TimAir v. Airlink

Wife and I will be returning to CSA in 41 days and are debating between TimAir and Airlink. Last year we took TimAir to and from CN and will never do the bus again! Prior to the arrival of Airlink it was a no brainer - Curtis was the way to go! However, with the arrival or Airlink and their lower prices we are now in the middle of a dilema. For any that might have flown either in the past month or so, we would be interested in your thoughts. In particular, for those who haven't reserved TimAir ahead of time, how long of a wait have you been having from time you get to their desk until you are in the air? For those who have been flying Airlink - are they departing on time? Do they leave early if everyone with a reservation is already there, or do they wait till the scheduled departure time?
Thanks for all your help!

Kent & Dawn
Tiffin, OH.
CSA - 2007
CSS - 2009
CN- 2010

Anyone?

We flew International Airlink on 8/22. We barely had enough time to have a Red Stripe before we were on our way. All we did was stop by the counter on our way to the Couples lounge and ask the price to fly to Negril. They told us $93 per person, we asked when the next flight was and we were told whenever we were ready. The 12 minute flight was great. It took longer to walk to the front of the airport and to go through security than to fly.

OK....so here is the deal....this was posted by jerseygal in another thread

"We flew on International Airlink on 8/20 from Montego Bay to Negril. We decided to fly as we were walking towards the Couples welcome lounge in the airport. We stopped, asked the price($93 per person including tax) and we said yes. We went to the Couples lounge to tell them we had arrived and that we were flying to Negril. We barely had time for a Red Stripe before we were told our plane was ready. We were walked to the front of the airport and back in to where International Airlink's departure area was. We were in the air quickly and 12 minutes later we landed in Negril. We loved the flight and will take it every time. "

I would like to add my experience. I contacted Airlink , because they have scheduled flights and charter flights. I told them I wasnt comfortable paying for this scheduled flight because it leaves 30 minutes after we are scheduled to land in MBJ. The next scheduled plane leaves one hour afterward this one, which is 1.5 hours after landing at MBJ. The cost of the scheduled flight to Negril is $93 pp and includes taxes. The schedules are posted on their website and they also fly to other islands , etc. The website looks professional.

The charter option is for unscheduled flights. They said the plane would be ready and in the air within 15 minutes of arrival. The price for the charter flight from MBJ to Negril is $109 pp which includes taxes. We already have a reservation with Tim Air for $112 pp and we are going to keep it. I am not sure how jerseygal got the price of $93 because she described a charter flight.

I am not sure how we got the $93 per person price. As I said, we just walked up to the counter and asked the price. We also were afraid to book one of the scheduled flights ahead of time because we were not sure if we would land on time or get through customs in a timely fashion. We had a great flight!!!

Thanks for the responses, our date is rapidly approaching and looking forward to our return to CSA.

Jerseygal - where is the Airlink counter? Is it near TimAir? I think we were approached by Airlink when we went to CN last year, but because I hadn't heard of them we waited till I found a TimAir guy in the center area before we turned to go to the Couples Lounge.

The Airlink counter was right next to Tim Air. In fact when I was talking to AirLink about price and the flight time the Tim Air rep tried to talk me into flying with them but AirLink was cheaper.

Thanks for the info. Heading to CSA in 4weeks. Can anyone tell me how much time to allow to get through immigration at MBJ to either TimAir or Airlink?

Thanks,
John

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jmbiddle

... Can anyone tell me how much time to allow to get through immigration at MBJ to either TimAir or Airlink? ...

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You actually need to clear Immigration, get your checked bags (if any), and then clear Customs before taking the 20 steps or so to the TimAir and IAL counters. The times for these can vary wildly.

Last week we were through Immigration in 2 minutes, had our luggage in 4, (and walked over to) and thru Customs in less than 1. However we were 1st in the immigration line with plenty of officers available. So our lucky total was less than 8 minutes.

We've had other trips where it was closer to 45 minutes to an hour and that is a more realistic time for planning purposes.

We've had equally great service from TimAir or IAL.

We decided on TimAir, because we didn't want to have to count on making a scheduled flight and the price difference wasn't really that much. We loved the TimAir flight. The pilot was very informative. He asked where we were staying and then we flew along the coastline the rest of the way, as he pointed out interesting sights.

Going thru immigration and customs for us took about 5 minutes as well, but I think we got lucky, just as Rudi said.

For those who have flown TimAir - this might be a familiar face. This was from our trip last year on our way to CN in October.

Attachment 14227

I guess this year we'll see how quickly we get through customs and either go with TimAir or AirLink based on who can get us in the air quicker!

Kent & Dawn
CSA again - 20 Days, 17 Hours

Ya mon soonecome!!