No more ATL-POP Non-stop

[papi_sosua]

As of the end of August DAL will terminate its once weekly, non-stop flight ATL-POP. This sucks especially as other travel options are also being severely curtailed.

Here are some of the changes that I came across.

DELTA: (i) ATL-POP; no more. (ii) ATL-STI; no more. (iii) ATL-SDQ; 4x weekly, down from daily.
AA (was always a viable alternative via MIA): (i) MIA-POP, cont. once daily; (ii) MIA-STI (once daily, was 2x daily before, flight arrives at 8:30 pm instead of afternoon); (iii) MIA-SDQ (2x daily, down from 3x daily).

The North Coast is taking a massive hit w/ the new flight schedules.

[gdogg]

Now that's truly some fucked up news! Never really cared about that flight, but it was convenient as hell (non-stop). Thanks Delta for...uhm...introducing me to Sun Chips. I guess it's back to American. Thanks for the news flash.

[naptime]

bear in mind, that might not be a permanant thing..

delta has a summer schedule, and a winter schedule. especially for pop.

and it could be pop and sti creating the problem, not necessarily the airlines.

i dont know either way, im just speculating.

but i know that when delta informed us of the summer versus winter schedules, we wer told that it was because pop charges differently for the rights to land there, use the terminal, etc...

the dr, charged more in the on season months of the fall and winter, and less in the off season dead of summer.

now, that could be delta telling the truth, or delta putting the blame on pop because thye want to fly less and have more filled planes.

not sure.

[princepointe]

I learned about this last month. I have a cousin that works for delta that was going to hook me up and let me use his employee pass to fly for free from there. I was pissed. Shoulda started hitting DR last year.

[WickedWillie]

bear in mind, that might not be a permanant thing..

delta has a summer schedule, and a winter schedule. especially for pop.

and it could be pop and sti creating the problem, not necessarily the airlines.

i dont know either way, im just speculating.

but i know that when delta informed us of the summer versus winter schedules,
we wer told that it was because pop charges differently for the rights to land there, use the terminal, etc...

the dr, charged more in the on season months of the fall and winter, and less in the off season dead of summer.

now, that could be delta telling the truth, or delta putting the blame on pop because thye want to fly less and have more filled planes
.

not sure.

Nap it's true, POP landing charges are apparently significantly more than STI/SDQ. Been that way for a while. Maybe one day the tourism minister will connect the dots but don't hold your breath on that one.

Meanwhile Sir Richard Branson, big cheese of Virgin Atlantic, has been in Cabarete twice in the last 3 weeks for kitesurfing. Loves the place, I hear he's bought some property and is going to bring his planes into POP on a scheduled service from the UK.

[daddy999]

Thanks for the heads up pi. The prices for Delta direct was always sky high, so usually stuck with AA. I had thought about taking Delta in a pinch, but that answers that now

[Pacoloco]

Damn this really sucks.
Delta usually adds more flights for the high season starting in Nov., any word on their schedule for next winter?

[SrSuerte]

Atlanta is going to move down the list of retirement locations if this stays the same.....! But I doubt it!

[papi_sosua]

Negative.

If flights were being added back into the schedule for, let's say Nov. or Dec., they'd be open by now for booking. Looks to me as if Delta (and other airlines, too) have decided to withdraw or lessen their involvement in the DR market.

Ultimately, air service is demand driven and it appears that the demand is not there. I think the DR is falling out of favor as a major tourist destination...

Damn this really sucks.
Delta usually adds more flights for the high season starting in Nov., any word on their schedule for next winter?

[Kevy]

Now that's truly some fucked up news! Never really cared about that flight, but it was convenient as hell (non-stop). Thanks Delta for...uhm...introducing me to Sun Chips. I guess it's back to American. Thanks for the news flash.

I heard you were going to Medellin anyway

[gdogg]

I heard you were going to Medellin anyway

Yeah, but I gotta go back home sometime. Unless you're saying that after the Medellin trip I'll have a new one.

[papi_sosua]

I just looked into air travel from ATL-POP in late October. Lowest I could find was $615 freaking dollars (and that is w/ a flexible travel schedule). Flying into STI or SDQ isn't cheaper when considering the additional time and transportation costs.

Luckily I have plenty of frequent flier miles including AA Advantage. But if I were to pay out-of-pocket, I would have to seriously rethink the DR as a destination.

[deezl]

I just looked into air travel from ATL-POP in late October. Lowest I could find was $615 freaking dollars (and that is w/ a flexible travel schedule). Flying into STI or SDQ isn't cheaper when considering the additional time and transportation costs.

Luckily I have plenty of frequent flier miles including AA Advantage. But if I were to pay out-of-pocket, I would have to seriously rethink the DR as a destination.

damn. it's cheaper than that to fly from ATL-EWR and then from EWR-POP

crazy thing is that if you book two individual flights i think you can get a $160 r/t ATL-MIA and $330 MIA-POP pretty much any day of the week and if you work the times right then your layover may not be any longer than it would be with a connecting flight. bit of a pain in the ass if you're checking luggage, though.

btw, i'm getting $472 R/T AT-POP via AA on fare compare (and the price checks out on AA's site) for 10/20-10/27 but that's the lowest i can find.

link

[daddy999]

damn. it's cheaper than that to fly from ATL-EWR and then from EWR-POP

crazy thing is that if you book two individual flights i think you can get a $160 r/t ATL-MIA and $330 MIA-POP pretty much any day of the week and if you work the times right then your layover may not be any longer than it would be with a connecting flight. bit of a pain in the ass if you're checking luggage, though.

btw, i'm getting $472 R/T AT-POP via AA on fare compare (and the price checks out on AA's site) for 10/20-10/27 but that's the lowest i can find.

link

Is that including the taxes? I'm getting the same prices as pi is. This really sucks!:

[deezl]

Is that including the taxes? I'm getting the same prices as pi is. This really sucks!:

yes, including taxes. hit 'select' on one of the listed flights from the link and it goes directly to AA's site with all pricing info. fare is $324 + $147.80 in taxes & fees for a total of $471.80, but it's definitely more to fly other days. wednesday's almost always the cheapest day to fly.

ran the same days through travelocity & sidestep and got the same price.

[papi_sosua]

I think you are on to something...let me check!

yes, including taxes. hit 'select' on one of the listed flights from the link and it goes directly to AA's site with all pricing info. fare is $324 + $147.80 in taxes & fees for a total of $471.80, but it's definitely more to fly other days. wednesday's almost always the cheapest day to fly.

ran the same days through travelocity & sidestep and got the same price.