If you’ve not yet heard, American Airlines is coming back to Anguilla! This time, forget San Juan, we’re going straight to Miami.
Starting on December 11, 2021, American Eagle will begin operating two flights every week out of Miami International Airport into Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport in the Valley, Anguilla.
Getting to Anguilla has always been a sore point for visitors, and locals alike. A number of different options have come and gone over the years. Currently, you can fly into Anguilla via San Juan on Seaborne Airlines, Tradewind Aviation, Silver Airways or Air Sunshine through a number of connecting flights.
This new route gives us a great nonstop option that all Anguilla lovers will appreciate.
The aircraft
Flights will be on a 76-seat Embraer E175 aircraft. These aircraft feature 12 first-class seats, 20 extra-legroom economy seats, and 44 regular main cabin seats. By many accounts, these aircraft are pretty comfortable. Main cabin seats have roughly the same pitch (distance from seat back to seat back) as an A320, and they are even an inch or two wider than the larger Airbus aircraft.
Therefore, it’s likely to be a similar, if not better, ride to Anguilla than you’d get on a flight into St. Maarten. Of course, the upside is not having the ferry ride to get across.
The schedule
For now, there will be two flights per week – on Wednesday and Saturday. AA3780 will leave Miami at 10:50am arriving in Anguilla at 2:49pm. The same aircraft heads back to Miami at 3:40pm, getting in at 5:53pm.
Practical connections to get to Anguilla
Now, for the nuts and bolts.
For travellers that need to connect, the timing of the flights is a little tricky, but manageable. The flight to Anguilla leaves Miami fairly early, so most East Coast travelers will have to wake up pretty early to catch their connecting flight to Miami.
Luckily, American has an extensive network of connecting flights, so there are lots of options no matter where you are coming from. We did a quick check on some of the more popular routes for Anguilla visitors, and this is what we found.
New York
There are 4 flights – American and JetBlue – leaving the NY metro area (JFK, LGA and EWR) around 6-6:30am that will get you into Miami before 10am. This should be plenty of time to connect. With MIA being AA’s regional hub, if you do fly AA, it should be relatively easy to get from your arrival terminal to the departure gate in short order.
On the return trip, there’s at least 5 non-stop flights that will get you home before midnight.
Philadelphia
3 nonstop flights get you to Miami by 9:45am.
On the way home, there’s a non-stop flight that gets you home by 10:30pm. The other options get in just after midnight. A couple of those also connect in Atlanta or Charlotte.
Boston
American flight 747 leaves Logan at 6:00am, getting you to Miami with plenty of time to switch flights to get to Anguilla. On your way back, AA2539 will be your earliest option, getting you home before 11pm. JetBlue has a flight that leaves about an hour later as an alternative.
Hartford, CT
There’s an American Airlines flight at 6:15am that gets into Miami at 9:43am. There’s a single nonstop flight leaving Miami at 7:30pm to get you home by 10:30pm.
Atlanta
AA2344 is the only flight leaving Hartsfield-Jackson early enough to connect in Miami for your flight to Anguilla. On the return leg, though, there are more options between American and Delta to get you back to ATL. All get you in well before midnight, at a reasonable price, to boot.
DC
There are nonstop flights from both Reagan International and Baltimore/Washington, for each leg. Dulles isn’t a good option for this connection.
Chicago
The only practical flight from O’hare in the mornings is AA2341, which departs at 5:14am and reaches Miami at 9:19am. Fortunately, you’ll have lots of flight options on the way back from Anguilla.
Charlotte
AA770 is the only flight that gets you to Miami on time to catch your flight to AXA. On the way back, AA1577 is the only nonstop option. Other nonstop options cost more and get you back to Charlotte pretty late.
Dallas
American has flights leaving at 5am and 6am that will connect you from DFW. Your return trip has a few reasonably priced flights to get you back home by midnight.
Las Vegas
The red-eye AA2742 leaves McCarran at 10:54pm Friday (or Tuesday) night, and gets to Miami at 6:24am Saturday (or Wednesday) morning. Tough, but doable. You’re probably going to crash once you get to Anguilla, so maybe order in Saturday night and rest up for Sunday.
The return is actually quite straightforward. There are multiple flights to choose from, and with the time difference, you can get back to Vegas by 10pm.
Los Angeles
There are 3 nonstop, red-eye flights by American and JetBlue that get you to Miami by 7:30am. For sure, you’ll be exhausted by the time you get to Anguilla, but that’s par for the course.
Similar to Vegas, on the way back, the time difference works in your favor, so a number of flights will get you home before midnight.
Toronto
There are direct flights from Toronto to SXM, but if you want to get into Anguilla without the ferry, the good news is that it’s really just an extra 15 minutes flight time, compared to New York. There are direct flights either way to connect you in time to get to and from Anguilla on our new direct flight.
Price
Flights are available for booking now, and the fares are very competitive.
Examples of round-trip tickets from popular destinations in January:
- Miami – $420
- Atlanta – $430
- Boston, DC, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago – $480
- Los Angeles – $590
Your rate may be higher, but we see this as a promising sign that American considers this a viable route.
A welcome option for getting to Anguilla easier
No matter where you are coming from, there are many options that will get you to Anguilla with just one connection in Miami at very competitive fares.
Anguilla is open, a lot more accessible, and ready to welcome you.
