Help with Bangkok flight on Oman Air

Hi, I’m looking for a solution for my flight—I’ll explain my situation.

I live in the French overseas territories, so I have a flight from St. Martin to Orly. Early September is cyclone season. If there’s an alert or cyclone, my flight could be postponed.

I’m considering connecting with a flight from CDG to Bangkok. I’d have to buy my second flight as open-ended, otherwise I’d lose it—it’s not the same airline. I found a good price on Oman Air, Economy Comfort option. Change fees are only 20 OMR—basically nothing. Then there’s the option for a paid upgrade: would that mean the price gets adjusted on the day of the flight?

If I’ve made myself clear, do you have any other solutions? Please—thanks!

Hi there,

A flight offering an open-jaw option on the outbound leg—and at a good price at that—seems unusual. Normally, open-jaw is only available for the return flight, no matter the airline. Could you share the link to the Oman Air page in question, please?

Hi there,

In my opinion, it’s not an open ticket—it’s a fare that lets you change your flight for an extra fee. And to answer the question, it depends on availability and paying the fare difference.

Michel

Hello,

Some savings can end up costing you a lot! If you buy two separate tickets and your first flight is canceled or delayed, making the fake connection impossible, you lose the second ticket for a "no-show."

The only reasonable solution is to buy ONE SINGLE TICKET, with a SINGLE RESERVATION for the entire flight itinerary. In this case, you’ll be rebooked for free on a later flight and taken care of (meals and accommodation) until your rebooking.

Do your research on https://www.google.com/travel/flights?hl=fr

Best regards

The only sensible solution is to buy just ONE SINGLE ticket, using a SINGLE RESERVATION for the entire air journey. In this case, you’ll be rebooked for free on a later flight and taken care of (meals and accommodation) until the rebooking flight.

It’s not so certain if the initial flight is canceled due to something the airline isn’t responsible for (in this case, a cyclone).

That’s exactly what Tatran explained.

I can’t take the same airline, otherwise it would’ve been easy. I’m looking for a solution I might not know about. Just so you know, the hurricane is still forecasted—it’d just need my flight from StM to be spared!

Good evening,

I can’t take the same airline, otherwise it would’ve been easy. I’m looking for a solution I might not know about. Just so you know, the hurricane is still forecasted—it’d just need to spare my SXM flight!

You’d be doing ElviajeroPar a huge favor—always on the ball but tortured by this issue—by checking Google Flights, for example. It suggests flights around **1500 €** for the dates you mentioned, like SXM-BKK via Paris, New York, Doha, or Miami, though those usually involve two layovers. The key is to avoid anything Google Flights labels as a "self-transfer."

You’d be covered from departure if you steer clear of those.

Michel

Good evening,

It all comes down to price vs. risk. On the risk side, it's better to have a single ticket that guarantees your arrival at the destination without extra charges, no matter what. Try running simulations on comparison sites for dates within +/- 3 days to find the best price, even if it means 2 layovers. For the price side, do the same but split your search into two parts: Saint Martin/Paris and Paris/BKK, allowing for 1 or 2 days of flexibility. You might need to spend 1 or 2 nights in a hotel in Paris if your dates aren’t set in stone. It’s all about the math—you get to decide what works best.

Qatar Airways offers a ticket for 1,300 € with 2 layovers in New York and Doha (part of the Saint Martin/New York flight is operated by JetBlue).

The only reasonable solution is to buy just ONE SINGLE ticket, using a SINGLE RESERVATION for the entire air journey. In this case, you’ll be rebooked free of charge on a later flight and taken care of (meals and accommodation) until the rebooking flight.

It’s not so certain if the initial flight is canceled due to something the airline isn’t responsible for (in this case, a cyclone).

Hi, But yes!!! Of course, provided you’ve bought ONE SINGLE ticket, using a SINGLE RESERVATION for the entire air journey. Even if the first flight segment is canceled due to a cyclone. Best regards,

That’s exactly what Tatran explained.

I can’t take the same airline, otherwise it would’ve been easy. I’m looking for a solution I might not know about. Just so you know, the hurricane is still forecasted—it’d be enough if my flight from St. Martin is spared!

Hello,

The question isn’t whether the entire journey is operated by the same airline. It’s ONLY about buying a single ONE-WAY TICKET by making a SINGLE RESERVATION for the whole trip with ONE airline, even if they only operate part of the route, with the rest being a codeshare with another airline.

Best regards,

Hi there,

The question isn't whether the entire journey is operated by the same airline. It's SOLELY about purchasing a SINGLE and UNIQUE TICKET by making a SINGLE RESERVATION for the whole journey with ONE airline, even if that airline only operates part of the journey, with the rest operated under a codeshare with another airline.

The airline that issues the ticket, identifiable by the ticket number, may not even operate any of the flights in the itinerary.

Michel

I’ll say it again—I can’t take a single flight, otherwise it would’ve been easy. I have a 500 € voucher to use with Air Caraïbes from STM at Orly this autumn, and I won’t have another chance to use it after that. That’s the catch. Plus, they don’t really fly east/east of Paris! 🏴‍☠️ I only buy my flights directly from the airline.

I’m wary of the weather because... it’s scorching hot on your coasts, the sea’s heating up. Here, we’ve had strong winds for 3 straight months. Irma’s 8th anniversary is coming up, so statistically, there’s a chance of another storm—who knows if it’s true? And our politicians are so fragile that they’ll shut down airports over the tiniest detail! Okay, fine, I’ve got a "first-world problem"... hahaha

Possible solutions: buy the second flight a few days before landing in Paris—*gulp*. Take a date-change option and pay the price difference last-minute if I face delays. Stay home...

Thanks everyone! !

Hi there,

Allow plenty of extra time for the second flight: My worst delay with a re-routed flight, following a cancellation (bad weather for just a few hours), was 5 days!!!

Re-routed to a different airport, very far from the one originally planned, 4 days later, and then another day to get from the arrival airport to the one initially scheduled. Check it out here: https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2024/01/12/reacheminement-catastrophique-droit-indemnisation-meme-circonstances-extraordinaires-2/

Best regards

I don’t think we can claim *bad weather*, because in this case it’s more of a force majeure situation. And asking for compensation isn’t valid since we’re not in France or Europe for the departure ticket from SXM. Who disagrees?

Hello, There is NO case of "force majeure" that exempts an airline from compensating passengers under Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 of the European Parliament and Council.

The only exempting circumstance, under the SINE QUA NON condition of providing PROOF, is the occurrence of (I quote) "extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken" (end of quote).

Moreover, point 20 of the Wallentin Hermann C-549/07 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union strictly enforces the application of Article 5, paragraph 3 of the regulation. Additionally, the jurisprudence of the same Court (cases Sturgeon C-402/07 and Wallentin Hermann C-549/07) specifies that these must be events which, by their nature or origin, are not inherent to the normal activity of the air carrier concerned and are beyond its effective control.

Furthermore, the ruling in the Wallentin Hermann C-549/07 case, particularly the first point of its decision and points 39 to 41, states that for an airline to be exempt from its obligation to compensate passengers, it must prove that even by deploying all its staff resources, it could not have prevented the extraordinary circumstances from leading to the flight cancellation.

In addition, the "Commission Communication" 2016/C 214/04, published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 15, 2016, in its Article 4.2, reiterated in the same terms by the "Commission Communication" C/2024/5687 of September 25, 2024, not only confirms the obligations of airlines but also adds:

1° that the airline must offer the choice between the three options simultaneously upon cancellation;

2° that re-routing as soon as possible must be sought by the airline with any carrier, even outside the same alliance, and even by another mode of transport, at no additional cost to the passenger, even if transported in a higher class or at a higher fare than the initial service.

As a result of all the above, bad weather MAY (but only MAY) exempt an airline from compensating passengers. Specifically, even in cases of extraordinary circumstances, even if proven (including weather), compensation is still due if the airline did not re-route the passenger "as soon as possible." This is precisely the case in this example: https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2024/01/12/reacheminement-catastrophique-droit-indemnisation-meme-circonstances-extraordinaires-2/.

The French part of the island of Saint Martin is indeed part of the European Union, and therefore Regulation 261/2004 applies there, particularly due to Article 355 of the Lisbon Treaty, which forms the constitutional treaty of the European Union. The status of the Dutch part of the island on this specific point is controversial.

Best regards,

Actually, the controversy over the applicability of EU Regulation 261/2004 to the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin shouldn’t even exist.

It stems from certain official texts stating that Regulation 261/2004 applies to Saint Martin (without specifying whether it’s the French part), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Mayotte, and Réunion.

However, the Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin is excluded because it’s listed in Annex II of the Treaty of Lisbon.

That said, don’t forget that a flight departing from a non-EU country and arriving in the European Union is subject to EU Regulation 261/2004 if it’s operated by a European airline. So, an Air Caraïbes flight from the airport located in the Dutch zone of Saint Martin to Paris is covered by Regulation 261/2004.

Best regards

For clarification: - Saint Martin is necessarily the French part. - Sint Maarten is the Dutch part. - Air Caraïbes doesn’t take off from the Dutch side.

.. and to top it all off >

https://la1ere.franceinfo.fr/guadeloupe/les-etats-unis-suspendent-le-partage-des-donnees-satellitaires-pour-la-surveillance-des-cyclones-1602645.html

We mainly track the weather on NHC and Windy.

For clarification: - Saint Martin is necessarily partly French. - Sint Maarten is the Dutch part. - Air Caraïbes does not take off from the Dutch side.

Hello, Saint Martin, in French, translates to Sint Maarten in Dutch, while Sint Maarten, in Dutch, translates to Saint Martin in French, regardless of local linguistic habits in Saint Martin used to differentiate the two zones.

If you visit the Air Caraïbes website https://www.aircaraibes.com/, you’ll see that Air Caraïbes’ direct, non-stop flights from Saint Martin to Paris Orly depart from Juliana Airport (IATA code SXM), which is located in the Dutch zone. However, flights to Guadeloupe (or with a layover in Guadeloupe), for example, depart from Grand Case Airport (IATA code SFG), located in the French part of the island.

This makes sense since Juliana Airport serves international flights, while Grand Case Airport only serves regional flights, due to the size of the runways.

Best regards

Air Caraïbes to Juliana, yes, but starting from late 25th. I’ve lived here for 8 years, so I know this little rock well.