LIAT

Recently flew from San Juan (Puerto Rico) to Antigua as a result of BA dropping its own flight frequency out of SJU to one flight per week. I was impressed by how much LIAT has improved. We were on time our luggage arrived with us and the flight was good value for money. The best bit was the quality of the staff both on the flight and at the airport - they were friendly knowledgeable and kept us updated on the flight. The only drawback is the age of their plane. You get what you pay for.

Waiting in St. Maarten for almost 6 hours to get flight to St. Kitts. We couldn't land this morning because of weather. LIAT employees were rude uncaring and only interested in not being bothered. They have made no effort to update us until confronted with our complaints about the lack of concern by them. Hopefully will never have to fly them again.

Antigua to Barbados but due to industrial action we were ultimately delayed over 48 hrs. Staff at Antigua Airport check-in could not have been less helpful - they started with a cheery nonchalance which was irritating. Eventually they gave up on even smiling and not once during our 2-day ordeal did we receive an apology. We were eventually sent back to our hotel (after a six hr wait at the airport with no information or refreshments) and told to come back the next day. Same thing happened the next day but all the time there is no clarity. We were simply herded around like cattle. On day 3 we did eventually take off but even then we were 2 hrs late for no apparent reason. The aircraft itself was tatty and unkempt and we weren't even offered a drink. I would do everything I could to avoid travelling with this airline again but sadly they have the monopoly of most or many Caribbean routes. A total shambles.

Having read reviews I was rather worried about our flights from Antigua to Tortola and Tortola to Barbados. However flights were on time staff very pleasant and our luggage arrived with us.

We arrived in the north of St. Lucia to be told that our plane had already left - apparently it was our fault that we didn't know we were supposed to have received an email regarding this but we did not. There were no apologies or pleasantries as we were re-booked on two alternative flights 4 hrs later taking a much longer route to arrive at St Vincents (originally a 30 mins flight). On the second flight from Barbados to St Vincents there was no water and no usable toilet. The stewardess was uninterested and kept yawning. When we arrived at St. Vincent later that evening all of our luggage had been mislaid between St. Lucia Barbados and St. Vincent. We reported the situation to a rather dispassionate lady at the LIAT desk and then continued to our destination. We phoned LIAT the next morning and the service person was abrupt. They had found 4 of our 5 bags and didn't seem to know whether to send them to us or not. They sent the 4 bags and when they located the 5th later that day they wanted to wait until the next day to send that - which would have been a problem since we were traveling.

Having read previous reviews I was a little wary of our flight from Barbados to St Lucia - but it turned out to be a very pleasant problem free experience! Check in was efficient and we proceeded to the departure gate although we were slightly delayed due to 2 earlier flights out of Barbados being delayed which meant that our paperwork was at the bottom of the pile. However the crew kept us well informed of the situation and they managed to secure the one and only air conditioner to keep us cool while we waited on the tarmac! The flight was just over 30 mins long so not much happening once we were in the air but a smooth take off and landing and a very pleasant air hostess.

BGI-ANU via SLU. At the gate in BGI was advised by the staff that we would have to use the toilets in the terminal as the one on the plane was not in use. Left BGI a few mins late and on arrival in SLU was advised to leave the plane no staff about to ask why and had to wait in immigration until someone turned up 15mins later to let us through to the transit lounge. About 1hr 15mins later were advised over the PA system that the plane was now fixed and boarding would commence in 10mins 20mins later a LI staff member turned up at the gate and started to board! Once on board the Flight deck advised us that our plane had been used for another flight and that we had to wait for this one to be serviceable. Flight was ok but cabin crew do not do anything apart from safety demo and insecticide spray then she sat down for the duration of the two flights.

Antigua -Nevis -Tortola-St Maarten-Nevis-Antigua found this airline to be quite good. There were some slight delays here and there but the experience was satisfactory. Cabin crew were very good and Dash 8 aircraft were clean and tidy. With the exception of our Antigua departure the ground staff were friendly and helpful. All flights were short so our expectations of catering weren't high.

SXM-EIS-SKB-ANU-DOM-BGI-SLU-SVD-POS - I left a bad comment some years ago about this airline but they seem to have improved. 90 per cent of my flights left on time the luggage with me in (they are famous for losing bags). Cabin crew friendly but service is nonexistent even on 1 hour flights. Some of the planes are very old and smelly tickets are pricey but if you buy them in the package it is cheaper - but be aware that you can not change.

The fundamental problem is that LIAT has a monopoly of many routes. We paid about £300 each to fly 200 miles with LIAT having paid £500 each to fly 4000 miles from the UK to the Caribbean. How stupid is that! The best catering on the LIAT flight out was a warm can of coke for US$2 - how difficult would it be to take a chill box of drinks onto their silly little planes for the steward to sell instead of chatting to his girlfriend. Be warned - LIAT means "leaving in any time" - for reasons unknown we left 1/2 hour late sat on tarmac on a stopover for 30 minutes having been told it would be 15; after sitting then on the runway for another 15 minutes we finally set off. Allow a generous time allowance for connecting flights then some more as it also means "luggage in any terminal" - we heard many tales of lost luggage and friends had to anxiously wait for the following flight (also late!) for one of their cases. The locals seem to get round this problem by taking up to 4 bags on board each one bigger than stated limit. Don't think I'll risk trying this if there is a next time (yes the final destination is worth it) but I may take earplugs along.