Flights changed, what can I do?

[TheD1gitalMe]

Hi

 

I booked flights through Choice Air from Heathrow - Barcelona for a Transatlantic cruise. We fly out the same day as we cruise but RCI have just emailed me to tell me that my flight won't arrive in Barcelona until 12:25 so by the time we've been through baggage collection, got the transfer to ship and boarded we probably won't get to our stateroom till about 15:30 - 16:00. The ship departs at 17:00.

 

My real question is where do I stand if i phone up to change my flight? should I be able to change it without paying a deviation fee as it is RCI who changed the flight or do I have to put up with what I've got and really hope my flight isn't delayed?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

[shippmates]

You can call RCI Choice Air but I am guessing it was not RCI that changed your flights but the airlines. If your flights are on time you should not have problems getting to the ship. You would just miss out on some time on the ship before you sail.

[alwayscruizin]

Airline can change schedules and often do. This is a risk with booking in advance and traveling in on the same day. You can potentially make a change if an earlier flight is available but it may cost you a change fee. Your trip insurance may cover? Also as per the previous post if all goes on time you should make the ship!

[ChipLondon]

Have you established if your flight is in fact only booked with Royal Caribbean guests, because if that was the case even if the flight is delayed the ship would have to wait, if you have booked it as part of a package. :)

 

Hi

 

I booked flights through Choice Air from Heathrow - Barcelona for a Transatlantic cruise. We fly out the same day as we cruise but RCI have just emailed me to tell me that my flight won't arrive in Barcelona until 12:25 so by the time we've been through baggage collection, got the transfer to ship and boarded we probably won't get to our stateroom till about 15:30 - 16:00. The ship departs at 17:00.

 

My real question is where do I stand if i phone up to change my flight? should I be able to change it without paying a deviation fee as it is RCI who changed the flight or do I have to put up with what I've got and really hope my flight isn't delayed?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

[galavant3]

Whenever the airline has changed a flight, I've called them up and they have put me on another flight at no additional cost. Could you possibly come in on an earlier flight? Given the distance it could be the day before.

[cruisenfever]

Hi

 

I booked flights through Choice Air from Heathrow - Barcelona for a Transatlantic cruise. We fly out the same day as we cruise but RCI have just emailed me to tell me that my flight won't arrive in Barcelona until 12:25 so by the time we've been through baggage collection, got the transfer to ship and boarded we probably won't get to our stateroom till about 15:30 - 16:00. The ship departs at 17:00.

 

My real question is where do I stand if i phone up to change my flight? should I be able to change it without paying a deviation fee as it is RCI who changed the flight or do I have to put up with what I've got and really hope my flight isn't delayed?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

As as been previously posted, your airline changed your flight times not Choice Air/RCI. This happens a lot when book your air arrangements early.

 

Since the change was done by the Airline, you could call them and ask to be changed to an earlier flight, if one is available. This should be done at no extra charge to you since they made the change.

 

All passengers must be checked in 90 minutes prior to departure, so it looks like you will be checked in, you'll just miss a few hours in the afternoon on the ship.

[Zach1213]

Call the airline, but there is a decent chance they will refer you back to your travel agent - Royal Caribbean. RC handled all of the booking for your flights, so they may be required to be involved in this. Also, you run the risk of Choice Air flights being difficult to change because of their terms and conditions...but you should call immediately because that may or may not be the case.

[peteukmcr]

Hi

 

I booked flights through Choice Air from Heathrow - Barcelona for a Transatlantic cruise. We fly out the same day as we cruise but RCI have just emailed me to tell me that my flight won't arrive in Barcelona until 12:25 so by the time we've been through baggage collection, got the transfer to ship and boarded we probably won't get to our stateroom till about 15:30 - 16:00. The ship departs at 17:00.

 

My real question is where do I stand if i phone up to change my flight? should I be able to change it without paying a deviation fee as it is RCI who changed the flight or do I have to put up with what I've got and really hope my flight isn't delayed?

 

Thanks

 

Paul

Hi Paul, I'm guessing you are booked on the BA flight that leaves LHR at 09:20 and arrives at 12:25. If that's the case then there's a couple of flights departing from LHR earlier than that (08:30 arriving 11:35 and even 07:10 arriving 10:15).

 

Now the 08:30 flight on BA's site is coming out considerably cheaper than the 09:20 which implies there are quite a few seats free.

 

You didn't say which flight you were originally booked on, but I'd try with Choice Air to get on the earlier flight if it is practical for you to do so. If you weren't booked on a flight that arrived into BCN earlier than 12:25 and it is only your wish to arrive earlier then you most probably have to pay a fee including any difference in fare as long as the tickets have not yet been issued.

 

If the tickets have been issued, it may be more difficult as a lot of fares are non-refundable, non-changeable once issued.

 

Can you access your booking using the File Locator reference provided by Choice Air on the BA site?

 

I doubt you can ask BA direct to change the flight as they will most probably refer you back to the 'agent' who booked it, which by the sounds of it is Choice Air or RCI. If that's the case then call them and ask to be moved to the earlier flight.

[Pumbaamd]

. . . and please let us know how you make out.

R&D

[TheD1gitalMe]

Phoned RCI and was told that it is BA that have changed the flight not them and if I want to change the flight to an earlier one it will be £90+pp.

I was told they have a certain amount they can spend on a flight and because I got Heathrow - Barcelona & Miami - Heathrow for £430pp there were very few flights that covered and I would have to pay the difference.

 

@ ChipLondon: Your signature says your on the Liberty TA, is that the one this October? if so this is our Roll Call http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1385335

[ollienbertsmum]

From what Pete has said, I would think that RcI are being unhelpful - unless the difference is minutes rather than hours. When I have had flights changed by airlines I have been given the option to choose another flight without charges. Let's face it they have changed what they offered you.

 

However without wanting you to lose time on the Liberty (I loved that ship) what would happen if you did miss embarkation? How far is it to the next port? Do Rci look after you? Because on paper you should get there on time, and you are leaving on morning flight so less chance of a backlog having built up.

[Zach1213]

From what Pete has said, I would think that RcI are being unhelpful - unless the difference is minutes rather than hours. When I have had flights changed by airlines I have been given the option to choose another flight without charges. Let's face it they have changed what they offered you.

 

However without wanting you to lose time on the Liberty (I loved that ship) what would happen if you did miss embarkation? How far is it to the next port? Do Rci look after you? Because on paper you should get there on time, and you are leaving on morning flight so less chance of a backlog having built up.

 

Choice Air is not the most helpful of ways to book a flight. If something changes (like here) or goes wrong, you're often in a lot stickier of a situation than if you booked directly with the airline. RCI probably has little desire to help because they've already made their money off of you.

[peteukmcr]

Phoned RCI and was told that it is BA that have changed the flight not them and if I want to change the flight to an earlier one it will be £90+pp.

I was told they have a certain amount they can spend on a flight and because I got Heathrow - Barcelona & Miami - Heathrow for £430pp there were very few flights that covered and I would have to pay the difference.

 

@ ChipLondon: Your signature says your on the Liberty TA, is that the one this October? if so this is our Roll Call http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1385335

Hi Paul, sorry to hear that RCI are not being helpful. They said the same to us with regard to the amount we paid for our TA flights on Liberty last year.

 

However, I'd still say that as BA changed the flights they are required to put you on flights more suited to your itinerary. Try RCI again and be firm that the new times do not suit. I had a similar situation this year, albeit direct with Lufthansa, but it took 2 calls to reinforce my point that I hadn't made the change, the airline had and so they needed to correct it.

[Larryhnj]

If the airline changed your flight times then you should be able to change without a charge. Call crown and achor if have problems with choice air

 

Hi Peter..........How are you guys doing.

 

Larry ( and Darlene too)........and if you dont remember us thats okay.;)

[FLACRUISER99]

Phoned RCI and was told that it is BA that have changed the flight not them and if I want to change the flight to an earlier one it will be £90+pp.

I was told they have a certain amount they can spend on a flight and because I got Heathrow - Barcelona & Miami - Heathrow for £430pp there were very few flights that covered and I would have to pay the difference.

 

@ ChipLondon: Your signature says your on the Liberty TA, is that the one this October? if so this is our Roll Call http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1385335

Looks to me like they are not charging you a deviation fee only the difference in air fares. However BA should change you to an earlier flight at no cost if there was a substantial change. It might help if you posted the original flight times. I would try and call a few more times and maybe you will get and agent that will try harder.

[negc]

Choice Air is not the most helpful of ways to book a flight. If something changes (like here) or goes wrong, you're often in a lot stickier of a situation than if you booked directly with the airline. RCI probably has little desire to help because they've already made their money off of you.

 

That would be very short-sighted of them since they would forego the possibility of making more money off you in the future. Being cynical about these situations isn't helpful, but in truth the culprit in this whole scenario seems to be the airline rather than Choice Air. I would suggest trying to deal with BA again and perhaps you will encounter a more helpful customer services representative.

[FLACRUISER99]

Looks to me like they are not charging you a deviation fee only the difference in air fares. However BA should change you to an earlier flight at no cost if there was a substantial change. It might help if you posted the original flight times. I would try and call a few more times and maybe you will get and agent that will try harder.

They should change you .

[cruisenfever]

They should change you to this flight its only £91 .

Since BA changed his flight, he should be able to change to another flight without added expense.

[peteukmcr]

If the airline changed your flight times then you should be able to change without a charge. Call crown and achor if have problems with choice air

 

Hi Peter..........How are you guys doing.

 

Larry ( and Darlene too)........and if you dont remember us thats okay.;)

Hi Larry, we're doing good thanks. Got a good new job and will be testing out Mariner for you in just over 4 weeks time. Off to Austin, TX next week to my new employers HQ.

[FLACRUISER99]

Since BA changed his flight, he should be able to change to another flight without added expense.

Oops! I listed a PM flight(fixed that), however the flight that arrives at 10:15 is £30 less than the one they booked the OP on.

[Zach1213]

That would be very short-sighted of them since they would forego the possibility of making more money off you in the future. Being cynical about these situations isn't helpful, but in truth the culprit in this whole scenario seems to be the airline rather than Choice Air. I would suggest trying to deal with BA again and perhaps you will encounter a more helpful customer services representative.

 

I don't see how I'm being cynical when I say a for-profit company is motivated by keeping the profit they made off the customer. And I guarantee you, as someone very familiar with the aviation industry and aviation business specifically, that if Choice Air offered tickets at $30 or $50 less than the airline, people would go to them even if they had a previously "not so ideal" experience. A quick perusal of the Cruise Air section on CC will prove that price is the motivating factor in 90% of poster.

 

I suggest they deal with BA too...BUT, I said that BA would possibly refer them back to the cruiseline since the cruiseline is the travel agent for the OP.

[TheD1gitalMe]

They should change you .

 

Where did you find this price? The prices I've found are several times that.

 

Paul

 

Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk 2

[kenish]

OP- Read the sticky on the Cruise Air forum about cruiseline-arranged air. There are also several recent threads on Choice Air that are worth a read, too.

 

Devil's in the details, and in your case the detail is whether your tickets are published fare tickets vs. "negotiated rate" or consolitator tickets. From your comments about what RCI stated, it sounds like they are negotiated-rate tickets. If so, you are *not* BA's customer, you are RCI's and you must work entirely through them. BA is only obligated to get you from "A" to "B" per their contract with RCI...if schedule changes don't get you to the dock on time that's a matter for you and RCI to work out (unless BA has a rare moment of concern and caring!)

 

Also, note that RCI (and all other cruiselines) arrange air merely as a "convenience" and in their fine print, they take no responsibility for situations like this.

 

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but want to help educate and clarify why you're not getting the customer support you'd expect from BA (you aren't their customer!). It will hopefully put things in the right context so you can act effectively.

 

OTOH, if your tickets *are* published-fare tickets, then all of the above doesn't apply and you're BA's customer. Hope this helps, and let us know how this unfolds. FYI, you may get more expertise and "out of the box" suggestions on the Cruise Air forum...just expect a few tiny flames at first.

[Twickenham]

Where did you find this price? The prices I've found are several times that.

 

Paul

 

Sent from my HTC Sensation using Tapatalk 2

 

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

You can't book thru this site, but it gives you the fare code that you can then give to a TA to book for you - or you can, of course, try to recreate the fares on the airline's website.

[daveky]

Had similar problems. Flew out of Tn via Atanta direct to Venice and back via Delta. Stayed in Venice one night coming and going but Delta changed the flights 4 plus times and mostly no problem. Didn't go thru choice air but thru my TA, and when some of the changes were a conflict called my TA who contacted Delta and took care of it. Main problem came one time when flight back I knew there wasn't enough time to go thru customs in Atlanta. I was more stressed out with the ongoing flight changes than the cruise.