Misleading Low Price Guarantee for Choice Air

Yesterday, before I booked Choice Air with Celebrity for an Alaska cruise, I did my homework. I knew exactly what the Delta price was for economy class seats on the flights that I was pretty sure Choice Air would offer. The flights were exactly the same, yet the price Choice Air quoted was about $70 more than what was on the Delta website.

 

When I brought up the Low Price Guarantee, the representative asked me to look at the letter class of economy on Delta. Choice Air was offering Economy(K), whereas on Delta it was Economy(L).

 

I realize there are (very) minor differences between these classes, but since a customer has essentially no way to choose one over another, the Low Price Guarantee becomes meaningless. Celebrity's offer is like those offensive appliance ads that guarantee the lowest price, but the models they have bear unique numbers so you will never find the exact thing elsewhere.

 

I booked the Choice Air anyway because I wanted the security of the emergency help on this trip (tricky timing), but I would have appreciated less misleading hype from Celebrity. We should be able to buy the same air from them as we can independently. Their advantage in providing Choice Air is that they will have fewer problems getting people on the ship if they are in on the process.

 

I booked the Choice Air anyway because I wanted the security of the emergency help on this trip (tricky timing), but I would have appreciated less misleading hype from Celebrity. We should be able to buy the same air from them as we can independently. Their advantage in providing Choice Air is that they will have fewer problems getting people on the ship if they are in on the process.

 

And YOUR advantage is the peace of mind knowing that you've bought a ticket that ENSURES you will get on the ship... Either by it waiting for you or Choice Air making arrangements / pay to have you catch up to it.

 

No other Airline is going to do that for you... And certainly not for $ 70

 

In this case, particularly so as it a Cruise to Alaska, and we are talking a rugged Cdn & US Coastline with not many Big City Airports along the Ship's course to fly into easily on your own if you needed tothink you got an excellent deal.

 

When I use Choice Air I do so primarily for Cruising peace of mind... I find their pricing very competitive for the same flights (like yourself I check my Airline choice first). They can be anywhere from cheaper, spot on, or a little more. When more it is under $ 100 in my experience (most often around the $ 50 mark). Considering that on a plane rarely do seats sell at the same price (intentional price changes by the Airlines) I don't find Choice Air's mark up bad at all knowing the EXTRA that I am getting that others on the fight don't get / need.

 

Cheers!

Edited August 21, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB
Edit to add last para

You didn't mention the airport transfers offered by X but not by Delta

And YOUR advantage is the peace of mind knowing that you've bought a ticket that ENSURES you will get on the ship... Either by it waiting for you or Choice Air making arrangements / pay to have you catch up to it.

 

No other Airline is going to do that for you... And certainly not for $ 70

 

In this case, particularly so as it a Cruise to Alaska, and we are talking a rugged Cdn & US Coastline with not many Big City Airports along the Ship's course to fly into easily on your own if you needed tothink you got an excellent deal.

 

When I use Choice Air I do so primarily for Cruising peace of mind... I find their pricing very competitive for the same flights (like yourself I check my Airline choice first). They can be anywhere from cheaper, spot on, or a little more. When more it is under $ 100 in my experience (most often around the $ 50 mark). Considering that on a plane rarely do seats sell at the same price (intentional price changes by the Airlines) I don't find Choice Air's mark up bad at all knowing the EXTRA that I am getting that others on the fight don't get / need.

 

Cheers!

 

I agree with you completely which is why I bought the Choice Air. My complaint isn't in the value but in the misleading implications. People who may not need the extra security that a Choice Air ticket provides should be aware that they may be able to do much better arranging their own airfare. Being drawn to Choice Air because it has a Low Price Guarantee when it essentially doesn't, is not honest.

 

You didn't mention the airport transfers offered by X but not by Delta

 

Airport transfers are not included in Choice Air. I believe they are included in the standard cruise air.

This past spring we used CA for our cruise out of FLL with no problems flying in n/s the same day as cruise. We inquired about air for our cruise next spring out of FLL and were told there were no n/s available. When talking with them on phone my DW was online finding n/s flights but they still insisted they were not available! Figure that one out!:confused::confused::confused:

I sure like the idea of choice air but I do not the extent they go to to get you to your ship. I have read reports they do not go all out.

 

As far as getting home due to cancellation and delay, choice air did not help us. They left it to the airline.

 

 

Would like to hear others experiences.

And YOUR advantage is the peace of mind knowing that you've bought a ticket that ENSURES you will get on the ship... Either by it waiting for you or Choice Air making arrangements / pay to have you catch up to it.

 

No other Airline is going to do that for you... And certainly not for $ 70

 

 

Do let me know where, in their terms and conditions, they promise/guarantee/ensure to get you to the ship and I'll say that the $70 was worth it.

Yesterday, before I booked Choice Air with Celebrity for an Alaska cruise, I did my homework. I knew exactly what the Delta price was for economy class seats on the flights that I was pretty sure Choice Air would offer. The flights were exactly the same, yet the price Choice Air quoted was about $70 more than what was on the Delta website.

 

When I brought up the Low Price Guarantee, the representative asked me to look at the letter class of economy on Delta. Choice Air was offering Economy(K), whereas on Delta it was Economy(L).

 

I realize there are (very) minor differences between these classes, but since a customer has essentially no way to choose one over another, the Low Price Guarantee becomes meaningless. Celebrity's offer is like those offensive appliance ads that guarantee the lowest price, but the models they have bear unique numbers so you will never find the exact thing elsewhere.

 

I booked the Choice Air anyway because I wanted the security of the emergency help on this trip (tricky timing), but I would have appreciated less misleading hype from Celebrity. We should be able to buy the same air from them as we can independently. Their advantage in providing Choice Air is that they will have fewer problems getting people on the ship if they are in on the process.

If it was more expensive to book through Choice Air, why didn't you book directly through the airline? Choice Air does not guarantee you will make the ship on time.

 

Anyway, the fare letter (L or K) is not the entire story behind your fare class.

I don't know where to start with the misconceptions and errors in this thread already. But as one of the denizens of Cruise Air, let me try.

 

First, about the fare class. This is more specifically about the fare buckets used for inventory management, and then about the underlying "fare". (And "fare" does not mean "price"). Choice uses negotiated rates, as evidenced by the fact that they will NOT offer you the lower priced fare in "L". The order of DL fares is: F P A Y B M S H Q K L U T X V E. So you were never going to have the same "fare" because that's obviously a negotiated one not available to the public that they are trying to move.

 

As for the "security of the emergency help", I am sorry to say but that is more marketing talk than actual reality. If you look at the T&C for Choice Air, you will find it full of wiggle room lawyer talk that basically means they have no responsibility for anything, and are merely an agent selling the ticket. And no, they are not "in on the process". Do you really think that a cruiseline has staff sitting watching the status of every flight in America to be "in on the process".

 

Sloop...how can you say this ENSURES (to use your emphasis) you will be on the ship? Because it simply doesn't. You are paying for non-existent "extras" while often getting a different, more restrictive product. And your comment about intentional price changes shows a great misunderstanding of the mechanisms of airline ticket pricing.

 

Diesel - they didn't offer a non-stop because they didn't have it in THEIR inventory, which is pre-booked in bulk. Choice doesn't give you full realtime access to airline inventory.

 

Hula - you are right. They will refer you to the airline. And since you have restricted tickets, you are often at the bottom of the heap when it comes to re-accommodation.

 

At the top of the Cruise Air forum is a sticky on cruiseline air. I highly suggest you all read it and learn just what is the product that you are buying - and how it differs from what the airline provides. Then, if you still wish to believe the marketing weasel words -go ahead. All I care about is education. And then do a search in Cruise Air about cruiseline air, Choice air and the like. An educated consumer is the best consumer.

I have always done my own homework before booking with Choice Air never assuming they were always the best value.

I believe they have a $15 booking fee that they add into the cost but won't mention it unless directly asked.

 

Having said this, I have been quite pleased with their pricing having saved more then $70 on occasion .

I not sure if your $70 was for return or not but I have booked one way with Choice Air in the past.

I got the extra layer of security going to my cruise and booked my own flight back.

I got the best of both.

 

Edited because of FlyerTalk's knowledgeable post - I realize that Choice Air's "insurance" is very limited but not always useless.

Edited August 21, 2014 by richstowe

After a weather incident returning from Venice we were, circled, landed on a tarmac for refueling and not let off, circled some more and after nine hours of this and crossing the Atlantic were let off the plane. Many hours late.

 

While on the tarmac we called choice air who informed us with a great deal of certainty that they would call Delta for us and have a room available, as we had long missed our connection.

 

We called our insurance too. They said send the bills.

 

Foolishly, we believed this nonsense. By the time we got up to the gate to get our room and reschedule our flight, there was not a room left in NYC. because thousands of other passengers had correctly called hotels! The airline said no, they were not going to help and we did not get on the next best flight out. Ten hours later we boarded a flight after spending a night in JFK. Our insurance paid for the fee we paid to get a shower and our 36 hour nightmare was finally over. We learned as we boarded the flight another one for other passengers without choice air tickets had left hours earlier.

I would still try and make a claim for the difference. The rep you spoke with only explained why they couldn't match the price you saw. Worth taking a few screen prints and giving it a shot.

We learned as we boarded the flight another one for other passengers without choice air tickets had left hours earlier.

 

And this is what happens far more often than not with Choice Air tickets when there is a glitch.

 

They are generally HEAVILY restricted. They cannot be used on another airline (NON ENDORSABLE) and very often, you must fly the ORIGINAL routing (NON REROUTABLE).

 

So you are essentially STUCK with what you originally purchased. And you don't know all these little "gotcha's" when you purchase Choice Air tickets because unlike airline direct tickets, you can't read the ENTIRE fare rules. And only one person has ever been able to come up with the ENTIRE fare code and after much research by those of us that fly a lot and have a lot of airline knowledge and access to a lot of internal airline info, the tickets were DEFINITELY a NON PUBLISHED fare. And on a non published fare, the RULES can be ANYTHING the cruise line/travel agent/ tour operator agree to. Some are so restrictive that if you miss the original flight, your ticket is TOTALLY no good. Not even any residual value.

 

And a lot of Choice Air tickets are purchased initially by the cruise line as cruise/vacation package tickets under those cruise/vacation package rules. Don't take the cruise, your air ticket is NO GOOD. How would you know??? You don't. You are essentially buying blind from a stack of tickets "sitting on a shelf" that were purchased on contract, in bulk, well over a year in advance of the flight. There are very, very few Choice Air tickets that are purchased in real time and as a general rule, those are NOT the cheaper tickets.

 

There are NO GUARANTEES to get you to the ship with a Choice Air ticket. When the mods put the conversation with the head of Choice Air in a sticky, ALL of us that frequent this board asked over and over about the GUARANTEE. After a lot of waffling-we will try, we will work with the airlines, we will make every accommodation, when it is feasible-the TRUTH finally came out. NO GUARANTEE. They aren't hiring you a private jet or a helicopter and if you don't have a passport or PVSA rules impede your progress, you are just SOL.

 

PLEASE don't put your faith in a Choice Air GUARANTEE that is not real. And PLEASE know what you are buying. If you can't read the ENTIRE fare rules, you TRULY have no idea what you purchased.

Edited August 21, 2014 by greatam

I would still try and make a claim for the difference. The rep you spoke with only explained why they couldn't match the price you saw. Worth taking a few screen prints and giving it a shot.

 

THEY DON'T HAVE THOSE TICKETS in their inventory. So they sure won't price match something they don't possess. Choice Air tickets are NOT generally purchased in real time as airline direct tickets are. Most were purchased a year or more in advance of the flight and are just "sitting on a shelf" waiting for a name to be attached to them.

And for those who STILL want to believe there is some kind of GUARANTEE, this directly out of the Celebrity Cruise Contract (RCCL's reads the same way). The cruise contract SUPERSEDES anything else.

 

Please note-unless something is actually OWNED by the cruise line (usually the ship, tenders and a few hotels in Alaska plus a couple of private islands), there are NO GUARANTEES about anything. Everything-excursions, hotels, booking airline tickets-is done as a CONVENIENCE for the passenger.

 

 

5. SHORE EXCURSIONS, TOURS, FACILITIES OR OTHER TRANSPORTATION:

All arrangements made for or by Passenger for transportation (other than on the Vessel or on any Transport owned or operated by RCT in connection with a RCT Land Tour) before, during or after the Cruise or CruiseTour of any kind whatsoever, as well as air arrangements, shore excursions, tours, hotels,

restaurants, attractions and other similar activities or services, including all related conveyances, products or facilities, are made solely for Passenger's convenience and are at Passenger's risk.

 

The providers, owners and operators of such services, conveyances, products and facilities are independent contractors and are not acting as agents or representatives of Carrier. Even though Carrier may collect a fee for, or otherwise profit from, making such arrangements and offers for sale shore excursions, tours, hotels, restaurants, attractions, elements of the RCT Land Tour packages that are provided by independent contractors and other similar activities or services taking place off the Vessel for a profit, it does not undertake to supervise or control such independent contractors or their employees, nor maintain their conveyances or facilities, and makes no representation, whether express or implied, regarding their suitability or safety. In no event shall Carrier be liable for any loss, delay, disappointment, damage, injury, death or other harm whatsoever to Passenger which occurs on or off the Vessel or the Transport as a result of any acts, omissions or negligence of any independent contractors.

Edited August 21, 2014 by greatam

Another agree with Flyertalk. He has educated us and knows what he is talking about.

 

Whether anyone wants to believe it or not, after reading so many posts, it appears like for every 1 positive experience with Choice Air, there are 10 negative stories.

 

Not my kind of odds.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Another agree with Flyertalk. He has educated us and knows what he is talking about.

 

Whether anyone wants to believe it or not, after reading so many posts, it appears like for every 1 positive experience with Choice Air, there are 10 negative stories.

 

Not my kind of odds.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

10 to 1 negative experiences / Please!:mad:

 

There seems to be a piling on against Choice Air comparing its tickets to full economy ticket with no restrictions. Ha!

You are paying nothing like a full fare ticket. Comparing it to that it misleading at best.

Where is this Shangri-la where I can get discounted tickets with the same prices CA

offers but with none of the restrictions ?

 

Just a short story. I booked a Med cruise with an on-line TA (who share CC's initials) and also booked

Choice Air through them.

I took the flight the agent recommended which corresponded to what I saw on CA's site.

I discovered a much better flight which offered a direct flight meaning a 5+ hours shorter trip.

The TA wanted nothing to do with this and completely washed her hands of me.

I called CA and plead with them. They couldn't have been nicer. They changed my ticket only charging me

the extra 70 dollars per ticket which this ticket flight was listed as. They had no obligation to help me BUT they did.:)

I haven't had another such issue since but have used them twice since without incident.

Edited August 21, 2014 by richstowe

and your advantage is the peace of mind knowing that you've bought a ticket that ensures you will get on the ship... Either by it waiting for you or choice air making arrangements / pay to have you catch up to it.

 

LOL :D

 

That's brilliant!

Edited August 21, 2014 by fbgd

There seems to be a piling on against Choice Air comparing its tickets to full economy ticket with no restrictions. Ha!

You are paying nothing like a full fare ticket. Comparing it to that it misleading at best.

No piling on. And no, I have NEVER made a comparison with a fully-refundable "Y" ticket. It's comparing non-refundable, advance purchase with cruiseline non-refundable, bulk purchase. So please check your apples and oranges one more time.

Where is this Shangri-la where I can get discounted tickets with the same prices CA offers but with none of the restrictions ?

No one says "none" of the restrictions. Unless you are buying a 100% fully-refundable ticket in "Y" class, then you will have some restrictions. Just what the restrictions are....aha, that's the rub. What you are purchasing with cruiseline air are the most heavily restricted tickets out there - more so than what you get from the airline directly. And most of the time, you can't find out what the actual restrictions are until after purchase, if even then. So please end the misdirection by trying to introduce refundable tickets into the discussion. Because they aren't an apple or orange, they are a bowling ball.

 

And if you are choosing to use one-way international tickets as your "bargain", many low cost options exist if you'll look beyond AA, DL, UA and US. It just requires a bit of creativity and the ability to get out of the box. I have used Icelandair for TATL one-ways after crossings. I have used open jaws to do two crossings with one air ticket. I've used foreign carriers and created my own itineraries. But you have to get beyond the UA/DL/AA/US paradigm.

They couldn't have been nicer. They changed my ticket only charging me the extra 70 dollars per ticket which this ticket flight was listed as. They had no obligation to help me BUT they did.:)

And I would say that you were very lucky. It could be that they actually wanted your ticket back to sell to someone else.

I haven't had another such issue since but have used them twice since without incident.

And that's why this difference seems so meaningless to most. Because, when things go smoothly, you won't notice a difference in your flight experience. Your seat will be just as cramped, you'll still have the same TSA searches and your luggage will still take forever to come off the belt. But it isn't then that matters. It's when things go, to paraphrase Globaliser, pearshaped - that's when the difference in the tickets comes into play. And that's when you need the absolute most you can going for you, not restricting your options and hurting you in the end.

 

Is it worth the savings in cash? Only each individual can decide. But you need to make those decisions with your eyes open and your mind in analytic mode. That's what the free market is all about. And it's why Barnum made a bundle.

Flyer Talker , I have no doubt you are very experienced in air travel but seriously ......

 

 

My Quote:

They couldn't have been nicer. They changed my ticket only charging me the extra 70 dollars per

ticket which this ticket flight was listed as. They had no obligation to help me BUT they did.

 

And I would say that you were very lucky. It could be that they actually wanted your ticket back to sell to someone else.

Seriously ? That is your response ? :confused: They were waiting for my crappy 1 stop tickets from YUL to CIA ?:rolleyes:

And it's why Barnum made a bundle.

Again you lose any pretense at objectivity when you suggest those who use CA are suckers.

And YOUR advantage is the peace of mind knowing that you've bought a ticket that ENSURES you will get on the ship... Either by it waiting for you or Choice Air making arrangements / pay to have you catch up to it.

 

No other Airline is going to do that for you... And certainly not for $ 70

.......

 

Choice Air is NOT an airline!

 

Do you seriously believe that Choice Air is going to prevent a cruise ship from departing on time because someone who bought an airline ticket through them had a delayed flight? Not in a million years!

Richstowe...wasn't referring totally about 10 negative CA comments to 1 positive one for ticket pricing per say, but many many more complaints about what they don't do if a bad situation occurs for the person(s) who purchased tickets from them.

 

Maybe you were one of the lucky ticket people. Just like an instant lottery ticket... There are always a few winners in every few hundred tickets from the pile.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

Seriously ? That is your response ? :confused: They were waiting for my crappy 1 stop tickets from YUL to CIA ?:rolleyes:

It's possible. Not necessarily likely, but possible. What I was most emphasizing was that you were quite lucky to get that change. And that there may have been some reason other than the goodness of their heart involved.

Again you lose any pretense at objectivity when you suggest those who use CA are suckers.

And again, you misstate what was written. If you notice, I did not disparage purchasers of cruiseline air. I disparage those who make purchases without being informed and aware of what they are buying. Those are the suckers - and it applies to far more than just airline tickets.

 

Read closely. Words have meanings, words carry import, words mean what the words say (and especially in cruiseline contracts/terms & conditions). It was you for made that leap to all users of cruiseline air.

Above and beyond all of the cruise air discussion is the Alaska cruise focus.........

This is a tricky itinerary to book to begin with IF, as the OP mentioned, there MIGHT be a tight connection or same day flight. The OP was not clear about that part of the ticketing.

If the OP misses embarkation due to a flight issue, and depending on the itinerary, he may not be able to board at all. Cruise Air cannot protect him in this circumstance AT ALL.

What Delta could do, given at least their lowest fare would be assistance which he cannot get without an unusually understanding agent. The only other plus would be at the least Gold frequent flyer status with Delta.

An additional recommendation for the OP is to monitor the flight(s) for the possibility of changes.

Choice Air does not guarantee you will make the ship on time.

 

In fact, Choice Air doesn't even guarantee that you will make the ship, period. It's not just a matter of "oh, if we miss the ship they guarantee they'll get us on at the next port of call." They don't guarantee anything.

 

Hula - you are right. They will refer you to the airline. And since you have restricted tickets, you are often at the bottom of the heap when it comes to re-accommodation.

 

In all fairness, there have been reports from pax who were indeed simply referred to the airline to work it out themselves, but there have also been reports from folks who said CA stepped in an took care of anything. Lesson to be taken is that once again- there are no guarantees of if or how anything will be handled by CA.