Princess EZair

[RDC1]

I recently used EZair for a Alaska cruise and land tour. Since often posts are about problems with services I thought I would post about when it worked well.

 

We decided to use EZair because of the discount Princess was offering on flights. In this case we were flying from SFO to Anchorage and from Vancouver back to SFO. I researched the flights I wanted prior to calling Princess. We were going to arrive in Anchorage 3 days prior to the start of the tour. I called EZair, gave them the specific flights and asked them if they could find and cheaper ones for the dates we wanted. They could not, so we went with the ones I provided. They booked them and the price came in exactly at the original price minus the Princess discount. The process was very smooth and efficient. We payed the air fare immediately and made them non-refundable because we did not want any uncertainty about the price, seat availability, etc. We did not go non-refundable since we did not want to pay the full cruise fare that far in advance.

 

EZair kept use informed about any minor schedule changes. The only minor irritation was how the Princess system enters names and passes them over to the air lines.

 

We returned to SFO on Saturday, The day of the accident at that airport. We found out about the accident when checking in for the flight in Vancouver. We were flying into Portland for a connection to SFO. At that time no one knew if our flight from Portland was going to fly or not. We decided to fly to Portland and then see where things stood. Upon landing in Portland I contacted Princess to see what options we might have. The person at customer service was well informed and was able to tell me that they had been informed by EZair that SFO had opened 40 minutes before on a limited basis and that our flight was still scheduled to fly and to call back if anything was to change.

 

I was very happy with the service and will use it again in the future.

[melody hounddog]

Thanks for posting about your positive experience. How much did you save by using Princess Air?

[Debbdo]

Always nice to read positive feedback. Thanks!

[pompeii]

We too used EZAir on our cruise out of Seattle in May and it went off without a hitch. The fares were very competitive and the flight times were convenient for us. Our TA told us when we booked that she had no problem recommending Princess EZAir, but wouldn't say the same for airfare through other cruise lines because it's not a good deal.

[cdngrl]

did I understand correctly that you paid your ez-air before you paid for your flight? I didn't think you could do this.

also, if you book the refundable air I thought the price was still subject to change until the whole shebang (air and cruise) was paid for.

am I totally out to lunch? (probably not the first time). :p

[WVBill]

I had read here on CC also something about EZ-Air and needing to pay the entire cruise fare at the time of booking.

 

But I could not find any such mention on Princess' website. Here's what it says. Note that while Flexible Fares are not DUE until final cruise payment, there is nothing keeping you from paying the airfare at the time of booking.

 

With either one, you cannot select seats until you have paid for the airfare because Princess, not the airline, holds the reservation until payment is made.

 

We always book Restricted because we buy travel insurance which will cover airfare refund should we have to cancel the cruise.

 

Flexible fares:

Flexible fares are designed for those passengers who have less certainty in their travel plans and want the freedom to cancel their flight arrangements easily. These fares are typically higher than Restricted fares, but include the following added benefits:

• Air payment is due on the date of the final cruise payment – not at the time of air booking.
  
• Air charges are fully refundable until 45 days prior to departure.
  

Restricted fares:

Our Restricted fares will typically be lower than our Flexible fares, with the following terms:

• Air charges are non-refundable (e.g. no cash back).
  
• Payment is due immediately upon time of air booking.
  

Edited July 11, 2013 by WVBill

[Samanthamelody3]

I have used EZ Air with all of my Princess Cruises and have had no issues what-so-ever.

I was always updated of a schedule change if it happened, and used my reservation number to select seats directly with the air line.

I will use it again for my next cruise as next port protection is important to me.

I fly out of a small canadian city, which is always at least 1 or 2 connections, and delays are frequent, and knowing I will get on the ship is a priority!

[RDC1]

Thanks for posting about your positive experience. How much did you save by using Princess Air?

 

Princess was offering $300 per passenger discount on air fare. The price they delivered was exactly that amount off the best price I was able to find myself, on the flights I wanted.

[RDC1]

did I understand correctly that you paid your ez-air before you paid for your flight? I didn't think you could do this.

also, if you book the refundable air I thought the price was still subject to change until the whole shebang (air and cruise) was paid for.

am I totally out to lunch? (probably not the first time). :p

 

When we purchased we had two choices. We could buy non-refundable, which locked in the exact price, with payment for the air fare portion due immediately.

 

or we could have booked refundable, which was not locked. We could have purchased refundable and locked it in, but only by paying the full amount of both air and full cruise amounts immediately.

[cdngrl]

We could buy non-refundable, which locked in the exact price, with payment for the air fare portion due immediately.

I had no idea! I usually use ezair for transatlantic flights and also have had good experiences. thank you for the information!

[MisterMet]

I am a bit confused. We made eZair flexible reservations for the flights and were even able to choose the seats for all flights except one. I was on the Princess website and noticed that it said,

 

"†Air Fare and Air Government Fees and Taxes are subject to change until final payment. Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment."

 

I then called Princess C/S to see if that meant the prices could go up. I was told they would not and were locked in because I made a payment already on the cruise, although, not the FINAL payment. This seems to be contradictory to their own policy.

 

Need some clarity before I call them back and read their own policy back to them.

Edited July 24, 2014 by MisterMet

[Pia1913]

I am a bit confused. We made eZair flexible reservations for the flights and were even able to choose the seats for all flights except one. I was on the Princess website and noticed that it said,

 

"†Air Fare and Air Government Fees and Taxes are subject to change until final payment. Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment."

 

I then called Princess C/S to see if that meant the prices could go up. I was told they would not and were locked in because I made a payment already on the cruise, although, not the FINAL payment. This seems to be contradictory to their own policy.

 

Need some clarity before I call them back and read their own policy back to them.

 

I made EZ Air reservation the second they allowed it to be done; 11+ months in advance. No payment was needed until I had to make final payment and this was just part of it. Unfortunately this cruise had to be cancelled at almost the last minute (three days prior to flight) and wonderful Berkeley paid this $22,000 claim within three weeks.

 

EZ Air in this case (flight from Palm Beach to Cape Town and then return from London 2 months later) was way cheaper than anything I could have bought on my own.

[Grammyluvs]

We used EZ Air in the past and found them to be far cheaper than the discount sites. The flights went off without a hitch and we were very pleased. On our return trip from Copenhagen to Newark we found out all the flights out of Newark had been canceled due to weather. We were in a LONG line to reschedule but when we got up there, we were already rebooked. Boy were we relieved because all the fairly recent flts out were all full and we were able to connect fairly quickly.

My only complaint is sometimes they book connecting flts a little too close for comfort for us. We prefer more than 45 mins to an hr. but we have never failed to make one.

We paid our flts. when we booked because we didn’t want to pay full cruise fare yet and we wanted to lock in the incredible pricing.

[billco]

I am a bit confused. We made eZair flexible reservations for the flights and were even able to choose the seats for all flights except one. I was on the Princess website and noticed that it said,

 

"†Air Fare and Air Government Fees and Taxes are subject to change until final payment. Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment."

 

I then called Princess C/S to see if that meant the prices could go up. I was told they would not and were locked in because I made a payment already on the cruise, although, not the FINAL payment. This seems to be contradictory to their own policy.

 

Need some clarity before I call them back and read their own policy back to them.

I looked at the Flexible Air details in a couple of places on the Princess website and did not see the caveat about prices being subject to change. I remember it used to be prominent, but remember being told quite a while back that the policy had been changed. My eZair Flexible Fares have never changed before final payment. I have eZair Flexible booked for this October from Sacramento to London on United. I booked 330 days before the end of the cruise. My seat assignments show on the United website. I also have an eZair Flexible booked for next April from Sacramento to Houston and Barcelona back to Sacramento on Delta and KLM. Again, booked 330 days before the end of the cruise and seat assignments show on the Delta and KLM websites. I have changed my flights twice as better options have become available. Last October, we flew to Venice for the Royal Princess TA. We had also booked those tickets 330 days before the end of the cruise. The price of those tickets dropped $200 two weeks after we had made final payment. I rebooked and Princess credited the $200 to my Princess CC. I have been happy with eZair. The only deposits I made on the cruises were Future Cruise Credits. Edited July 24, 2014 by billco

[ExDean]

Booked flights with eZair for the firat time DTW-YVR with return FLL-DTW unrestricted at approximately $150/pp less than direct booking with the airline. Payment was included with final payment. However, so far eZair has not indicated the flight time changes that were made by the airline. I always check my flights and schedules with the airline web site and saw there was a change...same departure time but different connecting time and arrival. No big deal, but didn't hear this from eZair. If all goes well we will consider using them again.

[MisterMet]

Thank you all for your information. I wound up calling Princess back and got another CSR who actually told me that I was correct, (contrary to the first rep).

She said it's quite rare that fares increase. Reading your comments makes me feel better. Thanks

[flamomo]

Just booked EZAir flights from Santiago, Chile to Miami for next March at an excellent price.

We booked flexible flights and do not have to pay for them till Final Payment. It also specified on the Princess website that the fares will NOT go up (except if there are changes in government fees), reservations can be changed with no fee charged, and, of course, the cost is fully refundable if we should have to cancel right up till 45 days before the cruise begins.

The best part is that the fare is less than half what it cost for EZAir flights to fly from Miami to Santiago in March of this year for another cruise!

[Thrak]

Does EZ Air only beat prices direct from the airlines or do they also discount below prices of online sources such as c h e a p o a i r?

[Ethel5]

Does EZ Air only beat prices direct from the airlines or do they also discount below prices of online sources such as c h e a p o a i r?

 

Yes! I looked at Cheapo, Vayama, Booking Buddy and Princess beat them all for this October's TA. :)