Celebrity Choice Air Pros/Cons?

[RickT]

No one has mentioned the $150.00 cancellation fee to cancel the booking. I think this is a significant con. I do book with them. I like their convenience, I'm still learning my way around Texas.

 

I've not had to cancel any flight booked using choice air and just looked at my current booking, there is a cancellation fee but that is charged by the airline not choice air. Most flights I've booked with Choice Air have been non-refundable (again, airline, not choice air). Where did you read that Choice Air charges a cancellation fee?

I am comparing prices between Choice Air and Air Canada directly right now for a Mediterranean cruise next Sept/Oct, with flights originating in Thunder Bay Canada and ending, and returning from Rome. The prices for business class are almost identical and about $800 per ticket less than flying from our airport in Duluth and $900 less than if we flew out of Minneapolis. For a 3 or 4 hour drive, those savings are significant for 2. However, did I read correctly that you can NOT select your seats when booking with Choice Air? I'm kind of confused. I'm assuming that I can select them immediately if booking with Air Canada directly.

I've flown Air Canada booked through Choice Air and have been able to preselects my seats. I had to go to the Air Canada website and was able to do so almost immediately after my booking was made. When looking at Air Canada, make sure to check and see if you are flying their main line or Rouge. If Rouge, do some research as Business (Rouge Plus) is not comparable to regular Business Class. Air Canada is great, their Rouge brand, not so much.

[merlin5353]

I am comparing prices between Choice Air and Air Canada directly right now for a Mediterranean cruise next Sept/Oct, with flights originating in Thunder Bay Canada and ending, and returning from Rome. The prices for business class are almost identical and about $800 per ticket less than flying from our airport in Duluth and $900 less than if we flew out of Minneapolis. For a 3 or 4 hour drive, those savings are significant for 2. However, did I read correctly that you can NOT select your seats when booking with Choice Air? I'm kind of confused. I'm assuming that I can select them immediately if booking with Air Canada directly.

You can choose your seats as soon as you have your reservation number. Of course, if the airlines don't normally permit immediate seat selection, you'll have to wait. We've used ChoiceAir several times, and with Delta we could even upgrade from coach to Confort+. British Airways, we had to wait a while. We haven't used ChoiceAir fir domestic flights for a few years. Check first, though.

[merlin5353]

Also, did I read somewhere that if the price drops, Choice Air will apply the drop to your booked corresponding cruise?

 

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I haven't heard of a price adjustment. What you pay at the time is what you pay.

[marcias722]

There IS no benefit to using Choice Air!!! Only downsides. You are not guaranteed to be on any flight, the change you whenever THEY get a better deal, but you pay the same. We are on 4 flights with 4 different airlines!!!! And they don't supply any airport transfers. THEY ARE USELESS! And can't upgrade to extra legroom for the airline fee. The try to charge you a $200 penalty for changing your seat on THE SAME PLANE!!!! Also offer a refund if you find a cheaper flight but never pay it!!!

 

BOOK YOURSEL! deal directly with the airlines.

Choice Air is useless.

[marcias722]

:oThere IS no benefit to using Choice Air!!! Only downsides. You are not guaranteed to be on any flight, the change you whenever THEY get a better deal, but you pay the same. We are on 4 flights with 4 different airlines!!!! And they don't supply any airport transfers. THEY ARE USELESS! And can't upgrade to extra legroom for the airline fee. The try to charge you a $200 penalty for changing your seat on THE SAME PLANE!!!! Also offer a refund if you find a cheaper flight but never pay it!!!

 

BOOK YOURSEL! deal directly with the airlines.

Choice Air is useless.

[marcias722]

There IS no benefit to using Choice Air!!! Only downsides. You are not guaranteed to be on any flight, the change you whenever THEY get a better deal, but you pay the same. We are on 4 flights with 4 different airlines!!!! And they don't supply any airport transfers. THEY ARE USELESS! And can't upgrade to extra legroom for the airline fee. The try to charge you a $200 penalty for changing your seat on THE SAME PLANE!!!! Also offer a refund if you find a cheaper flight but never pay it!!!

 

BOOK YOURSEL! deal directly with the airlines.

Choice Air is useless.

[Wine-O]

There IS no benefit to using Choice Air!!! Only downsides. You are not guaranteed to be on any flight, the change you whenever THEY get a better deal, but you pay the same. We are on 4 flights with 4 different airlines!!!! And they don't supply any airport transfers. THEY ARE USELESS! And can't upgrade to extra legroom for the airline fee. The try to charge you a $200 penalty for changing your seat on THE SAME PLANE!!!! Also offer a refund if you find a cheaper flight but never pay it!!!

 

BOOK YOURSEL! deal directly with the airlines.

Choice Air is useless.

 

Five posts and they all say the same thing. :rolleyes:

[Hlitner]

Thanks! I had no idea this was possible!!!!

 

 

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This is the world of Smart Phones and some very good apps. Travelers who do not have a decent phone, coverage, and the right apps are at a huge disadvantage. Consider what happened to us this past January. We were to fly from Harrisburg PA to Puerto Vallarta (our winter home) on a Saturday morning (6 am flight). Around midnight on Thursday my phone beeped from my Delta Airlines App. They notified me that my Saturday morning flight had been canceled because of an expected snow storm at Atlanta (Delta ultimately canceled thousands of flights that day). As soon as I got that cancelation notice I opened the Delta app to look for alternative flights and was quickly (within 1 min) able to change my flights to go through Detroit (where the weather forecast was excellent. We go the last two seats on that flight and actually arrived at our PVR destination ahead of schedule. Without the phone or app we would not have been able to get on any flight to PVR that Saturday...and would have likely been delayed 1-3 days!

 

And its the same even if at an airport. If there is a major delay or cancellation, those with phones and the right apps will be notified a few minutes before it even shows-up on the big airport boards. With that knowledge you can often change your flights and grab the remaining seats. When others here of the problem they will often have to wait in long lines to get a customer service rep....while those with Smartphones are quickly changing to flights and grabbing remaining seats.

 

Speaking of Delta's app....it will even show you when your luggage is loaded onto your aircraft. If they make a mistake and put it on the wrong flight...or if they forget to lead it...you will know....usually before your flight even leaves the ground. Other airlines have similar apps..although some are better and others are not as good, Or consider that one can get an AIS (Automatic Identification System) that shows you (on a map) where every ship is located around the world, Yesterday when some heard that the Veendam was going to be delayed getting to its port this morning...I was able to quickly locate the ship (off the Bahamas) see the ship's speed, and confirm it was going to be late and about what time it would arrive (I posted this info here on CC...which helped a friend who was flying to that port this morning). We are in an amazing information age and having information is usually helpful.

 

Hank

[Michidoeme]

We had very good experience price-wise with Choice Air for cruises that had different departure/arrival ports. Their one way prices are unbeatable for intercontinental or European travel on premium airlines. Once we have the booking reference, or ticket number, we can log in to the airline and reserve seats (free or against fee, depending on fare or airline).

 

When due to issues in Turkey, the embarkation port was changed from Istanbul to Athens, Choice Air imediately rebooked ticket. Fortunately having booked through Choice Air, despite having chosen fare for non refundable tickets (Choice Air has other options and other fares available), we did not lose our fare or did not have to pay change fees. With direct booking we would have lost our original ticket price. Only small problem was that Choice Air did not communicate the rebooking well and we needed to call a couple times to get confirmation and new tickets.

[Cruise Raider]

Ok -- I am back after posting on this thread several months ago that I was adamant would not use Choice Air ever again ... but things have changed so I am eating a little crow.

This is what I have learned and I will also explain why I chose to use Choice Air this time around:

 

For domestic routes, I don't think there is any reduction in pricing but have read that pax have been able to get some great deals on international flights.

 

The airline is the only one that is able to change your reservation but they will try to blame it on the 'travel agent', which in this case is Choice Air. Choice Air has nothing to do with changing your flights although if the airline does change it and the new flight would cause you to miss your cruise or fly back while you are still waiting to disembark, you will need to contact Choice Air (and probably the airlines) so make sure flights are updated not only with the airlines but in the Choice Air system as well.

Having used Choice Air does complicate the whole process.

 

When you are booking Choice Air, you can do so online but you will have to go into the airline's website to secure the seats you want ... anywhere from immediately to about 48 hours after the booking.

Also, you may have to call the airline to add your frequent flyer numbers to your booking. While it looks like you may be able to do it online, that might turn out to be an issue that the airlines can quickly take care of for you.

 

Not all available flights will show up on the Choice Air website so don't hesitate to call them to see if the flight you choose is available for you to book. Unlike calling the airlines directly, there is no charge for you to have someone at Choice Air book your flight for you.

 

If you are a pax of size or have a medical necessity to purchase an extra seat, this is available through Choice Air but you will have to exercise an extreme amount of patience. Be persistent and hopefully they can get it done for you. It took well over 2 hours on the phone to get this accomplished but well worth it in the long run.

 

Now, for the big reason to use Choice Air, if you have just purchased the insurance via Celebrity (and I am aware this isn't the best travel insurance you can purchase but it is reasonably priced), it will cover the flights for cancellation both there and back -- even if you fly in early or the day of the cruise and even if you fly back out right after your cruise or days later. The key is, you have to purchase the insurance prior to booking your flights but there is no additional cost involved on the insurance end when they agree to cover your flight bookings made through Choice Air. I haven't tested this theory and don't intend to do so ... but was told by numerous agents that I spoke to that the flights along with the cruise are covered for medical necessity or death under the standard insurance quote for Celebrity insurance for the cruise alone.

The other reason we booked it is because booking through Choice Air also guarantees they will get you to the ship if there is a flight delay or cancellation and will get you onto a flight if you miss it on the way back due to a delayed disembarkation. I am not so worried about the latter on this trip but did almost miss my 1 PM flight back home out of Los Angeles when the CBP's system went down. Pax were still trying to disembark at 3:30 PM. Yikes!! On this trip, we will be flying across country during hurricane season just the day before the cruise and although I don't anticipate any issues with our flight, you just never know so thought I would play it safe. I know most travel insurance does also provide this same coverage but definitely at a much higher cost. My cruise isn't for months but will try to remember to check back in to outline any praises or complaints about my Choice Air experience.

[DanceDuo]

Not so sure about Choice Air. Know they were good about one-way fares but I decided to do a round trip to Miami. Bid mistake. The prices from Choice and the airline were the same but I went to Choice due to the help they are supposed to offer. I chose the Delta Economy with the understanding that I had 24 hours to cancel and rebook to the next class where I could choose my seats. Delta's basic Economy does not allow choosing seats until check-in. In the first booking the Choice Air agent said I could not cancel and rebook, but after asking him to check he said I can within 24 hours. So today I decided to change to change to their Main Cabin level which Delta was showing at $30 more. But Choice Air said they did not have that available and I had to go to Premium at $133 more per person! I asked if I could go to Delta directly and request the change, but she said they would only send me back to Choice Air. At first, this agent did not understand her job either, told me I could not change to the higher grade. She had to go back twice to recheck if I was correct.

 

Live and learn. My suggestion would be to look at the airlines also, and if prices similar, forget about using Choice Air.

[aVacation4me]

Not so sure about Choice Air. Know they were good about one-way fares but I decided to do a round trip to Miami. Bid mistake. The prices from Choice and the airline were the same but I went to Choice due to the help they are supposed to offer. I chose the Delta Economy with the understanding that I had 24 hours to cancel and rebook to the next class where I could choose my seats. Delta's basic Economy does not allow choosing seats until check-in. In the first booking the Choice Air agent said I could not cancel and rebook, but after asking him to check he said I can within 24 hours. So today I decided to change to change to their Main Cabin level which Delta was showing at $30 more. But Choice Air said they did not have that available and I had to go to Premium at $133 more per person! I asked if I could go to Delta directly and request the change, but she said they would only send me back to Choice Air. At first, this agent did not understand her job either, told me I could not change to the higher grade. She had to go back twice to recheck if I was correct.

 

Live and learn. My suggestion would be to look at the airlines also, and if prices similar, forget about using Choice Air.

 

I originally planned to book a USA round trip flight through Choice Air, mostly because of their guarantee to get to the ship. After researching what was available date/time I saw 1) no direct flights, 2) at ever increasing costs, for the travel window I wanted, every layover was between 38 and 41 minutes - yikes. I was NOT comfortable with either missing the connection, or as bad, my checked bag missing the connection. I decided to look at Southwest (not offered by Choice Air). I found several good options; layovers from 1-2 hours, and the best? Saving $75 from Choice Air's cheapest offering. Booking SW with free (up to 2) checked bags saved another $70-$120; I booked it. A few days later, after family strongly discouraged me from flying in 11am the day the ship left port at 4pm, I decided to change my reservation to the day before sailing. I did some pre-research for available flights and called Southwest. I was able to re-book the flight in a day earlier, same price, no fee, no hassle. Timing is everything; I started looking at hotels and found a great hotels dot com airport hotel room on flash sale for $113, saving $202. I called the hotel directly to see if they'd match it. The rep said it was a fab deal she couldn't touch, told me to hang up and go book it. With hotel cost, paying for lunch and dinner, I'm still money ahead. I'm glad I looked at layover times, especially related to airport size...Chicago O'Hare, gate to gate, in 41 minutes might be fine, but the stress wouldn't be worth it.

[Algebralovr]

If a round trip within the USA, I don't see any point is using Choice Air. It just adds a middleman.

 

We used them for a Med Cruise a couple of years ago that started in Venice and ended in Istanbul. I priced the flights all over, including on Choice Air. Since we had an open jaw flight, Choice Air was less expensive.

 

Added to that, while that year (2014) was a "safe one" for Istanbul, we were aware that there were issues other places in the Med, including parts of Turkey. We booked through Choice Air so that if things got hot and Celebrity changed the port of disembarkation, Choice Air was supposed to re-book us to get home.

 

That said, our eDocs didn't become available until much later due to the Choice Air. There was also a ticketing snafoo and two people in our party (of Five) had issues with their tickets. We were lucky in that I had hard copies of all the documents. We were to go from Istanbul to Munich, Munich to Toronto, then Toronto to Chicago to get home. At check in, they issued boarding passes to both of my (young adult) children and to me, and security documents to my mother and husband. Mom and DH had to get boarding passes at the gate, at each stop. It worked out, but was a hassle. Not sure what the deal was there, but it worked out.

[shipgeeks]

In our experience (three trips), there have been only pros, no cons, for our one-way overseas flights.

All the airlines, and all times, were available, excluding times which would not work (such as a 7am flight out of Rome on the day the ship got there).

Flights which would have cost us $4,400 each booking through the airline cost under $800 through ChoiceAir.

We were able to choose our seats.

The mock bookings allowed us to mull over the options, and the phone call to lock one in was efficient and pleasant.

We did receive (without asking) notifications of airline schedule changes.

All in all, 100% satisfaction.

[waterbug123]

However, did I read correctly that you can NOT select your seats when booking with Choice Air?

 

Sometimes Choice Air sells you a ticket that allows advance seat selection; sometimes the ticket they sell you does NOT allow advance seat selection. So there's no single correct answer to this.

[dodger1964]

Five posts and they all say the same thing. :rolleyes:

 

And they are all wrong!

[aVacation4me]

In our experience (three trips), there have been only pros, no cons, for our one-way overseas flights.

All the airlines, and all times, were available, excluding times which would not work (such as a 7am flight out of Rome on the day the ship got there).

Flights which would have cost us $4,400 each booking through the airline cost under $800 through ChoiceAir.

We were able to choose our seats.

The mock bookings allowed us to mull over the options, and the phone call to lock one in was efficient and pleasant.

We did receive (without asking) notifications of airline schedule changes.

All in all, 100% satisfaction.

 

Excellent info, thank you! Gee, I thought I got a good deal until I read your post, I'll take your advice if I fly internationally and will look to book one way thru Choice Air. I did want to use them, but unfortunately it didn't work out for my situation. I appreciate that you took the time to post this, I have gained tremendously by reading C.C. comments.

[awhcruiser]

Are you trying to tell us something?

There IS no benefit to using Choice Air!!! Only downsides. You are not guaranteed to be on any flight, the change you whenever THEY get a better deal, but you pay the same. We are on 4 flights with 4 different airlines!!!! And they don't supply any airport transfers. THEY ARE USELESS! And can't upgrade to extra legroom for the airline fee. The try to charge you a $200 penalty for changing your seat on THE SAME PLANE!!!! Also offer a refund if you find a cheaper flight but never pay it!!!

 

BOOK YOURSEL! deal directly with the airlines.

Choice Air is useless.

[Lastdance]

Flying nowadays is at best a crap shoot. Yes, we have had issues, but mostly because of the airlines themselves changing and canceling flights. However, we have gotten great prices for business class flying one way. So, you have to take the good with the bad if necessary and "fly with it." It has been much better than United for us!

 

 

 

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[aVacation4me]

Flying nowadays is at best a crap shoot. Yes, we have had issues, but mostly because of the airlines themselves changing and canceling flights. However, we have gotten great prices for business class flying one way. So, you have to take the good with the bad if necessary and "fly with it." It has been much better than United for us!

 

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You did your homework. In some instances Air Choice is the way to go, in others booking on your own may be better. If not for scary short (41 min.) layover times I would have booked with Choice Air. Luckily I found better, longer layover times with Southwest, an airline I like to fly with. I (knock on wood) have always gotten a seat where I wanted to be, at a lower fare, (at even more savings by getting up to two bags checked free). A month after booking I had buyer's remorse and decided flying the morning of sailing was too stressful (after admonishments from fam); so I called S.W. They didn't charge a fee for switching my (no-refund) flight to Seattle to a day earlier. I may not have been so lucky w/C.A. I stumbled onto a bit of luck by catching a flash sale on hotels dot com and saved over $200 on a room for the night. (If I cruise with Celebrity again I will look at Choice Air as a possibility and base my decision on what I find.) Happy cruising and thank you for your information...I love this site, it's a wealth of info.

[pat46zzz]

if you had missed the ship, using Choice Air, they would have gotten you to the next port to meet the ship.

 

Our flight was delayed due to the closing of the airport. As a result we "missed the boat" literally. Choice Air put us up in a hotel in Fort Lauderdale that night and flew us the next day to the first port and put us up in a hotel there for one night until we could rejoin the ship. They also reimbursed us for the taxis that we took. They just paid it as an onboard credit within 24 hours of us getting on the ship. They paid the hotels and airline directly.We did not have to hassle with an insurance company.

We were extremely pleased with the process.

[huette]

Just be careful when you're looking at pricing for the Celebrity Air. If you go on Celebrity's site to review air fair, the cost is different than if you go on the booking tab. It's actually higher when you choose a flight as if you're booking. Just browsing will show you an incorrect/lower price.

[sasset]

We've used it several times and have been happy with it. Anyone ever see fares on Choice Air/Flights By Celebrity drop?

[Jim_Iain]

42 minutes ago, sasset said:

We've used it several times and have been happy with it. Anyone ever see fares on Choice Air/Flights By Celebrity drop?

I see the prices drop on a daily basis on ChoiceAir.   The seats they have discounted are capacity limited.

 

I just recently purchased an International Business Class on Delta from Rome to SFO for $1,500 Business Class and the prices had been running above $3,000 until yesterday.   The flight is for November so a long way off. 

 

I've been tracking some First Class fares from FLL/MIA to either SFO or SJC.    Prices have been running $600+ pp until yesterday when the one I was tracking dropped to $471.    I checked Choice Air today and they are sitting at  $550 for the same flight.   Do your homework and you will be pleased. 

 

One thing that I have to note is that the "Guarantee" to get you to the ship if you have a problem is not what many may expect.   I had a missed flight due to a major traffic accident blocking the highway.   When I called Choice Air they contacted the Airline (AA) and nothing was available for 2 days.    Since it was a special AA fare it was non-transferrable to partner airlines.   They got me to the Ship but it cost me an extra $400 and I had to fly coach instead of Business Class. 

[sasset]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I’ve seen fluctuations in the website several times a day always jumping higher then dropping back sometimes but seems more of computer glitch. Been watching LHR to LAX for early May. Staying at about $4200 for business; 8K to SNA. But if I fly to PHX it’s only $2300 for business. We could then grab an AA flight to SNA later the same day real cheap which is closer to home. Just the hassle of collections all the luggage and making the new flight is a downer. Hoping for a drop to LAX or SNA but all of the California airports are at least $4 K right now. Anyway, thanks again.