearly 18x the direct distance! And before anyone asks, yes, Caribbean Airlines actually sell this routing as one ticket — this isn’t a case of Google Flights combining separate tickets and passing them off as one.
Sometimes I’ll intentionally subject myself to wildly roundabout routings by booking separate tickets, but to proactively be offered something like this? Purely in terms of direct distance vs. distance flown, this might be the most roundabout routing I’ve ever been presented.
Honestly, I would’ve booked this, except I hate redeyes and want to be awake and alert for the two days I’m in the Bahamas, so I decided against the routing.
I have to figure out an interesting Caribbean review trip
At some point in the near future when I have a couple of days free to travel (beyond what I’ve already planned), I’d really like to give Caribbean Airlines business class a shot, on the carrier’s Boeing 737 MAX. It seems like one of the better business class products in the Caribbean.
I’m trying to figure out how I can create a logical itinerary with that, though. Even though many Caribbean islands are close to one another, air service is often limited.
For example, it would be fun to fly Air France’s Airbus A320 “island hopper,” which goes from Miami to Pointe-a-Pitre (PTP), to Fort-de-France (FDF), to Cayenne (CAY). However, actually linking that with Caribbean Airlines in the other direction is easier said than done.
For example, at least on Google flights, there’s not a single option to fly between Cayenne and Port of Spain on one ticket. Can anyone think of a fun and creative way to make this work, possibly adding in yet another airline? In a dream world, I’d also check out Cayman Airways’ Boeing 737 MAX business class, to experience that Sir Turtle magic, but maybe I’m just getting greedy. 😉
Bottom line
Airlines will sometimes try to sell you very strange routings, though I never saw anything quite like what I was presented during a recent search on Google Flights. I need to fly from Miami to Nassau, and was presented a Caribbean Airlines routing via Port of Spain and Kingston.
As tempted as I was, the redeye combined with the amount of time didn’t work for me this time around, but it is inspiration for a future review trip.
Anyone have any ideas for a fun Caribbean review trip, and how to knock out these airlines on a single trip?