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Transatlantic / returning by air


Eric2005
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Cunard used to offer a sail / fly package but apparently not now. The problem now is to get a return air ticket that is affordable -- or do I have to buy a RT ticket and throw away the return portion? Any advice. I'll be flying London-NY.

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  • 4 weeks later...

They still do offer sail/fly packages but if you are in the US it has to be booked by telephone or through a TA. In the UK TAs include one way flights but that involves only two airports - JFK and Heathrow. In the US you won't see flights on Cunard's booking site because we are in many different places.

 

If you are already booked then call Cunard and inquire.

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Cunard used to offer a sail / fly package but apparently not now. The problem now is to get a return air ticket that is affordable -- or do I have to buy a RT ticket and throw away the return portion? Any advice. I'll be flying London-NY.

 

I have always found this possible but always done it by telephone with Cunard to arrange specific timings and days and indeed upgrades from economy. I have never had a problem and often arranged different airports e.g. arrive into Fort Lauderdale by ship and fly back from Orlando. The prices are usually very competitive - I can imagine Cunard have a very significant flight department.

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Cunard used to offer a sail / fly package but apparently not now. The problem now is to get a return air ticket that is affordable -- or do I have to buy a RT ticket and throw away the return portion? Any advice. I'll be flying London-NY.

We are sailing east bound QM2, spending some time in London, then flying back to Philly. We are flying biz class. I couldn't believe it when the Cunard Air quote was just a little over 20% the price quoted on the British Airways web site. Made the return air almost a bargain. By all means, call Cunard, they will gladly quote you a price, and I think you will find it not only competitive, but a relative bargain.

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We are sailing east bound QM2, spending some time in London, then flying back to Philly. We are flying biz class. I couldn't believe it when the Cunard Air quote was just a little over 20% the price quoted on the British Airways web site. Made the return air almost a bargain. By all means, call Cunard, they will gladly quote you a price, and I think you will find it not only competitive, but a relative bargain.

 

For the past decade or more, we've not investigated cruise line air when booking a cruise (on any line). But hearing that Cunard air had good deals caught my eye, so I was curious about specifics.

 

Are you saying that Cunard's price was over 20% higher than the published fare ...and this is a bargain?

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...

 

Are you saying that Cunard's price was over 20% higher than the published fare ...and this is a bargain?

 

More than likely the other way around.....

 

Cunard charged us $600 for an open jaw economy ticket : 1) Baltimore to LHR, and 2) JFK to BWI.

 

The cost for the BWI-LHR segmant through the airline (BA) would have been $1572!

 

Aloha,

 

John

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For the past decade or more, we've not investigated cruise line air when booking a cruise (on any line). But hearing that Cunard air had good deals caught my eye, so I was curious about specifics.

 

Are you saying that Cunard's price was over 20% higher than the published fare ...and this is a bargain?

Ok, here is the quote I'm taking directly from BA booking engine. I'm factoring USD = 1.25 GBP, which would yield a price on May travel LHR to PHL of 9,429 USD A SEAT! The Cunard Air price for the same seat about one week ago (price fluctuates with currency) was 2,121 USD. That's 22.5% the cost BA direct, or a savings of 77.5%.

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I had the same results two years ago. I was offered a really good price on the first segment of QE's world voyage but looking at the one way airfares they were about twice as much as the cruise so I almost gave up. Instead I called Cunard and they quoted me a price that was about 20% of booking on my own. They even allowed me to choose which connecting airport I wanted and allowed me to fly in a few days early. As far as I am concerned booking one way air through the cruise line is the only way to do so to get a good price.

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We have flown Icelandair twice now from JFK, once to Gatwick, the other to Heathrow, both prior to a QM2 crossing.

The price in Economy Comfort was 1/3 the cost of a one-way ticket on one of the major airlines. With Economy Comfort you can check two bags and use the BA lounge at JFK prior to boarding. And the middle seat is blocked, giving you more room.

Yes, you have to change in Reykjavik, but they have the entire process down to a science - it runs like clockwork.

We just booked them again for another crossing later this year. Worth checking out.

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Thank you for the clarification!

 

It was my misunderstanding. I thought the 20% that you mentioned was in addition to the published fare, i.e. 120%

 

Thank you for explaining. Last year, we redeemed miles, and this year we're doing a RT, so we're not booking transatlantic air, BUT I certainly will ask our TA to talk to Cunard for trips in the future.

 

- Mark

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Thank you for the clarification!

 

It was my misunderstanding. I thought the 20% that you mentioned was in addition to the published fare, i.e. 120%

 

Thank you for explaining. Last year, we redeemed miles, and this year we're doing a RT, so we're not booking transatlantic air, BUT I certainly will ask our TA to talk to Cunard for trips in the future.

 

- Mark

Just FYI, and maybe your TA works differently than ours (we use a TA at one of the big discount cruise sellers), we had to book the air portion ourselves, calling Cunard directly. Air fare has been "non-commissionable" for many years now.

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Just FYI, and maybe your TA works differently than ours (we use a TA at one of the big discount cruise sellers), we had to book the air portion ourselves, calling Cunard directly. Air fare has been "non-commissionable" for many years now.

That's certainly been one of my questions in the process. If I book the cruise via a travel agent, Cunard will speak to me directly about add-on airfare?

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That's certainly been one of my questions in the process. If I book the cruise via a travel agent, Cunard will speak to me directly about add-on airfare?

My experience is that yes, Cunard will speak directly to you about the air portion, and send any air add ons to the fare to your TA. I booked air portion back in the fall, I checked pricing a little over a week ago, pricing had gone down a little over 100 USD pp, so I had Cunard Air adjust the price. It was a bit complicated, as it was a case of cancel, then rebook. The old booking ceased to exist, and a new booking was created, with a new confirmation number. The Cunard agent then needed to select the seats we wanted, again. And, we will need to fill out the immigration info for BA, again. I'll check for price drops once again just before making final payment, if there is any worthwhile price drop, I'll cancel and rebook through Cunard. FYI, I believe the air is refundable until 45 days out, if booked through Cunard.

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They still do offer sail/fly packages but if you are in the US it has to be booked by telephone or through a TA. In the UK TAs include one way flights but that involves only two airports - JFK and Heathrow. In the US you won't see flights on Cunard's booking site because we are in many different places.

 

If you are already booked then call Cunard and inquire.

 

On my return from New York JFK in December we flew to London Gatwick.

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That's certainly been one of my questions in the process. If I book the cruise via a travel agent, Cunard will speak to me directly about add-on airfare?

 

Our experience was Cunard Air Support flatly refused to speak to us and simply referred us back to our TA.

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Our experience was Cunard Air Support flatly refused to speak to us and simply referred us back to our TA.

 

I would suppose that would be reasonable if the original booking had not included a Cunard 'Air Package'.

 

In the event that it did then Cunard surely, having paid a commission to the Travel Agent, should rightly see the TA earn their keep.

 

Just an opinion of course.

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  • 4 months later...
I had the same results two years ago. I was offered a really good price on the first segment of QE's world voyage but looking at the one way airfares they were about twice as much as the cruise so I almost gave up. Instead I called Cunard and they quoted me a price that was about 20% of booking on my own. They even allowed me to choose which connecting airport I wanted and allowed me to fly in a few days early. As far as I am concerned booking one way air through the cruise line is the only way to do so to get a good price.

 

I called Cunard yesterday and was not quite ready to make a decision. The price yesterday for a one way, LHR to MIA was $1906pp for First Class. Today I spoke to someone who told me that the flight from yesterday was no longer an option (????) and that the flight would cost $5509pp for First Class. I have decided that I will keep calling until I get someone who might help. This particular Customer Rep was not at all helpful, was actually a bit rude, did not ask me to take the survey but did ask if I would like to buy wine for my stateroom. We board on February 5, 2018 so I think that the wine purchase will be something that we consider later on.

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Well, back again. It was a miscommunication between me and the agent. I want Upper Class on Virgin. I mistakenly asked for first class. We now have a direct flight from LHR to MIA for $1450pp. I have already chosen my seats. It is starting to feel real. :cool:

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Cunard used to offer a sail / fly package but apparently not now. The problem now is to get a return air ticket that is affordable -- or do I have to buy a RT ticket and throw away the return portion? Any advice. I'll be flying London-NY.

 

Cunard have a flight department to do this and the ability to get good deals on upgrades to Premium Economy or business. I can not quite understand why you say this is no longer available.

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