My wife and I are flying from SFO to St Maarten the 19th of this month to pick up for
delivery back to the US the
boat which we have just purchased in
St Martin. Crew is flying from
Seattle. I was concerned that the airlines would not let us board without proof of return or ongoing tickets from SXM as that is a St Maarten immigration requirement.
I was planning bringing a copy of the Bill of
Sale and sending my crew a letter stating that she would be sailing out as crew, but the person that answered a call to American Airlines customer
service flatly states that without ongoing transportation, or a waiver from St Maarten immigration, they will not let us board. I have sent a letter to St Maarten immigration asking for a statement (no one answers the listed phone), but do not have high hopes for quick bureaucracy, even Dutch bureaucracy.
Has anyone else had any experience with convincing airlines to let you board an international flight without return tickets?
For what it's worth, last month I was turned away from the same AA counter in SFO for having a passport that would expire in 2 1/2 months, even though my return flight to the US would be in five days. St Maarten does not require that the passport be valid beyond the duration of the stay - that's an airline policy. Fortunately, I was able to get a rush passport renewal and fly the next day.