Insel Air

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 76 reviews
3/10
No Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"worst airline I have flown"

(Germany)

Verified Review | Bonaire to Curaçao. Insel Air is the worst airline I have ever flown. Not only are the planes old and dirty, but their flights are almost always delayed or cancelled - and worst of all, they refuse to take responsibility for these delays. I was flying from Bonaire to Curaçao when my flight got delayed by almost 2 hours. As a result, I missed my connection to fly me back to Europe. Insel Air refused to take responsibility and I had to buy a new ticket in order to get home with a two day delay. This ended up costing me more than 1000$! Definitely won't use Insel Air again!
AircraftFokker 50
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBonaire to Curaçao
Date FlownFebruary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"pay the extra to avoid Insel"

(United States)

Unverified | Bonaire to Curaçao. My family has been flying to Bonaire for years and there is always an issue with Insel. We usually try to avoid it but this year had no choice. The flights from Bonaire to Curaçao were delayed traveling there and back. On the way home they took stand by passengers from the previous delayed flight and took our confirmed tickets and switched them to stand by so we weren't able to get on the flight out of Curaçao to Aruba! Then had to spend the night in Aruba because we missed the connection flight home. They didn't pay for a hotel or for the $400 fee to switch our flights and we were traveling with our 1 year old and 4 year old! The supervisor told us we were out of luck and literally walked away from us. The staff is horrendous and also all the toilets in the bathroom wouldn't flush and the airport is disgusting. Please do yourself a favor and pay the extra money to avoid Insel. You will save yourself a nightmare. If I could give them a zero star I would.
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBonaire to Curaçao
Date FlownFebruary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"my return flight is canceled"

(United States)

Verified Review | I booked a round trip from Miami to Bonaire. At first my flight from Miami to Curaçao was canceled so I had to leave next day. Then my luggage didn't make it to Bonaire and I had do return to the airport next day to pick it up. Now my return flight from Bonaire to Curaçao is canceled, that means that I will miss my flight from Curaçao to Miami. So right now I am stuck at Bonaire airport, they gave me $7 voucher so I could get something to eat. What a joke!
Type Of TravellerBusiness
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMiami to Bonaire
Date FlownFebruary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"avoid a travel nightmare"

(United States)

Verified Review | I was due to fly from Bonaire to Miami on 1/28 connecting in Curacao at 10:20am with Insel Air. I had purchased Tickets with a different airlines to take me much later from Miami to Denver. Late on the night of 1/27 the airline emailed me to say that my morning flight was cancelled for mechanical reasons and since they don't answer their phones nor does their website work, I had to report to the airport early on the morning of 1/28 to find out what their plan was for re-routing me. After numerous lines bouncing back and forth, since neither knew what was happening, they said to go ahead and take the flight to Curacao but then they would not be responsible for me getting to Miami from there. My other option was to spend the night in Bonaire and we would try again same schedule the next morning. After much negotiation between the airline and all my fellow passengers who were trying to get to Miami, they agreed to put us up in hotel that night, pay for our meals and we would try same thing in morning of 1/29. I re-booked my American connection with at $209 change fee and trusted all would be well in morning. Around 6pm on 1/28 I learned by email that the flight from Curacao to Miami time had changed to much later in the day, once again rendering my American connection on 1/29 useless and leaving me having to look for lodging in Miami once I arrived and another flight from Miami to Denver on my own. On the morning of 1/29 I reported to the airport early again to board my first leg. I had nearly checked in when once again they cancelled the 2nd leg from Curacao to Miami for mechanical reasons. At that point I had to get home. I booked a horrendously expensive ticket to get home with another airline and watched all the others who were trying to figure out what to do after this connection cancelled again scurrying around looking for help. My return trip from Bonaire tripled in cost due to this airline leaving me stranded for 2 days. To avoid a travel nightmare, don't book with this airlines.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteBON to MIA via CUR
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"zero stars would be appropriate"

(Netherlands)

Verified Review | Curacao to Kingston return. Insel Air scheduled departure times are just fantasy! We suffered a 19 hours delay on flying from Curacao to Kingston on the 29th December, and close to 10 hours on the flight back on the 4th January. The lack of information during this waiting time was complete, with changing "new departure times" all the time, and even complete vanishing of the flight from the airport departure list. Delays as we suffered from are common, as we noticed on flying back from Curacao to Amserdam (thank goodness with KLM): the Curacao airport departure list that day (Jan 5) was filled with Insel Air flights with "new departure times" a few to many hours behind the original schedule. No single Insel Air flight was on time, not even the very short flights between Curacao and the adjacent Dutch Caribic islands Bonaire and Aruba. It is a pity I have to give at least one star and a minimal rating, where zero stars would be appropriate.
AircraftFokker 50 / MD80
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCuracao to Kingston
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"incompetent as I have ever seen"

(United States)

Verified Review | Port of Spain to Curaçao. I unfortunately did not pay attention to the reviews of this airline, hoping it was a fluke. It really is that bad! They were unable to fulfil the original flight due to grounding its aircraft cause they couldn't afford the maintenance, they held us in the airport for 8 hours before finally releasing us to go to the hotel. Then the flight to take us to Curaçao was delayed which resulted in further delays and cancellations. As a result I lost a 2 night hotel stay as I was here. Then they held us here even after they knew we were not leaving and upon arrival they had no idea of any of the passengers situations. This company is a text book example of bad business. They are this incompetent as I have ever seen.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePOS to CUR
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"should be blacklisted"

(Netherlands)

Verified Review | Miami to Paramaribo via Curacao. Insel Air should be blacklisted. They rescheduled my flight twice, 13 days prior departure date. They changed it a day before but the connection to my final destination is to stay overnight in Curacao without any accommodations paid by the airline. The customer service is a joke. I called to complain and demand a change back of date, or help with the hotel accommodation/food or give me a refund. They said, I should file a complain to Customer relations because there is nothing they could do.
AircraftMD80
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMIA to PBM via CUR
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"decided to cancel the early flight"

(United States)

Verified Review | We just returned from our second vacation in Bonaire - both using Insel Air. In 2015 we naively booked flights from Aruba to Bonaire (because we could use miles to get to Aruba for free) on Insel. I read the reviews that were posted at that time but thought "it can't possibly be that bad." Boy was I wrong. Our first itinerary included the only non-stop between the Aruba and Bonaire. The day before our departure from the US we were notified that Insel had decided not to fly that route the next day and we had been rebooked on an itinerary with a plane change in Curacao. The only problem was that the new itinerary departed Aruba before we even arrived there. The next morning we received a phone call from them that put us on a previously nonexistent flight - at this point I had spent so much time on the phone with Insel that I knew their schedule by heart. So when I was told we were on this new flight, I said "you don't have a flight at that time!" But I was assured that they had added the segment. At that point it was too late to do anything but continue with our plans. Upon arrival in Aruba we spent 90 minutes standing at the ticket counter while the agents tried to sort things out. In Curacao, they literally met us on the tarmac at the bottom of the stairs and walked us around the nose of another waiting plane (with the props already running) and loaded us on board. Once again, naively, we thought "wow - this is pretty cool that they would accommodate us like this." Silly us. When we finally arrived in Bonaire we were too late to pick up our rental car. Our return trip to Aruba via Curacao was also delayed on both legs, requiring us to run through the Aruba airport (where you also clear US customs). The only reason we made our flight to the US was because it was delayed. It is recommended that you allow 3 hours in Aruba for this process. We tried again this year - trying to save money and thinking (silly us) that last year was an aberration. Wrong again. We booked the itinerary, including US flights to connect in Aruba, 6 months out. Leading up to the trip Insel changed our schedule 4 times. Our flight from Curacao to Bonaire was delayed for 3 hours. Eventually we boarded one of the few 737s that they use (a very nice plane, BTW) for the 11 minute flight at 5000 feet. The only issue is that it took 45 minutes to board the flight. On our return flight, we had planned 4 hours in Aruba to clear customs. A month before our holiday departure, Insel decided to cancel the early flight and put us on a later one, leaving us once again with 2 hours in Aruba. Then the new flight from Curacao to Aruba was delayed 40 minutes. We contacted our US carrier to see what our options might be if we missed our connection and were told we would have to spend 2 nights in Aruba due to a lack of availability of seats - and come up with more than $2000 in airfare (plus housing) for the last minute change. When I explained this to Insel personnel, I was told that since we weren't connecting to another Insel flight, there was no recourse available to us. When I asked if they might ask others on a delayed departure (about to load) if any of them might give us their seats to leave 40 minutes later to allow us to make our connection and the response was "No".
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteAUA to BON via CUR
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"treat their customers like dirt"

(Sweden)

Verified Review | Insel is a poor excuse for an airline. They treat their customers like dirt. Flight from Curacao to Havana was informed to be 1 hours 10 minutes late at check-in October 3. The plane was present at the gate. 1 hour and 20 minutes after the original departure time the screen went black, no audio information. New sign on screen, the plane was now due for Miami! Asking about our flight to Havana we where informed it was delayed 4 days! come back on Friday. Most stupid thing ever heard, who on holiday can change their plans like that? It cost us approx. 200 USD on phone to get new hotel room at Curacao and to cancel our hotel in Havana. We still had to pay for the first night, another 115 USD. Also tried to call Insel Air which have so rude staff on the phone just saying no refund then put you back in the phone queue. Before this flight not taking place, we flew from Miami via Curacao to Bonaire, both flight very much delayed, arriving at Bonaire after rental cars had closed so we could not pick up our car. Also from Bonaire back to Curacao, delayed. So before cancel to Havana three flights all delayed. We noticed that the flight to Miami that was announced instead of Havana was three hours late, so we realized that we had to rebook our return ticket from Curacao to Miami as we had connecting flights going back to Europe. These new tickets by another airline company also cost us. After trying to communicate with Insel, which is more or less a one way communication, we finally got information that our flight CUR-HAV-CUR is valid one year, same for our flight CUR-MIA. However they do not understand that people in Europe very seldom have the possibility to travel this far every year, we cannot afford it anyway, so we have absolutely no use off that offer.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteCUR to HAV
Date FlownOctober 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"flight continues to be delayed"

(United States)

Miami to Curaçao with Insel Air. Sitting here at Miami waiting for my flight that may not happen. Flight time has changed 3 times already. When I arrived to check in they did not mention the flight was delayed until I asked. While waiting at the gate the flight continues to be delayed and the gates changing without any notice or announcements. I find this to be unprofessional. I'm hoping I can make it to where I'm going today.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMIA to CUR
Date FlownNovember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no