Choice Air Question - Economy Plus

[waterbug123]

Recently booked with Choice Air on Lufthansa, MIA/PRG and returning from AMS/MIA, Premium Economy. Saved approx. $400 pp. below airline website. Plan to request complimentary upgrade to Bus. class, if possible.

 

On what basis do you expect an airline to give you a complimentary upgrade to business class on a transatlantic flight???

 

Although I prefer Delta, I'm glad I got the flight home on United. I'm familiar with Delta's basic pricing and that may have been what was available at the low price I paid. (Delta wasn't offered on the day we are departing but was the next day and I had thought of changing just to fly Delta, but now glad I didn't) Delta's international planes have a 2-4or5- 2 configuration and the last thing I want to be is stuck in the middle.

 

Unless you can select seats in advance, there is always the chance of a middle seat on a long haul international flight, because no airline has 2-2-2 seating in economy. In fact, many have 3-X-3, which has a much higher risk of getting a middle seat than Delta's 2-X-2.

[mek]

Unless you can select seats in advance, there is always the chance of a middle seat on a long haul international flight, because no airline has 2-2-2 seating in economy. In fact, many have 3-X-3, which has a much higher risk of getting a middle seat than Delta's 2-X-2.

 

Well, as I previously mentioned , this is my first time with Choice Air and it never occurred to me that the fare they offer might not allow me to choose my seats in advance. Guess I got lucky and if I ever use them in the future, I will make sure I have that option.

 

Even an old dog can learn new tricks!

[tandtiff]

Just go onto Choice Air and check the 3 prices, i.e. Economy, Economy +, and Business. Then call the airline direct and ask how much to upgrade. On Delta last year to Barcelona from Atlanta, I booked Choice Air, then went into the website and it prompted me to see if I wanted to upgrade to Economy + for $99.

 

Thanks. I'll try that.

[tandtiff]

I compared prices and it was considerably lower to book economy and then do the upgrade with the airline. Not sure if that is the case with all flights/fares and the United web site didn't allow me to upgrade to business. I might call United directly and see what they say about that.

 

Thanks for your reply.

[tandtiff]

I can't answer for UA, but Delta also sells Basic Economy seats (including on some international itineraries) that cannot be upgraded through any means. So again, something to watch for if booking via Choice Air. DL's BE seats also do not allow seat selection prior to 24 hours before flight.

 

Do you know how to determine if a ticket on Choice Air is Basic Economy vs. regular Economy that can be upgraded?

 

We've only used Choice Air once for a one-way ticket to Chile. Their (CA) non-stop flight from Miami was $800 compared to $3300 on LAN's website. We flew Economy and did not try to upgrade or change anything so all went well. This time, we are looking for round trip to Rome (from Orlando) in late October and would like something a bit more comfortable. We've been looking at options, but the choices as well as things to consider are a bit overwhelming.

[Jim_Iain]

We booked Choice Air for the Chgo to Miami. Are you using Choice Air for your return? I have read Miami airport is almost a 2 mile walk from entrance to gates. Any one know if this is true?

 

Unfortunately this is not true. MIA is approximately 10 miles from Miami Cruise Terminal and 31 miles to Port Everglades.

 

Possibly you are thinking that FLL is close to Port Everglades. Port Everglades is about 5 miles from FLL.

[bigdawgs]

Probably small chance of complimentary upgrade from Premium Economy to Bus. class, even if Bus. has a dozen empty seats. However, sometimes they offer an upgrade for a reasonbly small amount at check in. We will see. Our friends were offered an upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy for a small amount on a flight from MIA to FRA (Frankfurt) on the A380.

[Cruzinram]

I spoke with Delta about upgrade from economy to premium. They were unable to tell me not knowing the ticket class. How can I get the economy ticket class before purchase.

[Clarea]

I spoke with Delta about upgrade from economy to premium. They were unable to tell me not knowing the ticket class. How can I get the economy ticket class before purchase.

Talk to the Choice Air people.

[Cruzinram]

OK, so this is not working very well. I contacted Choice Air and asked for the Ticket Class that Delta needed. Choice Air then told me that I needed the Booking Code from Delta to give to Choice Air. I have not called Delta as yet, but assuming they give me a Booking Code and I give it Delta, and purchase the ticket, I am not getting a warm and cozy feeling that I will get the correct ticket for an upgrade and not sure Delta will even give me the upgrade if I have the correct ticket. I do not want to buy an economy ticket and be stuck with it. I want to fly premium economy. Any suggestions?

[markeb]

OK, so this is not working very well. I contacted Choice Air and asked for the Ticket Class that Delta needed. Choice Air then told me that I needed the Booking Code from Delta to give to Choice Air. I have not called Delta as yet, but assuming they give me a Booking Code and I give it Delta, and purchase the ticket, I am not getting a warm and cozy feeling that I will get the correct ticket for an upgrade and not sure Delta will even give me the upgrade if I have the correct ticket. I do not want to buy an economy ticket and be stuck with it. I want to fly premium economy. Any suggestions?

 

Ask Choice Air for the fare code they would book you into. This is a one letter code; "E" is basic economy on Delta. Assuming you don't have elite frequent flyer status on Delta, your price to move to a premium economy (I think Delta calls this Comfort +) should be based on fare basis and distance. I don't fly Delta, but it looks like they have a LOT of fare codes with varying rules; most of the rules online are for actual upgrades, such as coach to business or first. Delta should be able to tell you what the minimum eligible fare code is to pay for Comfort + as an upgrade.

 

The alternative, of course, is to have Choice Air book you in Comfort +....

[dodger1964]

OK, so this is not working very well. I contacted Choice Air and asked for the Ticket Class that Delta needed. Choice Air then told me that I needed the Booking Code from Delta to give to Choice Air. I have not called Delta as yet, but assuming they give me a Booking Code and I give it Delta, and purchase the ticket, I am not getting a warm and cozy feeling that I will get the correct ticket for an upgrade and not sure Delta will even give me the upgrade if I have the correct ticket. I do not want to buy an economy ticket and be stuck with it. I want to fly premium economy. Any suggestions?

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but with delta you can just book directly into "delta comfort". It obviously costs more than "main cabin".

 

Now if you are trying upgrade with miles, that is a different story.

[Clarea]

Maybe I'm missing something, but with delta you can just book directly into "delta comfort". It obviously costs more than "main cabin".

 

Now if you are trying upgrade with miles, that is a different story.

I've not been able to book directly into the "Comfort+" seats from Choice Air. I've always booked Economy with Choice Air and then use the Delta website to upgrade.

[waterbug123]

......Delta......I do not want to buy an economy ticket and be stuck with it. I want to fly premium economy. Any suggestions?

 

Where and when are you flying? Delta only offers Premium Economy on a few limited routes to Asia. They call the product "Premium Select."

 

 

They offer Comfort+, which many mistakenly refer to as premium economy, but it is NOT a premium economy product. It is just economy with a few more inches of legroom.

 

This link is to the FAQ on Delta's website regarding upgrading to comfort+. You might note that it says if you upgrade after purchase, you might pay more than if you just book comfort+ to begin with.