Four of us booked to SXM with Virgin and flew from Gatwick to Antigua two years ago,we reclaimed our 4 suitcases at Antigua and checked-in at the LIAT desk for the short hop over to SXM.
The flight was full (Dash 8-100) and when we landed at SXM we stood for about an hour in the baggage reclaim area and only our smallest bag ever appeared.
We went to see the supervisor to report 3 suitcases missing,he wasn't surprised and said it happens all the time with LIAT as their aircraft simply cannot carry a full load with all the bags.
Our bags arrived at our hotel (Sonesta Great Bay) 16 hours later.
It happened on the way back too,even though the LIAT check-in staff attached large bright orange "PRIORITY" tags to them all.This time 3 got to Antigua and the 4th arrived at our house 78 hours later.
So fly direct from Paris or Amsterdam if you're travelling from Europe,your cases might just arrive on the island on the same flight as you!
Apart from that we had a great time
