Upgrading OLife Air to Business Class?

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

While we agree in principle, there are issues.  I would remind you that we were booked on a Dec 2021 Marina cruise that was supposed to end in Lima Peru,  Following your advice (and our own good sense) we booked our own Business Class (Delta Airlines) from Lima back to the USA.  Just 3 weeks prior to our cruise, "O" changed our debarkation port to Santiago, Chile (only 1500 miles from Lima).  We were thus stuck with expensive (in terms of miles) Biz Class for which "O" was not offering anything other than sympathy and a few hundred dollars for change fees.   It all worked out as Delta refunded all of our miles (and the associated booking fees) and "O" refunded our cruise fare (after we told them what they could do with that altered cruise itinerary).

 

But folks do need to accept the increased financial risk of booking their own Biz Class and later having "O" either cancel or alter the itinerary.  In fairness to O, these issues are a problem with many cruise lines. 

One of the reasons I prefer United is their customer service (e.g., they actually answer the phone👀) and flexibility with rebooking situations and, when necessary, the issuance of ETCs and/or FFCs which work great if one travels/flies frequently.

There are plusses/minuses to using a cruise line’s air department. Perhaps the line’s bizclass price may be less expensive than DIY and they may take care of refunds/rebooking logistics. But, inserting a middleman (air dept) in an air issue situation has a downside when the change needs to happen immediately.

We were on the last Nautica cruise before the Covid shut down. Rerouted from Singapore cruise end to Dubai found an interesting situation. Those who used O air were informed that their flight rebooking would be done automatically and, while that was convenient for most, there were a significant number of folks who had problems with terrible flights (e.g., requiring 1-2 night stay in Dubai). We DIYers were given free satellite phone time and  reimbursement for change fees.

 

In our case, Dubai presented a terrible set of connections if we tried to use the original airline (Cathay Pacific). So we contacted United and got home quickly at a reasonable cost (Cathay later refunded the return flight which we cancelled on time). As for O: although it wasn’t a “change fee” situation, I asked for a $ consideration on our next booked O cruise and was given $500 SBC.

 

I was glad to have been a DIYer.

 

BTW (I’ve told this story here before): A guy I met on the line for access to one of the DIY satellite phones on Nautica was a retired Delta pilot. When I asked if Delta would take good care of him, he said: “ I only use United for intercontinental air.” To my question “Why?” he responded: “They answer the phone.”

[the more ports the better]

I am a plus 1 for the fact that UA answers the phone and has great customer service, plus they work with you on routings. 
 

Also, if you are stuck in the airport with a late or cancelled flight, you can always pop into a UA club and rebook.  They will confirm you on the next available flight and put you standby for several earlier flights just in case there are no shows.  Sometimes you get lucky.
 

Flatbush, I do have lifetime gold on UA, closing in on lifetime platinum.  I could kick myself as I have just short of 1 mil on American too.  If I would have stuck to UA, I would be closing in on lifetime 1k.  Now that would be nice for retirement next year but I just wasn’t that smart in the early days. 

[pinotlover]

13 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

I am a plus 1 for the fact that UA answers the phone and has great customer service, plus they work with you on routings. 
 

Also, if you are stuck in the airport with a late or cancelled flight, you can always pop into a UA club and rebook.  They will confirm you on the next available flight and put you standby for several earlier flights just in case there are no shows.  Sometimes you get lucky.
 

Flatbush, I do have lifetime gold on UA, closing in on lifetime platinum.  I could kick myself as I have just short of 1 mil on American too.  If I would have stuck to UA, I would be closing in on lifetime 1k.  Now that would be nice for retirement next year but I just wasn’t that smart in the early days. 

Having been a corporate vagabond for years, I have status on both UA and AA. When you live in Chicago or Denver, UA is the easy choice to get where you’re going. In Dallas, it’s AA. Today in retirement having dual permanent status is great. There are places where UA and the Star Alliance provides better and more regular service to and likewise with AA and oneworld. I call the Platinum Line at AA, I get the same service as at UA. Options! Much like having lifetime status at both Marriott and Hyatt.

 

UA, with its dynamic pricing with ff miles, seems to be far harsher than AA fwiw.

Edited August 1, 2022 by pinotlover

[the more ports the better]

I agree, the dynamic pricing is ridiculous.  I find that I purchase tickets for business travel and save miles for personal travel.  I used to try to book my business transcontinental flights with miles but it’s really difficult when you are locked into dates.  
 

I just booked Singapore for a May sailing for 275,000 miles pp.  it used to be that saver fares were 90,000.  I saw a non stop Chicago to Rome for 350,000.  It is getting impossible.  Maybe I should try AA.  It’s easy enough to rack up a bunch of miles between travel, cruising and credit cards.

[pinotlover]

On 7/30/2022 at 11:26 AM, Hlitner said:

 

 

We continue to wonder why "O" does not work with some of the large commercial air booking agencies that can routinely get big Business Class discounts (on normal flights).  As a simple example, we recently flew from Prague back to the USA for about $1000 (United Business Class).  The normal United Biz Class fare for that route is about $4300 (one way) which is what we would have needed to pay if connected to an O cruise.  But because it was booked as part of a Seabourn cruise we saved about $6600 (for two of us) when compared to cruising with "O."

 

Hank

 

 

Hank;

 

NCLH is NCL, Oceania, & Regent cruise lines. When NCL took over PCH one of the listed advantages was a consolidated Air Department. Regent flies a large percentage of its customers business class. The company already has in place all the tools it needs to offer business class air to Oceania cruisers.

 

Each of NCLH’s three lines have their own niches, markets, and profit centers. On Oceania, the Air Department is one of its profit centers, just like its shorex group and their ridiculous prices. I don’t believe Oceania sees a need to exert energy to trim a profit center at this time. It’s not a matter of having the current capacity to do so, it’s strategic branding. NCLH has a brand offering Biz Class Air, it’s called Regent. It’s why Regent doesn’t compete in “ best cuisine at sea”! That’s a different brand. Don’t smear the lines. 🥂

[oskidunker]

15 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

I agree, the dynamic pricing is ridiculous.  I find that I purchase tickets for business travel and save miles for personal travel.  I used to try to book my business transcontinental flights with miles but it’s really difficult when you are locked into dates.  
 

I just booked Singapore for a May sailing for 275,000 miles pp.  it used to be that saver fares were 90,000.  I saw a non stop Chicago to Rome for 350,000.  It is getting impossible.  Maybe I should try AA.  It’s easy enough to rack up a bunch of miles between travel, cruising and credit cards.

Agree.. i cancelled my UnitedChase fee card along with Marriott. Got non fee united card. Cash back cards seem the way to go rather than trying to use ff miles that keep going up. I have about 275,000 as does my wife. Unable to get business from sfo to Lhr. When we use these miles, we are done with united frequent flier program.  Will choose an airline based on price and services. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, oskidunker said:

Agree.. i cancelled my UnitedChase fee card along with Marriott. Got non fee united card. Cash back cards seem the way to go rather than trying to use ff miles that keep going up. I have about 275,000 as does my wife. Unable to get business from sfo to Lhr. When we use these miles, we are done with united frequent flier program.  Will choose an airline based on price and services. 

UA flies nonstop SFO-LHR.

[oskidunker]

13 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

UA flies nonstop SFO-LHR.

True but they want more than 275,ooo Round Trip. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

True but they want more than 275,ooo Round Trip. 

Some days that’s a bargain👀

[osandomir]

48 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

True but they want more than 275,ooo Round Trip. 

I agree - most likely it’s 275,000+ One Way. On the other hand, some times Biz Air deals are still available, especially to Asia or Far East, but it’s best to book a year in advance when the schedule opens.

[roberts2005]

In October, it is costing us 180,000 AA miles NYC to Barcelona one way.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, roberts2005 said:

In October, it is costing us 180,000 AA miles NYC to Barcelona one way.

Last time I checked, NYC was closer to BCN than is SFO and AA was not United. In any case, I know I have an old United mileage chart somewhere.  
But, if I look at it, I know I’ll get depressed.

[the more ports the better]

I can’t say I’m willing to give up my United card just yet as I use it to book cruises and a typical sailing nets around 150,000 miles.  Two sailings and we have two RT biz tickets as long as I’m flexible with days and itineraries.  So we typically get a freebie biz class ticket every other sailing.
 

Plus I have a couple of adult kids with disabilities that cannot travel on their own.  I sail with them two or three times per year, sometimes we fly to Europe but most of the time we are on a Giant Royal Caribbean Symphony Class ship sailing from FL. so I apply the 80,000 miles earned from the kids sailing to my account and purchase biz tics for Me and hubby for our interesting travels.

[oskidunker]

20 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

I can’t say I’m willing to give up my United card just yet as I use it to book cruises and a typical sailing nets around 150,000 miles.  Two sailings and we have two RT biz tickets as long as I’m flexible with days and itineraries.  So we typically get a freebie biz class ticket every other sailing.
 

Plus I have a couple of adult kids with disabilities that cannot travel on their own.  I sail with them two or three times per year, sometimes we fly to Europe but most of the time we are on a Giant Royal Caribbean Symphony Class ship sailing from FL. so I apply the 80,000 miles earned from the kids sailing to my account and purchase biz tics for Me and hubby for our interesting travels.

Are you getting three miles for every dollar spent?

[pinotlover]

2 hours ago, oskidunker said:

Are you getting three miles for every dollar spent?

And therein lies the problem. Pre-Covid, there was an industry article on UA discussing how many thousands of flyers they have with over 1 million miles in their ff miles accounts. It’s actually carried as a liability on their financial statements. All this dynamic pricing we suffer through is merely a problem to get those with the huge numbers to burn through their accounts.

[the more ports the better]

I get 8 miles per dollar spent on cruises.  And yea, Pinot, I agree, it’s pretty unusual that I don’t have 1 mil FF miles I’m my acct.  I just spent 500k on biz class to Singapore for my spring trip on Nautica Singapore to Dubai so I’m lite now but it will be back up there soon.

 

It is frustrating that the mileage requirements are so high but it’s all a game, they make them easy to earn to rope you in but difficult to spend.  Realistically though, we are getting free biz class flights, just not as frequently as we wish.

[oskidunker]

11 hours ago, the more ports the better said:

I get 8 miles per dollar spent on cruises.  And yea, Pinot, I agree, it’s pretty unusual that I don’t have 1 mil FF miles I’m my acct.  I just spent 500k on biz class to Singapore for my spring trip on Nautica Singapore to Dubai so I’m lite now but it will be back up there soon.

 

It is frustrating that the mileage requirements are so high but it’s all a game, they make them easy to earn to rope you in but difficult to spend.  Realistically though, we are getting free biz class flights, just not as frequently as we wish.

What card gives 8 miles per dollar spent on cruises ?

[roberts2005]

31 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

What card gives 8 miles per dollar spent on cruises ?

I get 3 per dollar on my chase card. 8 sounds too good to be true.

[ORV]

1 hour ago, oskidunker said:

What card gives 8 miles per dollar spent on cruises ?

Isn't that the TOYA card? 

[pinotlover]

2 hours ago, oskidunker said:

What card gives 8 miles per dollar spent on cruises ?

I may be speaking out of order for him, but I believe the miles come from using United Travel as the Travel Agency for the cruise. Where some here only want TAs that give cash rebates, others use United Travel for more ff miles. I get the offers and brochures regularly from them because they see me making payments to Oceania, Uniworld, etc. on my Explorer card. 
 

If you don’t use O Air, United will work the air for you and give you even more ff miles.

[ORV]

What's important is what those points, miles etc. will actually get you. On my Hilton Amex I get a bunch of points on all purchases, even more when I spend at a Hilton property. BUT, to get a room with their points is about 3 to 4 times as much as a Marriott room. 

 

Point is, there is more to look at than points earned per dollar spent. 

[AC2]

FWIW...We are traveling multi city transatlantic cruise ending Rome with a 4 night stay, Rome to London 2 nights and back AZ. Flights are all First class/Business class, total FF miles pp125K. We did Oceania air in 2005, there were approximately 20 fellow cruisers that did not make the flight ATL-BCN for embarkation. The ones that chose to take a later flight 4 days later joined the cruise in Lisbon. From that day forward we always make our own air arrangements. 

[Aloha 1]

49 minutes ago, AC2 said:

FWIW...We are traveling multi city transatlantic cruise ending Rome with a 4 night stay, Rome to London 2 nights and back AZ. Flights are all First class/Business class, total FF miles pp125K. We did Oceania air in 2005, there were approximately 20 fellow cruisers that did not make the flight ATL-BCN for embarkation. The ones that chose to take a later flight 4 days later joined the cruise in Lisbon. From that day forward we always make our own air arrangements. 

What airlines?

[AC2]

AA and BA

[pinotlover]

11 minutes ago, AC2 said:

AA and BA

2005!!! Contentinal Airlines was still in business then!! Should I talk about Delta in the 1980s??

 

Being serious now in 2022. Airlines are flying jammed packed.

 

1.  Get to the airport way ahead of flight time. 3-4 hours ahead. In AMS, it was 3.5 hours from checkin/baggage drop to the gate. That was on a Thursday.

 

2. Never schedule a layover less than 2 hours anywhere. Three is even better.

 

3. Don’t fly in on the day of Embarkment or tour start. Come early.

 

4.  Never take a buy out on a plane that’s flying. You never know when you might actually get on that next flight.

 

5. Avoid airports that are disasters. Amsterdam ( AMS) is a Black Hole. It’s going to take a long time for KLM to get it straightened out. There’s a reason Delta is offering cheaper fares via there. You might go in and take days to get out! In June, we had passengers join our cruise on Day 3, without luggage, that ended up taking the train to catch the ship because of flight cancellations out of AMS. Heathrow is now recommending at least three hours time for connecting flights. We had fellow ship passengers with less than 2 hour connecting times on UA out of ORD, that never saw their baggage the entire cruise. Stuck in a warehouse in Chicago.

 

This isn’t 2017 or 18. Planning air is a task.