Celebrity ChoiceAir

[rogfam]

Are you talking about the AMEXPlatinum? We have looked into this card a number of times. As far as the airport lounges, they are limited to Delta, AirSpace (very few available) or Priority Pass, which still requires an additional fee of $27 pp. Am I correct in presuming that you can only use the Delta lounges with a same-day Delta boarding pass (we rarely fly Delta)? Or same-day, any airline boarding pass?

 

You are correct about Delta. However always use the Priority Pass Lounges where never pay a fee. My wife has an additional card which allows her in for no fee also. Also Amex has started opening Centurian Lounges in a few major US city which are no charge. Good for those traveling any airline, any class of service. Think you can have 5-6 people enter with you for no fee.

Edited April 24, 2016 by rogfam

[waterbug123]

We're flying United to Europe for the first time. Are schedule changes a common occurrence with United? :eek::eek:

I noticed our return flight from Rome is only about half full, if that and we are flying in May.

 

If you are simply looking at the seat map, it's a very poor indicator or how full the plane is. Many people could have tickets but not seat assignments. Either way, it doesn't matter. They won't cancel the flight at the last minute just because the plane is only 1/2 full, as both the plane and crew have to get to the next destination for their next scheduled flight(s). A couple of years ago my return flight from Europe on Air France was only about 30-40% full and it was lovely.... empty seats all around us, and the FA's has so much free time that they took super good care of us! My wine glass was never empty! ;)

[Mr. Click]

United, well Continental really, used to send out those emails. A lot has gone down hill since the merger and under the mis-guidance of ousted CEO Jeff Smiesik. Since he got tosed out last September there has been a lot of talk about positive changes but so far I have not seen much. I have almost 800,000 life time miles with them, 25+ years as an Elite/Premier member and now I always look at other options when I am booking. Give me the best deal on reasonable terms and you can have my money... Right now we do have half a dozen fllights booked on United, booked with United but our upcoming trip to Europe in September is on BA and AA booked through Choice Air in Biz for far less than UA wanted, our trip from NJ to Pittsburgh is booked by car because UA wanted too much money for a simple 1 hour flight ($800+ per person RT in coach} and our China trip in March 2017 could be United, could be Air Canada could be someone else...We will see in a few weeks when everyone has those fares posted.. Anyway, in the mean time, everyone needs to keep checking their reservations because things do change.

[midwestchick]

If you are simply looking at the seat map, it's a very poor indicator or how full the plane is. Many people could have tickets but not seat assignments. Either way, it doesn't matter. They won't cancel the flight at the last minute just because the plane is only 1/2 full, as both the plane and crew have to get to the next destination for their next scheduled flight(s). A couple of years ago my return flight from Europe on Air France was only about 30-40% full and it was lovely.... empty seats all around us, and the FA's has so much free time that they took super good care of us! My wine glass was never empty! ;)

 

 

The last time I looked, I was actually on the phone with United to see what it would take to get global entry. The rep I spoke with said it was not very full...and she gave us a much better seat assignment. :D

I hope we're as fortunate as you were. ;). But, DH has a 2 1/2 hour drive after we land at ORD...lucky me. :p ;)

[richsea]

Wine-O is correct. Fares do go up and down so it is always a game on picking the right time. I probably spend too much time looking are fares, passenger loads etc when we are planning a trip but I usually come up with some decent fares. Now trying to use miles to upgrade, especially on international flights, that is a whole other game.

 

Can you share where you go to check passenger loads for specific flights, or flights on a certain day? It seems this would be helpful when trying to decide when to book a flight. (Kind of like flight roulette!)

[johhnnyt]

I've always found Matrix search http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ the most comprehensive site for looking at airfares since they include all the airlines rather than just the ones that paid the site

 

Only downside to them is you have to book with the individual airline as they are purely a search matrix not for a sales booking site

 

I do like choice air for T/A though, have done three T/A and choice has always been able to beat any other airlines European and Asian single leg price by at least 25% and sometimes as much as 75%

[Mr. Click]

For United I just use their web site and after getting results there is a button to see available seats. It is not 100% accurate but it is close. When I see over 100 empty seats it is pretty obvious...Once a flight is more than half full fares tend to go up.

 

The ITA matrix is good, Googleflights is good too.

[RickCanada]

We booked through cruiseair for this reason: Our cruise is starting in Instanbul. We were concerned what would happen if they changed the starting port. With Cruiseair they would make the changes for us no charge.