Government Secrets (Don't Open)
Departure Airport: Miami International Airport (MIA/KMIA)
Arrival Airport: Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS/MYNN)
Aircraft: 737-700
Airline: Bahamasair
Flight Time: 58 minutes
Server: Expert
I got to the airport at 2:00 PM, about 90 minutes before my flight. It was a relatively quiet day at Miami International, and I had no problems dropping my bag and clearing TSA. The trouble began once I reached the gate. I was notified of a 45 minute delay because of weather in Miami. The skies outside were looking awfully grey, with a foreboding storm buildup out to the west, rapidly approaching. This delay wasn’t too concerning, as I had nowhere to be in a rush, but as the 45 minute mark approached, I realized that my plane was still on the ground in Nassau. When I approached the gate agent and inquired about this, she only gave dodgy answers, not really letting on everything she knew.
I was a bit annoyed, but received an email shortly thereafter with another delay notification, this time of a further hour due to “en route weather.” The gate agent gave the 40-some passengers meal vouchers, which I gladly accepted. The hour mark rolled around, and our plane was still in Nassau. After a third time approaching the airline staff, they finally announced that our flight was delayed 2 more hours. I was quite peeved at this point, but it was out of my control. I considered switching to the 6:35 American flight, but realized quickly it was too complicated, since my bags were already checked with Bahamasair. Finally, at about 5:40, our plane took off from Lynden Pindling International Airport.
It arrived around 7:00, having deviated all the way down to Cuba to avoid the worst of the weather. The skies around Miami had cleared, but there was a menacing squall sitting out over the Atlantic. I have to hand it to Bahamasair - they were extremely efficient with this turnaround. We were all onboard by 7:30, with our bags loaded and everything. It was clear the plane hadn’t been cleaned between flights, but I honestly could care less.
We pushed back around 7:35, and made our way out to 8R for departure. It was a light load, with maybe 45 passengers total. The crew looked frazzled after a long day, and the captain had warned us that it would be a turbulent ride across to Nassau today, punching right through those storms.
Our 737-700 took off like a rocket, which was captured by a spotter.
We climbed out over Miami Beach and Key Biscayne, which was very smooth, almost weirdly so. As we made our way out onto the open ocean, things started to change. Initially, it was just a little light chop, barely noticeable. While pressing on a bit further, we hit the first patch of storms. It was absolutely hellish. The plane was being shaken like a baby’s rattle. The wings flexed and dropped as we were jolted up and down. I was silent, a white knuckle grip on the armrests. I’m never generally a nervous flyer, but even this was a little much for me. Most of the passengers were screaming as we sliced our way through the tempest. My seatmate, a kind old woman visiting her grandkids on the islands, was even mouthing a prayer.
As we pressed on, it didn’t let up. For obvious reasons, the flight attendants didn’t do any service. From my vantage point, even one of the stewards looked slightly ill, much like the majority of my fellow passengers who were suffering from varying degrees of motion sickness. The captain came on a few times to reassure us, but it was of little use.
There were a few small gaps in the storm where things calmed down, but they didn’t last for long. Even though it was less than an hour, it felt like the longest flight of my life.
We crossed Andros Island and began our arrival into Nassau, descending from 21,000 feet. To avoid the worst pockets of the storm, this evening’s approach took us all the way to the far east side of New Providence Island before wrapping around far to the North and then down again for a landing on Runway 14.
In the short time between storm clouds, we were afforded beautiful views of Nassau in the sunset, which almost made up for the turbulence. The turbulence persisted all the way through our flight, not letting up for more than a half a minute at a time. A few rows ahead of me, an overhead bin popped open. Thankfully, it was empty, but I was a little concerned that a bag would come flying out and hurt someone. The captain came on the PA again to tell us that he was going to get us into Nassau as fast as safely possible. He informed us that, in his 21 years of flying in the Bahamas, he’d never been in such a bumpy storm system, even during hurricanes.
We hit the runway incredibly hard and bounced once before coming to a stop. We were fighting crosswinds until the bitter end, with the wing tipping every which way right up to the point of landing. As the reverse thrusters calmed down and the cabin was quiet, apart from the sound of the steady rainfall on the aluminum roof, everyone burst into a raucous round of applause, complete with whistling and shouting. Normally, something like this would annoy me, but I was more than happy to join in on it just this once.
The taxi to the gate was really short, and I couldn’t get off this plane fast enough. I poked my head into the cockpit as we deplaned and thanked the pilots, who both looked a bit burnt out. The first officer explained to me that it was a real fight to keep the wings level on approach, and that, if conditions had been any worse, we would have had to push our way back West through the storm and divert to Miami.
Which Picture Did You Like Best?
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) but I love the livery.
