Santa Barbara Airlines

Customer Reviews

No Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 25 reviews
5/10
No Skytrax Rating
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1/10

"avoid this airline"

(Indonesia)

Verified Review | I'll not fly again with Santa Barbara Airlines again. Flight from Panama City to Caracas was cancelled. Waited in line for 2 hours just to get to the counter for the hotel they were offering. The staff did not seem well prepared to handle the situation - "maybe you fly tormorow". They called us to be at airport at 3:30 pm for another 3.5 hour wait for check in and the flight will leave at 9:40 pm and again there was delay. The staff don't provide any clear information and are not really helpful. Avoid this airline if you don't wanna waste your day, time and money.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RoutePTY to CCS
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United States)

We arrived to the airport about three and a half hours early. The line to check-in extended across most of the terminal. The line moved about twenty feet in 2.5 hours. My wife (who was the only one flying to Caracas) went to the counter to find out what was going on but was told nothing. When we finally reached the counter and checked her bags, we were told that her flight was canceled and that they would try to get her on a flight at 10 PM that night. We were trying to avoid her arriving in Caracas so late and there was another flight at 4 PM, which we asked if we could add my wife's name to the wait list. After a lot of back and forth, we finally got her name on the list and she was able to get on the flight. While I understand that mechanical problems are out of their control, transparency with their customers is. We spent almost eight hours in the terminal waiting and fighting with SBA to get my wife on a flight that arrived in Caracas at a reasonable time of the day. What I don't understand is being left in the dark for so long. They could have easily told everybody in line that the plane was experiencing mechanical trouble and would not arrive on time. What I also don't understand is their customer service number seems to put you in an infinite loop that does not get you to a human to speak with. If we ever travel together to Venezuela we will use another airline. SBA saved us a few hundred dollars, but I am not sure if it was worth it.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMiami to Caracas
Date FlownJuly 2015
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(Venezuela)

I tried to avoid Santa Barbara at all costs for trip between Caracas and Miami round-trip. They had been notorious for very long and cruel delays. Had no more choice and to be fair was pleasantly surprised that my experience was quite good. Flew in an old but nicely refurbished B 767. 300 that I think has helped them regain some kind of decent scheduling. For both round-trip segments the flight was very much on time and they now offer economy plus as an option with lots of leg room. Meals were ok and the staff very cordial. I have to say it is much improved and would fly them again. However it may still be a gamble in terms of on time departures.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
no
na

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United States)

Miami-Caracas-Miami. My flight was one hour late it took off and 1 hour 15 minutes after taking off the captain came on the speaker and said we had to return to Miami due to technical difficulties. At that point flight attendants had already served most of the passengers dinner they came through again and picked up all the trays. We got back to Miami and were asked to leave the airplane. The flight from Miami to Caracas is about 3 hours. If we were more than an hour away from Miami and were having dinner I could speculate we were about half way through Caracas. Which means we were closer to Puerto Rico or many other Caribbean Islands than Miami. Yet the decision was made to return to Miami. The airplane was a very old 757.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
no
na

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United States)

Miami-Caracas-Miami. Our flight from Miami-Caracas was delayed 1hr but I like to book my connections at least 2 hrs apart. In Caracas I was clear from immigration within 30 min and went to pick-up my luggage - another hour delay for the luggage leaving me with less than 1/2 hr to run to find my connection. The way back was even worse. Our flight was delayed 7hrs they kept moving the departure time and did not bother to announce delays. Arrived in Miami at 3 am. This was my first and last time flying with them.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United States)

Miami to Caracas to Guayaquil to Quito. Quito to Caracas to Miami. Flight from Miami to Caracas was delayed a couple of hours but we expected this and planned accordingly. Flight attendants were polite and professional and the food and beverage service up to expectations. The layover in Caracas was confusing as I have never travelled through here before. We exited and were directed to a very long line where one ticket agent was checking off tickets for the connecting flight and then directed us to proceed through security. My fear that we were going to miss our flight was quelled when I realized the entire plane of passengers was in this line. The biggest reason for delay in Caracas was the lack of respect from passengers when it came to boarding the plane "Only rows 30 to 20 can board" meant nothing to people who constantly cut in line to attempt to board. I do wish there were more direct flights from Caracas to Quito without the stop in Guayaquil.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
yes
na

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United States)

Our flight from Miami was delayed 4 hrs causing us to miss our connection to Guayaquil. We were told to come back the next day at 1pm. We came back at 11.30 am and were shifted from one place to another for 5 hours always being told they had us on a flight at 6 pm. At 4pm I had enough and went to the other airline to check-in. They said we had reservations but no tickets. 5 mins later they closed the gate. Santa Barbara delayed us with lies causing us to miss 2 days of our 5 day vacation spend money unnecessarily on hotels and connecting flights not to mention the stress and angry days spent in the Caracus airport.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
no
na

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United States)

We booked a round trip from Miami to Quito. Our trip to Quito had a layover in Venezuela supposed to be 2 hrs. We landed and saw it was delayed for another 5 hrs which put us at 7pm departure. We waited till 7 no plane and no word. We waited until 9 this went on until 2 in the morning. After we boarded the pilot told us we would be going to Guayaquil. After a lot of confusion they bus us to a hotel and tell us we will fly out in the morning. I had to pay for the hotel I booked and did not use. On the return trip we were scheduled to leave at 10 am we didn't end up leaving till 11am but we had another layover in Venezuela. We were supposed to be leaving at 3.30pm. That came and went with no explanation. It is now midnight still no plane and they tell us 2 am but the board says 3am. I have booked a hotel for the night in Miami which once again I am not using.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United Kingdom)

Panama City to Caracas - a journey of 2 hrs. There was very little legroom but we were served quite a decent meal and considering it was a short flight I was impressed. We departed on time but arrived 20-30 min late.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
yes
7/10

Santa Barbara Airlines customer review

(United Kingdom)

UIO-CCS. There were no problems to speak of nor was the experience extraordinarily positive. First off I should say that I had problems in booking via the Santa Barbara website and so had to visit their agency in Quito. I had my bags fairly thoroughly checked by migration people in Quito but that's understandable given the flow of drugs in the region. The flight itself was fine: Boeing 767 no obvious neglect crew were friendly enough food was decent. We did leave about 30 mins late. At the Caracas end our bags were slow in arriving. It seems that there are problems but you may get lucky and avoid them as I did.
Seat TypeEconomy Class
Value For Money 12345
yes
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