EZ Air - getting seats assigned before payment

[RoperDK]

We have an Alaska cruise in August 2021.  It's getting close to being able to select flights.  I've been doing mock bookings on earlier cruises.  Some airlines show seat maps, some don't.  When I finally get to choose a flight, do I get to pick my seat then or do I have a "guaranteed seat in that category" and it will be assigned by the airline when I pay?  We are looking at first/business class if that makes a difference.  TIA     

[john_galt]

We picked our seats in first/business with American. It showed in AAdvantage just like a regular booking. We like the second row, starboard. 

[Cruise Raider]

We just booked our air on Alaska Airlines and they had the option right there in the EZ air booking site to pick our seats.  

[John99]

Greeting RoperDK,

 

What air line(s) are you looking to make a booking with?  That would help.

 

Princess made EZ Air available for Alaska 3 or 4 weeks ago.  I secured a Delta round trip flight from the mid-west (DTW to ANC) for $689pp which arrives in the evening.  Delta and American are among several airlines that allow you select your seats when using EZ Air.  I selected seats for both DW and myself.  I notice flights that leave in the morning and arrive in the early afternoon are considerably higher ($1485pp).  A checked of several travel web sites revealed prices were the same if not similar. If the price drops I will rebook to take advantage.  If I rebook, I will have to select our seats again.  They do not carry over from the prior Air Booking.   John 

 

[skynight]

It depends on the airline as to when you can select seats. We have had success in selecting seats on a few different airlines. Once booked in EZ Air we translate that booking number into the airline's booking number. We then have been able to confirm seats on the airline's site.

If you are booking 1st/business class, probably no bad seats. 

[JF - retired RRT]

41 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

We just booked our air on Alaska Airlines and they had the option right there in the EZ air booking site to pick our seats.  

Ours, too.

Some airlines allow it, some don't...it's up to them.

[Cruise Raider]

21 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Ours, too.

Some airlines allow it, some don't...it's up to them.

 

I think you are correct ... I think it is up to the airline.  

Previously, there was a time  when I booked my flights through EZ air and I had to call the airline directly to get assigned seats.  Back then, it took a couple of days before they could do it ... they had to first get the info from the cruise company.  That is what I was told anyway.  It seems to me that was on Alaska as well but, I can't swear to it. 

Well, this time, no problem ... I just booked it when I booked the air via the Princess EZ air site.  That made it so nice and easy....no fuss, no muss.   BTW, I booked the flexible option this time around.  Also, I booked first class.  I really don't know if that made any difference at all, though.  Maybe it did, maybe it didn't.  

 

PS .. EZ air seems to have great deals when traveling internationally but, the same pricing for domestic flights.  I certainly do like the flexible option, though.  It makes it easier, especially now when we really don't know if sailings will really happen or not. 

[RoperDK]

1 hour ago, John99 said:

Greeting RoperDK,

 

What air line(s) are you looking to make a booking with?  That would help.

 

I have narrowed the flights down to American and United.  Delta is a distant third.  Delta is my favorite airline, but pricey for these flights.  American and Delta show seat maps.  So, I'm guessing that United won't let me pick my seats.  Anyone have any experience with United?  We haven't flown in a few years and we always used Delta miles then.  Now that we are retired and have to pay, I'm looking for a good price along with a decent experience. 

[patrickmoran]

Most likely you will be able to pick your seats with any US carrier that allows seat assignment immediately .  Wait 24 hours and then go to the airline's website and confirm that seats were assigned.  P's confirmation will have the airline's confirmation number.

[JF - retired RRT]

48 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

PS .. EZ air seems to have great deals when traveling internationally but, the same pricing for domestic flights.  I certainly do like the flexible option, though.  It makes it easier, especially now when we really don't know if sailings will really happen or not. 

 

Not always. Our flight (before Covid) was less than the airline or 3rd party sites. It was a flight on Alaska, LA to FLL. We got a really good price.

Maybe it depends on when you book the flight or the fairy godmother's mood.

[capriccio]

We've never had a problem getting seat assignments on United (we've used EZ-Air on half a dozen United flights in the last 3 years).

[skynight]

We have used United. In 1st/business class you can select your seats when booked. 

[capriccio]

5 minutes ago, skynight said:

We have used United. In 1st/business class you can select your seats when booked. 

 

We've done it in economy too.  And if you have economy plus due to your United status, after booking an economy seat just go on line and change your seat selection to an economy plus seat (no additional charges are incurred)..

[RoperDK]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

We've never had a problem getting seat assignments on United (we've used EZ-Air on half a dozen United flights in the last 3 years).

 

43 minutes ago, skynight said:

We have used United. In 1st/business class you can select your seats when booked. 

 

Thanks! So do you have the ability to get your seats thru EZ Air or do you go to United's website?   

[capriccio]

5 minutes ago, RoperDK said:

 

 

Thanks! So do you have the ability to get your seats thru EZ Air or do you go to United's website?   

You can do it thru EZ Air.

[skynight]

12 hours ago, capriccio said:

 

We've done it in economy too.  And if you have economy plus due to your United status, after booking an economy seat just go on line and change your seat selection to an economy plus seat (no additional charges are incurred)..

This information applies only to United, and was the way it was pre-pandemic. Other airlines have had different practices.

When booking through EZ Air or any consolidator United did not accept upgrades to economy plus until EZ Air actually paid United. EZ Air paid United after the 45 day window. On our most recent January/February flights EZ Air paid around day 37. By that time most of the economy plus seating had been taken. Also United did not allow direct booking of economy plus seating. It was an upgrade selection choice once you booked and paid for economy. We have always received free first bag luggage with our credit card even when booked through EZ Air. This past January United discontinued this practice when booking through a consolidator. We had to pay the $30/bag luggage fees at check in.

I'm not certain how United worked on flights booked through EZ Air if your frequent flyer status was Silver, Gold, Platinum or 1K. It could have been different from what we experienced. We have no real frequent flyer status.

Conclusion: It might be a good idea to research United's current procedures before booking United. In this thread RoperDK indicated they were booking 1st/business class. These are direct bookings as 1st/business class and you can select your seats upon booking with EZ Air. 

Edited September 17, 2020 by skynight

[capriccio]

skynight - to clarify I was sharing our experiences as asked by OP with United both in business/first class and economy since 2017.  We were always able to pick our seats on EZ Air.  While we have status with the airline, our traveling companions on two flights did not and they had no trouble picking their seats upon booking. 

 

I'm sure this will never happen again but we were surprised that on a return flight from London to Dulles last year that we were actually upgraded to business!  I'm sure my husband's status (million miler, gold status for life) was the determining factor but it was never expected on a consolidator's economy ticket (which we had upgraded for free to economy plus). 

Edited September 17, 2020 by capriccio

[shellbeachjim]

3 hours ago, capriccio said:

skynight - to clarify I was sharing our experiences as asked by OP with United both in business/first class and economy since 2017.  We were always able to pick our seats on EZ Air.  While we have status with the airline, our traveling companions on two flights did not and they had no trouble picking their seats upon booking. 

 

I'm sure this will never happen again but we were surprised that on a return flight from London to Dulles last year that we were actually upgraded to business!  I'm sure my husband's status (million miler, gold status for life) was the determining factor but it was never expected on a consolidator's economy ticket (which we had upgraded for free to economy plus). 

I recently booked flights on EZ Air on United and American for our Singapore to Rome cruise. I could select seats for our American flights, but could only select seats for the domestic portion of our United flights. I needed to provide our passport/contact information on our SFO-SIN flight before United would let me select our seats. Also I had to use the United website, not their app, to do this. YMMV...

 

By the way, nice upgrade!

[cruzsnooze]

On 9/16/2020 at 1:06 PM, skynight said:

.

If you are booking 1st/business class, probably no bad seats. 

I think the first and last row are terrible and won't fly in those seats in first or business. The first row is a bulk head and the tray table is inconvenient and the entertainment system is on the wall and doesn't tilt forward or back.  The last row usually row 4 or 5 or 6 doesn't recline as much as the other rows due to the coat closet. 

[skynight]

Just to clarify. We were able to select our United economy seats for our US domestic flights once booked on EZ Air. We were not allowed to upgrade those seats to premium economy until EZ Air actually paid United. On our last trip in January 2020 payment was made to United around 37 days before the outbound flight. By that time all the premium economy seats were already taken.

[capriccio]

3 minutes ago, skynight said:

Just to clarify. We were able to select our United economy seats for our US domestic flights once booked on EZ Air. We were not allowed to upgrade those seats to premium economy until EZ Air actually paid United. On our last trip in January 2020 payment was made to United around 37 days before the outbound flight. By that time all the premium economy seats were already taken.

 

Your experience is more current than ours which was for an end of June 2019 flight and we made our United reservations in late 2018/early 2019 so it seems that has changed.  And like you said earlier, who can predict what the current and post pandemic process will be.  Trying to get an answer from either EZ Air or United might be challenging but one can book a flexible economy seat through EZ Air and cancel it without any financial impact before the tickets are paid.

[ram290]

Would suggest looking into individual airlines to see what flights you may like, write down the information.  Look at many airlines.  Multiple Cities.

Then go to EZ air and see which flights are available FLEXIBLE.  If you do not book FLEXIBLE, then the payment needs to be made on the spot.   

We are (fingers crossed), re-booked to go on an Alaska Cruise tour May 2021.  Flying American there and Delta back.  Princess had the best price.

And yes, you may pick your seats. 

[Hlitner]

The answer to the OP's question (can you choose seats) is that it depends on the airline and class of service.  

 

Hank

[Thrak]

We used EZ Air to book flights for two cruises that (hopefully) are in late May and early June next year. The first flight is American Airlines from California to FLL for a short cruise and the second flight is Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow back to California. We booked the flights in July and have seats on both flights.

 

For our cruises that were cancelled this November/December we booked a combination of Delta and Virgin Australia. Virgin let us choose seats and Delta (the domestic portion of the flights) didn't let us choose seats.