Disappearing flights

[hop2it]

We were checking our EZAir flights for possible fare reductions and quickly pounced on some lower prices. But by the time we got to the confirmation page (within a minute or so) the flights were "no longer available." So we tried again -- three more times, and the same thing happened each time. So we wonder: Is this a common occurrence, or just a sudden run of bad luck?

[eclue]

This has happened to me before...I actually called the Princess EZair rep and she could not help....but then I tried again about an hour or two later and the lower priced flights were there and able to be booked so keep checking.

[satxdiver]

Princess only has a limited number of tickets for any flight.  Sounds like someone else was trying to get the same flight as the OP and beat him to it.  In answer however it has not happened to me yet. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

This was a frustrating glitch last year. I can’t remember if the flights ended up being available or not. It would show an awesome price but then not work to book. Good luck!

[aprilsp88]

6 hours ago, hop2it said:

We were checking our EZAir flights for possible fare reductions and quickly pounced on some lower prices. But by the time we got to the confirmation page (within a minute or so) the flights were "no longer available." So we tried again -- three more times, and the same thing happened each time. So we wonder: Is this a common occurrence, or just a sudden run of bad luck?

Yes it happened to me last year. Not able to book the cheaper fare but it kept on showing up for days.

[land lover]

5 hours ago, satxdiver said:

Princess only has a limited number of tickets for any flight.  Sounds like someone else was trying to get the same flight as the OP and beat him to it.  In answer however it has not happened to me yet. 

 Really,  who gave you this info? 

Being one who has booked EZ  for every continent in the last 3 years, some more than once my total probably 15 flights.  My experiences would say that the airlines are making the decisions regarding availability on the princess site.

I certainly would like to learn more if that is not the case.

 

 

 

 

[land lover]

7 hours ago, hop2it said:

We were checking our EZAir flights for possible fare reductions and quickly pounced on some lower prices. But by the time we got to the confirmation page (within a minute or so) the flights were "no longer available." So we tried again -- three more times, and the same thing happened each time. So we wonder: Is this a common occurrence, or just a sudden run of bad luck?

 Yes, it is common. Just like if you were booking with the airline itself. Was the price difference significant?

[KNJScorpio]

8 hours ago, land lover said:

 Really,  who gave you this info? 

Being one who has booked EZ  for every continent in the last 3 years, some more than once my total probably 15 flights.  My experiences would say that the airlines are making the decisions regarding availability on the princess site.

I certainly would like to learn more if that is not the case.

 

 

 

 

 

I know a lot of the wonderful people who work in this department and as I understand it, yes, the negotiations for lower "bulk" pricing includes only a limited amount of seats available at a certain price/on a certain flight. 

 

It happens often. When I was helping my father book flights for an upcoming cruise through EZ Air I kept getting anxious we'd lose the good price/flights if he didn't hurry up LOL. It is a live system, people are booking while you're reading/thinking and sadly, it doesn't hold your place in line when you use EZ Air (in fact, no airline system will do that, if someone press's purchase, they get those flights which might be the last seats). 

[Times Prince]

16 hours ago, hop2it said:

We were checking our EZAir flights for possible fare reductions and quickly pounced on some lower prices. But by the time we got to the confirmation page (within a minute or so) the flights were "no longer available." So we tried again -- three more times, and the same thing happened each time. So we wonder: Is this a common occurrence, or just a sudden run of bad luck?

From my experience this can be a common problem.  We had one trip where we booked a flight to the port with 1 stop at an intermediate airport.  A while later, we looked at booking the same flight plan as two separate flights, quoted online as about $150 per ticket less expensive again using EZAir.  But at confirmation we got the "flights not available", although there were clearly seats available and the prices on the Princess web site persisted.
We called Princess, talked to an EZAir rep and manager, and were told that the airline simply would not accept a booking at the lower price.  End of story.   They stated the flight booking was out of their control, as the airlines had control. and could reject the lower price booking.

Although I had Princess repeat my attempt at booking the online lower price (they saw it too) they could not honor the price that was there.

[caribill]

16 hours ago, hop2it said:

We were checking our EZAir flights for possible fare reductions and quickly pounced on some lower prices. But by the time we got to the confirmation page (within a minute or so) the flights were "no longer available." So we tried again -- three more times, and the same thing happened each time. So we wonder: Is this a common occurrence, or just a sudden run of bad luck?

 

Was this three more times with the exact same flights? If so, there is a glitch in the software somewhere.  Either the flights should not have been shown in the first place or they should have been available throughout the booking process.

 

Was this with three other flights? If so, then it is possible other people were looking at the same time and beating you to making the reservation.

[hop2it]

<< Was this three more times with the exact same flights? >>

 

The booking is for a rather complicated international trip with quite a few stops and plane changes, and I think at least one of the flights did indeed change, presumably each of the times I tried to book.  . . . . Anyway, thanks for all the interesting replies and I'll keep checking.