Delta Airlines discontinues Atlanta-Tobago

[RosieK]

Unfortunate news for NA visitors I'm afraid. The current Delta Airlines fall schedule indicates that the final flight from Atlanta to Tobago is on 30th August, with the final TAB-ATL flight a day later.

From the published schedule:

TOBAGO, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
(TAB) 2150 mi
2:50 7:45 441 0 6 DF 738
Disc. Aug. 30



The daily flight to Port of Spain remains...

[Hugh S]

Sad news but we can hope that they will restart it again for peak seasons. We were able to fly it in June after it had been canceled during the spring. The flights to POS makes it almost impossible to get to Tobago the same day.

Delta and other airlines have now upped the number of frequent flier miles needed to qualify for a ticket.

Hugh

[RosieK]

Interestingly, by going into the Delta Skymiles awards section and playing around with their Awards calendar feature, it indicates that the route will be back again between January and April 09.
In fact it indicates an ATL-TAB flight as early as Sat. Dec 27 08, althought he first return is not shown until two weeks later Sun 11 Jan 09.
So, as you say Hugh there is hope that the route will be back...

You can still get a 'SkySaver' awards ticket to TAB (or the Carribean in general) for 30K miles, as has been the case for some time. (At only 5K miles more than a domestic ticket, I'd say that was a bargain!) What Delta have done is increased the seats available for awards tickets - but after the 30K SkySaver seats are gone (or if bookings are heavy), you need to be prepared to cough up 60K miles for a 'SkyChoice' award ticket.

[Hugh S]

Rosie,

Take a look at this article regarding Delta Skymiles:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 125DF8.DTL&

Since the first mention of this ATL to TAB flight I have been looking at mileage seats and I have never seen a single seat offered at the lower tier.

I used to fly American Airlines for 30,000 miles and it was a bargain considering that I was flying across the entire US and the entire Caribbean (San Francisco to POS). Not sure what AA requires now but availability is always a problem and they fly only into POS. They do have a flight into POS arriving at about 2 pm so you can get to Tobago in one day. We leave SFO at 10 pm the night before to make the early Miami flight. Coming back we still have to overnight in Trinidad. Continental is better at $865 but requires two overnights in Trinidad.

There are more options for flights from the northeast US and Canada.

That ATL to TAB flight must be especially sweet for someone who lives in Atlanta. If they ever make that a dependable year-round flight I may have to move to Atlanta. The price from SFO to TAB or POS on Delta is now about $1500. Maybe I should just move to Tobago!

Hugh

[RosieK]

I think if you can be a little flexible on travel dates it's quite possible to score a low tier ticket. Our last visit to Tobago (Dec 07) was one example.

Not being sure of the direct flights to TAB in 2009 (despite them being in the schedule), and using the Awards calendar (which shows what tier tickets are available on what days), I took a quick look for ATL-POS over the next few months which showed the following number of days with low tier/ higher tier tickets availability:
2008 Sep: 8/22 Oct: 20/11 Nov: 12/16 Dec: 1/23 Jan 09: 12/12

Clearly December is not a good month for the SkySaver tickets to POS!
A move to Tobago would certainly save a lot of hassle!
RK

[C.Phillips]

that sucks

[Patrick Dankou]

I have been reliably informed that Delta will continue to fly to Tobago.
I will post details as soon as I get additional information.

[LynnMuhl]

Hey Patrick! While I really wish that Delta was still flying the Atlanta to Tobago route, I don't think that's the case. A group of 4 of us had a flight from Atlanta to Tobago in October, and last week Delta called all of us to say that flight had been discontinued permanently. We did get a full refund so we aren't out any money and we able to re-book on another airline, so we eneded up OK. But if you know of something that Delta isn't telling me, I would LOVE to know!

[Patrick Dankou]

Hi Lynn,

Delta will be back in December, the THA was able to negotiate a deal with them. I'll try to find out more details...
Stay tuned

Patrick

[Dianne K]

I will be watching for the follow up on the Delta flight information as we are scheduled for a Dec 20th deptarture from Atlanta. According to our flight itinerary we are still "good to go" and upon review of available seats for the flights there are only a few vacant seats.
On the chance that we do lose our flight-any suggestions on alternative airlines is appreciated. We are from Wisconsin. thanks Dianne

[Hugh S]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 13LFI9.DTL

[Susan PL]

Hi,
We're taking that flight on December 27, and returning on it on January 11, so I know it's in effect then (better hope so )

Susan PL

[Hugh S]

Hello Susan,

Will this be your first trip to Tobago? You will have a ball.

The Delta flight is pretty painless when compared to all the other ways we have done it. We are looking at booking for Easter. The price is better (for Easter) than it has been for awhile.

Still no guarantee though even with ticket in hand. With this sad economic downturn I worry about Delta's commitment to this infrequent route.

Enjoy, Hugh

[Susan PL]

Hi Hugh,

Yes, it'll be our first trip to Tobago. We're going for 2 weeks - starting at the Arnos Vale Apartments in Plymouth, then on to Castara at Ali Baba's & Castara Cottages. It's good to know that we need to expect the best and plan for the worst. I'll phone Delta to see what our options are. Thanks very much for the heads up!

Best,
Susan

[Hugh S]

You will love Arnos Vale apartments. I stayed there seven years ago with my mother and son. Victor and his wife are very friendly and they keep the place immaculate. Please say hello.

Hugh

[Bill B]

Hello Susan,

You'll also love Ali Babas. Sitting on the balcony overlooking a beautiful and almost deserted beach; PARADISE I can't wait to get back there (over a year away).

Bill

[Susan PL]

Thanks Bill & Hugh,
We're really looking forward to it! I phoned Delta last night and they said (once I finally got a live person that our flight to Tobago was definitely happening on December 27, and returning on January 11, so we know at least that much (we can only hope!)
Susan

[Susan PL]

One more item to add. I was visiting a virtual travel show today and asked a Delta Rep about the Atlanta - Tobago flights. He said at this time there are no plans to discontinue them! Here's hoping!
Susan

[Hugh S]

Susan,

Thanks for the good news!

Only 10 more days and you will be in heaven.

Enjoy, Hugh

[Brian Taylor]

have guests coming with them who ALWAYS lose their luggage. so pack mixed suitcases, have a swimtrunks in the hand luggage and off you all go

steph