Choice Air-good idea?

[waterbug123]

The Choice Air hates have showed up :rolleyes:

 

How much money do you make on that $2500 ticket you want everyone to buy

 

I don't hate Choice Air, and contrary to what you may think, I have nothing at stake financially. I don't work for an airline or whatever you're implying by asking how much money I make on someone's ticket. :rolleyes:

 

Thanks for all the information . What I was referring to is that previous poster made it sound like you were 'assigned' flights with bad times, and that is just not true. You can pick your own flights and you have a wide variety of choices.

 

Correct, you can do that. But what you may not realize is that just because you pay Choice Air for your ticket, they may or may not have actually paid the airline for that ticket. So that flight you chose? You may not actually have a ticket. (Yes, even though they gave you a record locator and you chose a seat.) And when CA actually purchases your ticket? It may be for another flight than the one you chose....and it may have bad flight times. It may not happen a lot, but it does happen and it is a possibility. Again, there is a thread on the cruise air forum right now about this very type of situation.

 

You sound like someone who has had a personal bad experience with Choice Air. Can you give us the details?

 

No, I haven't. But I have read enough posts from people who booked Choice Air (or other cruise line air) and found out later than what they purchased was something different from what they thought they had purchased.

 

And I don't know about you, but I would MUCH rather pay $500 and take my chances with a possible flight change, than pay $2500 for the identical flight. What i do know is that when I pay $500, I WILL be flying home, no chance they're going to leave me there, and that works out great for me. I don't care what my code is, I'm coming home, and I'm getting a bargain.

 

Identical flight does not equal identical ticket. Will you get home? Yes, but it may be later than you thought. On the front end, will you get to your cruise? Probably, but it isn't guaranteed.

Example: A couple of years ago there was a post from someone who bought airfare through CA. I forget the particulars so I'm going to use different cities. Anyway, say her ticket was to fly from Houston to San Juan for a cruise. Flight got cancelled. The next flight on that airline, nonstop from Houston to San Juan that had an available seat was a day or 2 or 3 later but that would be too late to make the cruise. Some other pax got rerouted from Houston to Newark and then on to San Juan to make the cruise, but the poster in question did not. The reason: Her CA ticket had attached restrictions that did not allow her to be rerouted. She had to fly Houston to San Juan nonstop, even if it meant waiting several days and missing the ship. (Again, I forget the exact cities etc. but that was the gist of the story.) The challenge is that on those severely discounted CA tickets, it is virtually impossible to find out about such rules and restrictions ahead of time, so you really don't know what you're buying. And as I said before, if all goes well you'll never know your ticket was any different and yes, you'll have gotten a bargain and all will be right with the world. But there IS a chance that things WILL go wrong and that you will NOT be ok. Buyer beware.

Let me tell a little air story. A friend was coming to visit and I suggested he book with Delta directly. He chose to use Expedia instead. He got to the airport for his 7 AM flight, only to find out that Delta had changed the times and the flight had already left half an hour before. He ended up rebooking but losing an entire day of his three day vacation. Delta said they had no obligation to inform him of the change since he booked through a third party. Moral: it is your obligation as the consumer to check and recheck your flights, seat assignments, etc. If you don't, you have no one too blame but yourself, no matter HOW you book.

 

Very sage advice. Always check and recheck everything.

[RickT]

Mark: It's not a question of "liking" or "hating" Choice Air. Some posters on this forum only want to promulgate accurate information.

 

Many readers here believe the inaccurate information that Choice Air tickets are always the same as those purchased directly from the airline. Some of the experts here try very hard to debunk that myth, as well as the myth that the cruise line will assure that you arrive in time for embarkation.

 

I do not believe that Meg "hates" Choice Air. She just wants uninformed readers to have the correct information to allow them to make an informed decision on whether to use Choice Air.

 

Unfortunately there are some folks who do HATE Choice Air and some of their issues/complaints clearly show they don't actually know how Choice Air works (they talk about Choice Air assigning flights, not having a choice of Airline or date, etc). On the topic of Meg, her cautions about Choice Air are usually that, cautions. Her statement "There's a thread right now on the cruise air forum where someone booked with CA and then CA essentially changed their flights drastically" is unfortunately inaccurate. I've read that thread and the only thing I gleen from it is that someone booked with Choice Air, and those flights were drastically changed. There is nothing in that thread to indicate how the flights were changed and jumping to the conclusion that Choice Air made the change because it worked better for them is a reach.

 

Having booked using Choice Air and direct with the Airlines I've yet to see any flight change caused by Choice Air and given the number of major changes I've had booking direct I'd say the odds are that the Airline changed the flights and they just happened to be booked using Choice Air.

 

The best comment I've read about Choice Air (and it might even be from Meg) is that "There are rarely flight issues and for 99% of people they will never know the diffence between the different classes of ticket. It's for those 1% that something happens that they may wish to have been on a less restrictive fare".

 

I have used Choice Air and have had no issues even when my flights were delayed and connections missed. If Choice Air offers a savings on the flights I wish to be on, I'd gladly book Choice Air again. If the cost were the same or the flights I wanted were not available, I'd book directly with the airline.

 

To the OP, there is nothing "wrong" with choosing Choice Air as long as you know how it works and don't jump blindly into using them.

[waterbug123]

 

I do not believe that Meg "hates" Choice Air. She just wants uninformed readers to have the correct information to allow them to make an informed decision on whether to use Choice Air.

 

Correct. :)

 

I can see on the airline websites that there are "different" types of tickets sold there as well, refundable/not refundable/or transferable as well. The more you pay, the more flexability you have.

 

As we always fly pre and post with days on each side, I am not worried about flight changes. CA has been excellent in pricing/service on all our flights and once booked I usually manage my reservation directly with the airline as if I had booked with them (not CA).

 

I never see the Cruise Air board poo poo any of the other very popular airline booking sites:confused:

 

Yes, there are different types of tickets sold on the airline websites as well. But they rarely have the severe restrictions attached that some CA tickets (not all) do. Flying in several days ahead is also a great way to mitigate the possibility of issues with CA, or any other ticket. (but especially CA)

 

And if you stick around the cruise air board, you WILL see many folks advising against using other 3rd party sites, not just CA.

[Christine Frances]

Correct. :)

 

 

 

Yes, there are different types of tickets sold on the airline websites as well. But they rarely have the severe restrictions attached that some CA tickets (not all) do. Flying in several days ahead is also a great way to mitigate the possibility of issues with CA, or any other ticket. (but especially CA)

 

And if you stick around the cruise air board, you WILL see many folks advising against using other 3rd party sites, not just CA.

 

All I can say is that people that just book through the airlines have a lot deeper pockets than we do:D

[Lastdance]

If you book your own air on choiceair.com, you pick your own flights. I'm booked Phoenix to Barcelona in October. I had a choice of about 40 flights. I picked the one with the best flight times for a reasonable price. I chose Delta. $517 p.p. on choice air, $2300 p.p. through Delta or any of the other travel sites such as Orbitz, and Travelocity. Once I got my Delta booking number, I went to delta.com and hand picked my seats. This is the sixth time I used choiceair.com for one way transatlantics and so far I giver them an A+. I know of several people who have used choice air and everybody swears by them.

 

Choice air didn't work for my DH and I for several reasons. First, the type of plane was quite small for over the Atlantic. Second, I would hardly accrue any miles and third, I really wanted to stick with just one airline all the way if possible. A week after we booked our flights went down $400 pp. I called the airlines(United) and they honored my request! I was, to say the least, very surprised. It is all such a game of chance anyway. Your flight can be canceled, late etc. One never knows how the flights will work out when the time comes. Having a crystal ball would be nice!:D

It depends on where you live and where you are traveling, not to mention multidestinational and more. When you feel like you got a great deal, most likely you did!

Edited March 2, 2015 by Lastdance

[CathyCruises]

My assumption, and the assumption of the majority of people who travel a lot, is that when you were booking a severely discounted fare it is going to have restrictions that a full fare will not have. Even when I book Virgin America, the choices are between a nonrefundable fare and a fully refundable fare and there's a drastic difference in price. I understand that some people have had issues on occasion. That can be true of any flight, anywhere, anytime. As you say, if you are booking a flight and have not allowed yourself adequate time for mishaps to get to your departure port, there could definitely be issues, there's no question about that. But those issues can also occur booking directly through an airline

 

So, there's no way to eliminate all risk. You can minimize the risk by paying a full fare ticket directly with the airline. However especially in the case of a transatlantic that makes the cost of the trip prohibitive for most people so personally I'll take my chances with choice air and I believe there's many out there who would agree with me

[CruisinNole]

We have booked many times through Choice Air and have never had an issue. We usually research fares and airlines and are pretty prepared before we call CA. We have always gotten a great fare and been able to select our seats.

 

The main reason that we started booking through CA is because we were on a Celebrity cruise in the Med. in 2010 that was cancelled on the 2nd night of 12 nights. The passengers were told that Celebrity would only assist with rebooking flights if the flight was made through the cruiseline. We had booked the cruise through a terrific online travel agency so we did not have to do a thing however, those who booked on their own found themselves with very limited internet access, almost no way to make a phone call and no help from anyone on the ship. From that day on, if we booked through Celebrity, we booked the flight through CA. I don't know if this is still Celebrity's practice but it was a very negative experience and one we don't care to encounter.

[BEAV]

Meg, do you know if the First/Business Class tickets Karynanne and Ma Bell spoke of in posts on this thread also carry restrictions like many of the economy class tickets purchased through CA?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Mark: It's not a question of "liking" or "hating" Choice Air. Some posters on this forum only want to promulgate accurate information.

 

Many readers here believe the inaccurate information that Choice Air tickets are always the same as those purchased directly from the airline. Some of the experts here try very hard to debunk that myth, as well as the myth that the cruise line will assure that you arrive in time for embarkation.

 

I do not believe that Meg "hates" Choice Air. She just wants uninformed readers to have the correct information to allow them to make an informed decision on whether to use Choice Air.

 

Were does CA write they will assure that you arrive in time for embarkation , :rolleyes: they state they will get you to the ship , it could be next port or the one after that

Which airline will do that ? :D

1% could get screwed , that a better rate then taking most meds out there :D

[epixx]

Were does CA write they will assure that you arrive in time for embarkation :D

 

Mark: I wonder the same thing!!! Where does CA write that you will arrive for embarkation? I certainly cannot figure out how this myth keeps perpetuating on these boards!

 

P.S. Regarding getting to the ship, neither the airline nor CA guarantees that.

 

CA says, "We have experts on hand monitoring your flights. If any delays or cancellations arise, we work quickly with the airline to get you on the next available flight so you make it to your ship on time."

 

Note that the above is definitely not a guarantee, just a promise to try.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Mark: I wonder the same thing!!! Where does CA write that you will arrive for embarkation? I certainly cannot figure out how this myth keeps perpetuating on these boards!

 

P.S. Regarding getting to the ship, neither the airline nor CA guarantees that.

 

CA says, "We have experts on hand monitoring your flights. If any delays or cancellations arise, we work quickly with the airline to get you on the next available flight so you make it to your ship on time."

 

Note that the above is definitely not a guarantee, just a promise to try.

 

Maybe if you quoting the website do it correctly

 

Website writes they will get to your ship , nothing about time

 

"We have experts on hand monitoring your flights, and if any delays or cancellations jeopardize your travel plans, we work quickly with the airline to get you on the next available flight to get you to your ship."

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/celebrity-choiceair

Edited March 3, 2015 by Airbalancer

[Rob the Cruiser]

All I can say is that people that just book through the airlines have a lot deeper pockets than we do:D

 

Maybe, maybe not. Most likely just willing to pay more or they don't care to do a tiny bit of research.

[waterbug123]

But those issues can also occur booking directly through an airline

 

So, there's no way to eliminate all risk. Y

 

Correct. But there is added risk when booking a consolidator fare/specially negotiated fare via Choice Air or similar.

 

Meg, do you know if the First/Business Class tickets Karynanne and Ma Bell spoke of in posts on this thread also carry restrictions like many of the economy class tickets purchased through CA?

 

Sorry, no I don't but my guess is yes. Just because First/Biz is more expensive than coach doesn't necessarily mean there are fewer restrictions. It just means you're paying for a nicer ride.

[waterbug123]

Were does CA write they will assure that you arrive in time for embarkation , :rolleyes: they state they will get you to the ship , it could be next port or the one after that

Which airline will do that ? :D

1% could get screwed , that a better rate then taking most meds out there :D

 

Actually, that's not what they say either. They say they will try, that they will "work with" the airlines, and somewhere in their fine print are the words "when feasible" which leaves a lot open to interpretation. There have also been numerous anecdotal stories of people who got no help at all from CA in those situations. Many got great help, some got none. Again, it's about risk.

 

Mark: I wonder the same thing!!! Where does CA write that you will arrive for embarkation? I certainly cannot figure out how this myth keeps perpetuating on these boards!

 

P.S. Regarding getting to the ship, neither the airline nor CA guarantees that.

 

CA says, "We have experts on hand monitoring your flights. If any delays or cancellations arise, we work quickly with the airline to get you on the next available flight so you make it to your ship on time."

 

Note that the above is definitely not a guarantee, just a promise to try.

 

Exactly, they will TRY. Fun fact though: If your flight is canceled or delayed and you booked through the airline, they will actually work with you to get your rebooked too. I read a lot of posts where people seem to think the airline will just cancel their flight and not rebook them.

[waterbug123]

Maybe, maybe not. Most likely just willing to pay more or they don't care to do a tiny bit of research.

 

For me it is not about not wanting to do research. I simply prefer not to assume the risks associated with booking through CA. There's a risk they won't help me at all if there are issues, there's a risk that my super duper cheapo ticket will have restrictions attached that prohibit me from being rerouted if necessary, etc. etc. If someone else has a higher risk tolerance, that's great, they should book the CA ticket, they just need to do it with the full knowledge of what they may be getting. And when I read posts from people who say things like "we booked through CA because they guarantee we will make the ship" I know they don't have a clue.

[dodger1964]

Actually, that's not what they say either. They say they will try, that they will "work with" the airlines, and somewhere in their fine print are the words "when feasible" which leaves a lot open to interpretation. There have also been numerous anecdotal stories of people who got no help at all from CA in those situations. Many got great help, some got none. Again, it's about risk.

 

Exactly, they will TRY. Fun fact though: If your flight is canceled or delayed and you booked through the airline, they will actually work with you to get your rebooked too. I read a lot of posts where people seem to think the airline will just cancel their flight and not rebook them.

 

I would say you chances of getting "help" with flight issues would be at least the same and could be much better with CA than with airline directly. Most of the tickets purchased through CA are just regular tickets EXACTLY the same you would buy direct through the airline (lowest, non-refundable...for most of us anyway).

 

If you are going to miss your ships departure the airline would laugh at you when you try to get them to get you to a different city for free!

 

I have used CA three times, and each of those was just a regular airline ticket. After purchase all times I needed to change reservation (seat changes and flight schedule changes) I dealt directly with the airline.

 

From what I have read on CC, the main problems people have encountered (and they are VERY FEW and far between) are the times that some kind of a "consolidator" ticket was involved.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

This is what is written on their CA website

 

What happens when my flight is delayed?

 

"Assured Arrival is our guarantee to assist our ChoiceAir® guests when they encounter any flight disruptions that occur through no fault of their own. We have a team of Emergency Travel Specialists standing by that proactively monitor flights and act as a liason between our ships and our guests. This team is available to assist you 24/7 @ 800-256-6649 (domestically) or 305-539-4107 (internationally)."

 

Lucky I have never been delayed but have seen pictures of airports when there is a delay

 

I would rather have CA fighting for me then standing in line at a counter in the airport

[OhioDogLover]

We've used Choice Air twice. The first time, the cost was the same as I could find (domestic ticket). It was just fine. The second time, to Barcelona and from Venice, they changed our ticket and it was horrible. They changed us from going through JFK instead of Philly and. well, it was JFK. (I realize that they don't control JFK, but I was much happier with our prior arrangement through Philly.) I tried to use them for our next cruise to Australia. The prices weren't close to competitive. And, I couldn't get the website to work, so I called. Their call center is horrible. I had to call more than once because the first person I got on the phone did not want to help, tried to convince me he had no flights available (it was too far out, he said), put me on hold for 10 minutes, and then came back with a quote that was twice what the quote 5 minutes later was.

 

Ohiodoglover

[navybankerteacher]

For me it is not about not wanting to do research. I simply prefer not to assume the risks associated with booking through CA. There's a risk they won't help me at all if there are issues, there's a risk that my super duper cheapo ticket will have restrictions attached that prohibit me from being rerouted if necessary, etc. etc. If someone else has a higher risk tolerance, that's great, they should book the CA ticket, they just need to do it with the full knowledge of what they may be getting. And when I read posts from people who say things like "we booked through CA because they guarantee we will make the ship" I know they don't have a clue.

 

It's fine to listen to tales of woe about supposed problems which MIGHT arise if you book through CA.

 

Have you, personally, experienced problems?

 

I have, personally, used CA, and comparable cruise line related facilities, five times in connection with T/A repositionings -- with no problems.

 

I have just finished booking a one way T/A through CA for this coming October:

American wanted $1,414 for a one way the date I am flying, while they would have charged $1,209 for a round trip - while Delta wanted $1,414 one way and $1,121 for a round trip. As long as airlines apply such illogical pricing, and I am able to fly for just over $400 per --- saving $2,000 for the two of us, I will continue to ignore the urban myths which prompt you (supposedly) to prefer spending an extra thousand per seat for such trips.

 

Of course, once the flight was booked (Delta, in my case - because I prefer their 2-aisle-4-aisle-2 seat configuration to the 3-aisle-4-aisle-3 on American's equipment). Yes, once the flight was booked I selected seats using Delta's locater code - and, as I do with all flights, however booked, I will periodically check to verify that flight time and seat assignments remain as selected.

[CathyCruises]

Just curious, Waterbug123? Is your mother Momofmeg who posts here occasionally?

 

As you say, it is all about risk, and it appears that the majority posting here are willing to take the small risk in order to save thousands of dollars per trip. Just like many of us are willing to take the risk and book a guarantee cabin for the same reason. You have also made several references to anecdotal reports of things going wrong. Of course, when things go awry, people are much more likely to post/complain than when things go off without a hitch. So one must assume that the percentage of mishaps is relatively low compared to the number of flights that are totally uneventful. We never hear reports that '85,417 commercial airline flights landed safely at their destination today' but we sure do hear about any that don't.

 

So I guess I'll just blissfully ignore the risks I am taking and keep booking these incredibly cheap flights. . .

[Azulann]

We've used Choice Air twice. The first time, the cost was the same as I could find (domestic ticket). It was just fine. The second time, to Barcelona and from Venice, they changed our ticket and it was horrible. They changed us from going through JFK instead of Philly and. well, it was JFK. (I realize that they don't control JFK, but I was much happier with our prior arrangement through Philly.) I tried to use them for our next cruise to Australia. The prices weren't close to competitive. And, I couldn't get the website to work, so I called. Their call center is horrible. I had to call more than once because the first person I got on the phone did not want to help, tried to convince me he had no flights available (it was too far out, he said), put me on hold for 10 minutes, and then came back with a quote that was twice what the quote 5 minutes later was.

 

Ohiodoglover

 

It looks like all the happy customers are those who book a one way with Choice Air on their TransAtlantic or repositioning cruises. Tthen there are others like you and another on the Cruise Air forum with changes made, cancelled flights and change of airports., that you cannot control.

I would never book a Cruise Air flight in the winter, I am nervous enough about weather delays and needing to rebook even before the storms hit. I use air booked through the airlines dircetly and watch it and the weather like a hawk.

Again it is about risk, and that has a price. Some people buy insurance for their vacations and other do not.

As I get older i am less likely to be a risk taker .:)

Edited March 3, 2015 by Azulann

[dodger1964]

We've used Choice Air twice. The first time, the cost was the same as I could find (domestic ticket). It was just fine. The second time, to Barcelona and from Venice, they changed our ticket and it was horrible. They changed us from going through JFK instead of Philly and. well, it was JFK. (I realize that they don't control JFK, but I was much happier with our prior arrangement through Philly.)

 

Ohiodoglover

 

Be careful on the use of the word "they".

 

CA didn't do anything to your flights. CA just purchases a ticket with an airline on your behalf. You get an actual airline confirmation number that you can then use just like you purchased directly with the airline. The airlines changed flight schedules. We have always (3 trips) just dealt with the actual airlines anytime there was any concern with the flight (flight schedule changes or seat assignment changes).

[kborth]

If you book your own air on choiceair.com, you pick your own flights. I'm booked Phoenix to Barcelona in October. I had a choice of about 40 flights. I picked the one with the best flight times for a reasonable price. I chose Delta. $517 p.p. on choice air, $2300 p.p. through Delta or any of the other travel sites such as Orbitz, and Travelocity. Once I got my Delta booking number, I went to delta.com and hand picked my seats. This is the sixth time I used choiceair.com for one way transatlantics and so far I giver them an A+. I know of several people who have used choice air and everybody swears by them.

 

This is good to hear as I just booked return from Rome on a TA. I received confirmation but no flight number yet and was wondering when that would be sent. The price was 435 with a layover in Frankfurt.

[Rob the Cruiser]

This is good to hear as I just booked return from Rome on a TA. I received confirmation but no flight number yet and was wondering when that would be sent. The price was 435 with a layover in Frankfurt.

 

You can find the reservation using the airline's locator number.

[kborth]

Thank you