Air2Sea vs. EZair = NO CONTEST

We've been comparing transatlantics for April 2017. Toss up between Freedom of the Seas and Royal Princess. Freedom is 14 days and Royal Princess is 17 days. Got a much better price for the Freedom so we booked it several months ago.

We've been waiting for the air fares to open up (330 days prior) to complete our plans. Went to Air2Sea today and WOW, what a rude awakening! Couldn't find anything there that would get us to FLL on 16 April in time to make it to our Celebrity cruise on time (by 1:30 pm.) so looked for fares a day earlier. Cheapest fare offered (SYR to FLL 15 Apr. 2017 - BCN to SYR 8 May 2017) is a whopping $3498.32!!! Just out of curiosity, went to the Princess web site to compare fares on EZair for the Royal Princess cruise and found an early flight on the 16th arriving in FLL before noon and returning from BCN on 8 May 2017for $576.26!!!. Just to be fair, checked EZair for same dates as Air2Sea , 15 Apr. 2017 returning 8 May 2017 and found a great routing for $694.25.

Thought maybe it was the dates so I plugged in several options for Air2Sea and the prices were equally outrageous. Why would anyone choose Air2Sea?

For that matter, why would anyone do a transatlantic on RCCL? Yes, the transatlantic prices on Princess are higher but when you take into account the difference in air fares, Princess is the better deal by far. Plus, the fares on EZair are flexible, changeable and refundable up until 45 days prior to flying. Not so with Air2Sea.

I've heard folks talking about the good rates to be found with Air2Sea but I can't seem to find them. I prefer the Freedom of the Seas over the Royal Princess but not enough to pay such a premium. What am I missing?

Harry

... I've heard folks talking about the good rates to be found with Air2Sea but I can't seem to find them. ...

Our experience with Air2Sea (formerly Choice Air) has been that they have excellent prices for international flights from the US to Europe, especially one-way.

Our experience with Air2Sea (formerly Choice Air) has been that they have excellent prices for international flights from the US to Europe, especially one-way.

Thank you for your reply. I am so used to booking my entire air itinerary through EZair that it didn't occur to me to book only the Barcelona to JFK leg through Air2Sea. I went back and did a mock-booking for just that portion and the rate was very good. I guess I'll have to book the remainder directly through the airlines or as a second itinerary through Air2Sea. A bit of a pain but certainly doable. Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.

Harry

Thank you for your reply. I am so used to booking my entire air itinerary through EZair that it didn't occur to me to book only the Barcelona to JFK leg through Air2Sea. I went back and did a mock-booking for just that portion and the rate was very good. I guess I'll have to book the remainder directly through the airlines or as a second itinerary through Air2Sea. A bit of a pain but certainly doable. Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.

 

Harry

You're welcome, and I'm glad to have helped.:)

It may just be the way the online system is set up ... looking up open jaw return trips on RCI's site may not specifically search their consolidator tickets and instead returned the actual price you would have to pay for a one-way international ticket through the airline.

We got Orlando to Rome for $400 this October with A2S

It may just be the way the online system is set up ... looking up open jaw return trips on RCI's site may not specifically search their consolidator tickets and instead returned the actual price you would have to pay for a one-way international ticket through the airline.

I think you have something there. I can book the other flights (SYR to FLL and JFK to SYR) separately and get a decent price but when combine them all I get the really big numbers. Booking that way with EZair has never been a problem. Do you know if RCCL vacation planners could get better numbers than are available through the on line booking engine?

Harry

It may just be the way the online system is set up ... looking up open jaw return trips on RCI's site may not specifically search their consolidator tickets and instead returned the actual price you would have to pay for a one-way international ticket through the airline.

Not our experience. When booking our one-way from CLE to BCN in Business Class/First Class, the prices through ChoiceAir were substantially lower than what was published directly with the airline. And..........since we've booked, the prices have steadily increased.

I think you have something there. I can book the other flights (SYR to FLL and JFK to SYR) separately and get a decent price but when combine them all I get the really big numbers. Booking that way with EZair has never been a problem. Do you know if RCCL vacation planners could get better numbers than are available through the on line booking engine?

 

Harry

Our experience has been that the best pricing will be on international flights. Any domestic flight you should do better booking it on your own.

Here is the number to Choice Air 1-800-533-7803. You can also do some independent research using http://www.choiceair.com

We got Orlando to Rome for $400 this October with A2S

When I went in and booked just the Barcelona to JFK leg, the price was good; $386.89 non-stop on American Airlines. It's just so much simpler if I can do the entire booking at once. It's only when I do the Multi-Destination booking that I get the SCARY numbers. I'm just used to doing the Multi-Destination thing with EZair. Also, EZair's flexible fares (refundable, changeable, cancelable) are far and away a better way to go.

Harry

Thank you for your reply. I am so used to booking my entire air itinerary through EZair that it didn't occur to me to book only the Barcelona to JFK leg through Air2Sea. I went back and did a mock-booking for just that portion and the rate was very good. I guess I'll have to book the remainder directly through the airlines or as a second itinerary through Air2Sea. A bit of a pain but certainly doable. Thanks again for steering me in the right direction.

 

Harry

I know you have to pick up your luggage for customs at JFK anyway but you may not be able to just drop them off just after Customs but may have to take them to the check-in desk upstairs.

There will not be communication between the two tickets.

booked choice air may 2017 rome to philly $378 2 days post cruise.

we booked our DTW to SYD with ChoiceAir. Now when and where will the bill show up?

I know you have to pick up your luggage for customs at JFK anyway but you may not be able to just drop them off just after Customs but may have to take them to the check-in desk upstairs.

There will not be communication between the two tickets.

Laura is flying to Guam this week. I had to book Orlando to Atlanta seperate from her Atlanta to Guam tix (the one downside to living here). Luckily both flights are Delta. The said to just check her luggage all the way to Orlando for trip home.

She also has to do customs before she boards Atlanta to Orlando.

we booked our DTW to SYD with ChoiceAir. Now when and where will the bill show up?

The Choice Air fee will show up on your Royal cruise invoice. You can contact whoever booked your cruise and request a new invoice.

I think you have something there. I can book the other flights (SYR to FLL and JFK to SYR) separately and get a decent price but when combine them all I get the really big numbers. Booking that way with EZair has never been a problem. Do you know if RCCL vacation planners could get better numbers than are available through the on line booking engine?

 

Harry

Our last experience with A2Sea was we were seeing flights on the airline sites, but not A2Sea. Called A2Sea told them the airline, dates-times, and flight numbers. The agent did not see the flights in their system. He put me on hold, he called the airline, got the flights added to A2Sea, and he booked the flights for us. I still do not see these flights on the A2Sea's web site that we called about and it has been a couple months. They had other flights going to different cities, with longer flights that cost more. I could have booked straight with the airline, but I had the travel insurance through RCCL and which covered the flight at no extra cost.

Not our experience. When booking our one-way from CLE to BCN in Business Class/First Class, the prices through ChoiceAir were substantially lower than what was published directly with the airline. And..........since we've booked, the prices have steadily increased.

 

SilentBob was referring to the open jaw aspect of my booking where I tried to book not just the one way from Barcelona to JFK but rather SYR to FLL at the start and BCN to SYR at the end; sort of a pseudo round trip i.e. from SYR (beginning) to SYR (ending). If one tries to book such a flight on say Kayak, one gets prices in the $3000+ range. Your booking from CLE to BCN is more compatible with Air2Sea logarithms and yields favorable prices while adding the other flights to my request resulted in the very high pricing.

 

Our experience has been that the best pricing will be on international flights. Any domestic flight you should do better booking it on your own.

 

In this you are 100% correct. One-way fares through Air2Sea are very good. Adding domestic connections as SilentBob points out, results in much higher prices being quoted.

 

Here is the number to Choice Air 1-800-533-7803. You can also do some independent research using http://www.choiceair.com

Thank you for the number. I will call and see if they can do my entire itinerary at a better price than what results from an on-line inquiry.

1St block was a quote of a reply by cruisenfever. Second block only BOLD entires were quoted from cruisenfever. The other comments are mine. I guess I need a block of instruction on more than just booking through Air2Sea.

Harry

I was pricing air fares to get an idea more in schedules etc for our August 2017 TA back to Boston from Copenhagen. Checked airlines and other Web Sites, first couldn't get a Non Stop, on the day we wish to depart from home nor any flight with 1 stop for less then $500 + PP. However the RCCL Air to sea/E 2 air came out to $772.22 total for two people 1 way ( Non Stop) We will book a RT from our home in So Cal to Boston in plenty of time to catch the Icelandic Air flight to Copenhagen. Coming home from Boston we catch a noon flight and home by 6 PM.

We've been comparing transatlantics for April 2017. Toss up between Freedom of the Seas and Royal Princess. Freedom is 14 days and Royal Princess is 17 days. Got a much better price for the Freedom so we booked it several months ago.

 

We've been waiting for the air fares to open up (330 days prior) to complete our plans. Went to Air2Sea today and WOW, what a rude awakening! Couldn't find anything there that would get us to FLL on 16 April in time to make it to our Celebrity cruise on time (by 1:30 pm.) so looked for fares a day earlier. Cheapest fare offered (SYR to FLL 15 Apr. 2017 - BCN to SYR 8 May 2017) is a whopping $3498.32!!! Just out of curiosity, went to the Princess web site to compare fares on EZair for the Royal Princess cruise and found an early flight on the 16th arriving in FLL before noon and returning from BCN on 8 May 2017for $576.26!!!. Just to be fair, checked EZair for same dates as Air2Sea , 15 Apr. 2017 returning 8 May 2017 and found a great routing for $694.25.

 

Thought maybe it was the dates so I plugged in several options for Air2Sea and the prices were equally outrageous. Why would anyone choose Air2Sea?

For that matter, why would anyone do a transatlantic on RCCL? Yes, the transatlantic prices on Princess are higher but when you take into account the difference in air fares, Princess is the better deal by far. Plus, the fares on EZair are flexible, changeable and refundable up until 45 days prior to flying. Not so with Air2Sea.

 

I've heard folks talking about the good rates to be found with Air2Sea but I can't seem to find them. I prefer the Freedom of the Seas over the Royal Princess but not enough to pay such a premium. What am I missing?

 

Harry

Try booking one way tickets.

The Choice Air fee will show up on your Royal cruise invoice. You can contact whoever booked your cruise and request a new invoice.

Thanks Bob, I will contact my TA

Try booking one way tickets.

Yup! That's the way to go when booking Air2Sea. Now, if only they were refundable, changeable and cancelable at no extra charge.;)

Harry

Harry I totally agree with you there. In my earlier Post, had I not chosen to go the round trip to Boston then 1 way to Copenhagen, the total cost of all flights would have exceeded $2,000. I could have booked another cruise, either way the flights will be expensive so as soon as the dates open will do a final price check. The one advantage I see in using the E 2 Air, their prices seldom go up & down like the Airlines. In my opinion the cruise lines are chartering a plane because they have 200 people traveling to a destination for a cruise and can guarantee a full plane. I could be wrong but that is how I see it.

I read on this board that if you call you tend to get a better price than booking on the Air2Sea website. I have not done that yet as I had already booked my International flight via the website. And the domestic flight prices I have booked seemed right in line with the market. But next time I fly International - I will call to see if what I read was correct :-)

You just reminded me, unless they have changed the ruling, when booking a 1 way you need to call, the online booking won't let you book 1 way it is set up for Round Trip.

No surprise from me......Princess seems to have better rates...overall, and with the flex air no comparison. A princess agent books your air, with RCI you are actually booking thru a total different company.

I have had experience with both and have been very disappointed with the company that does the booking for RCI. With RCI though I am able to tell them what flight I want and then they tack on a 25 dollar fee.

Yes incredible deals from both companies on TAs or one ways that one will never find on their own. I have never booked a TA but I have certainly looked at air offered with them on both lines, because of the comments on CC and shocked at some fares.

I have flown fly to London, Europe a lot not cruise related.

I have booked a South American trip with princess this Jan. using flex air, which mean one can cancel or do changes up to 45 days before the cruise. So far I have changed my air 3 times. They also have a restricted option where you can pay when booking.

Bottom line from my experience, princess gives you far more flexibility and no commitment until final payment. Also their web site and customer service is superior.

You just reminded me, unless they have changed the ruling, when booking a 1 way you need to call, the online booking won't let you book 1 way it is set up for Round Trip.

Since 2011, I've booked 5 different Air2Sea (or Choice Air) flights online, all one-way, the most recent was yesterday.