EZAir Strikes Again or was it the Airlines

[isosika]

We are booked on a cruise out of LA in November and planned on flying from Michigan to Long Beach then staying at the Crowne Plaza.

 

Well, our flights to Long Beach have been changed - and not by us.  Apparently American Airlines changed them to unacceptable flights to/from LAX.  I thought that this might have been done due to all the troubles airlines have been having lately and that perhaps the original flight no longer existed.

 

I checked our Princess EZAir reservation and it still shows the original flight but does say that our reservation has been changed and we will be notified.

 

I went to the American Airlines website to see if our original flights no longer existed.  What I found was that the flight still existed and could be booked.  There appears to be no logical reason for changing our reservation from the original flight.  I even went through a mock booking to insure that such a booking could be done and it could.

 

I went back to the EZAir and went through their option to change flights.  I was able to (mock) rebook the original flight (if I wanted) but only if I paid an additional $128 to do so.  So, for $128 more I can get my original flights back that should not have been changed in the first place.  

 

I'll probably try to contact Princess but their customer service has been so bad lately that it probably won't do any good.

 

I'm pi$$ed.

[msmoger]

Just my opinion but based on everything that has been happening with the airlines I'll bet this is an airline move.  Our flight was cancelled by the airline at the very last minute. I would call Princess early Monday morning when they first open up and see what the deal is.

[PacnGoNow]

10 minutes ago, isosika said:

We are booked on a cruise out of LA in November and planned on flying from Michigan to Long Beach then staying at the Crowne Plaza.

 

Well, our flights to Long Beach have been changed - and not by us.  Apparently American Airlines changed them to unacceptable flights to/from LAX.  I thought that this might have been done due to all the troubles airlines have been having lately and that perhaps the original flight no longer existed.

 

I checked our Princess EZAir reservation and it still shows the original flight but does say that our reservation has been changed and we will be notified.

 

I went to the American Airlines website to see if our original flights no longer existed.  What I found was that the flight still existed and could be booked.  There appears to be no logical reason for changing our reservation from the original flight.  I even went through a mock booking to insure that such a booking could be done and it could.

 

I went back to the EZAir and went through their option to change flights.  I was able to (mock) rebook the original flight (if I wanted) but only if I paid an additional $128 to do so.  So, for $128 more I can get my original flights back that should not have been changed in the first place.  

 

I'll probably try to contact Princess but their customer service has been so bad lately that it probably won't do any good.

 

I'm pi$$ed.

It may have been just a minor schedule change, flight number or times, even a few minutes schedule change. 
You will need to call EZAIR, just call PCL and pick the option for EZAIR.  You will get a regular agent who should be able to  do this for you or get in touch

with the EZAIR desk.  
They may have canceled the Long Beach and then reinstated it, does happen with all the schedule changes.  If it is a connection flight…did those times change?  Is it still a valid connection?

I would call first thing Monday morning, to get a local agent. Believe they open 8 am PT.

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by PacnGoNow

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, isosika said:

We are booked on a cruise out of LA in November and planned on flying from Michigan to Long Beach then staying at the Crowne Plaza.

 

Well, our flights to Long Beach have been changed - and not by us.  Apparently American Airlines changed them to unacceptable flights to/from LAX.  I thought that this might have been done due to all the troubles airlines have been having lately and that perhaps the original flight no longer existed.

 

I checked our Princess EZAir reservation and it still shows the original flight but does say that our reservation has been changed and we will be notified.

 

I went to the American Airlines website to see if our original flights no longer existed.  What I found was that the flight still existed and could be booked.  There appears to be no logical reason for changing our reservation from the original flight.  I even went through a mock booking to insure that such a booking could be done and it could.

 

I went back to the EZAir and went through their option to change flights.  I was able to (mock) rebook the original flight (if I wanted) but only if I paid an additional $128 to do so.  So, for $128 more I can get my original flights back that should not have been changed in the first place.  

 

I'll probably try to contact Princess but their customer service has been so bad lately that it probably won't do any good.

 

I'm pi$$ed.

When you entered the AA record locator does it still show your original/planned flights?  If yes, It might be a slight change in time or an aircraft change.  This happens frequently.

[CineGraphic]

When we flew into LGB last November from ATL to sail on the Majestic, we saw pricing change quite a bit too. We ended up cancelling EZ Air, and booking Southwest on our own, with a change of planes in Denver. We prefer LGB over LAX for many reasons.

[Purple Gallinule]

Here is something I posted on our Rollcall for the Majestic cruise on 7/30.

 

Caution: Horror story follows.

Our friends decided to fly day-of from Tucson to Vancouver. They contacted EZAir and got a routing on American Airlines on Saturday morning through LAX that would get them to Vancouver at 1:05pm. Even with the departure time change they figured all would be well.

 

Enter EZAir. They decided that 5 minutes was 6 too many and changed their booking. The new itinerary was leaving Friday night at 6:30pm going from Tucson to Phoenix. They would have a  FOUR HOUR layover in Phoenix then fly to Chicago O'Hare where they would have a FIVE HOUR layover before flying to Vancouver where they would arrive 29 MINUTES earlier than their original routing.

 

YIKES! I told you it was a horror story.

 

Today he called Princess and actually got through after only 90 minutes and was soon transferred to EZAir. They found their original flight was also available on Friday, but he would have to pick up the cost of a hotel Friday night. OK, he said. The rep said she just had to get her supervisor to approve the change. He was then put on hold for TWO HOURS before the approval came through.

 

Our experience was only moderately better with United's Friday flight. However, we never try to fly day-of and always go at least one day early.

==================

If you are flying to Long Beach be sure to look into going on Southwest and avoiding EZAir.

[san diego sue]

When our flight on United was cancelled late at night before the morning flight (I was traveling day of cruise),I was greatful  that I booked direct and not through EZair. I went on line and immediately booked another flight leaving an hour later and getting in nice and early. I prefer having control and handling any problems with airlines direct rather than with a third party.

[KreinKrunker]

I would check on the American website to see if has been changed there.  If it has, call American.  I've always called the airline first when an unacceptable change has been made, even when using EZ Air.

Edited July 25, 2022 by KreinKrunker

[MileHighAko]

Our EZAir flights for September were booked as soon as they opened up (about 10 months ago). We have had EIGHT flight changes since then. Most of them I think are due to airline schedule changes. One flight segment was changed back and forth to create a 30 min connection which is unacceptable to us, but acceptable to the airlines. Fortunately for us our flights were finally ticketed last night (we're 56 days out). Funny thing is that we have two flights for the same segment showing on Delta's website - one the unacceptable connection, but our Princess itinerary only shows the acceptable one.

 

I don't think there are humans rebooking flights to save $.  I do think there are computer programs that try to improve cost. Our flights if booked now would cost twice what we paid for them.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

When we flew into LGB last November from ATL to sail on the Majestic, we saw pricing change quite a bit too. We ended up cancelling EZ Air, and booking Southwest on our own, with a change of planes in Denver. We prefer LGB over LAX for many reasons.

 

24 minutes ago, san diego sue said:

When our flight on United was cancelled late at night before the morning flight (I was traveling day of cruise),I was greatful  that I booked direct and not through EZair. I went on line and immediately booked another flight leaving an hour later and getting in nice and early. I prefer having control and handling any problems with airlines direct rather than with a third party.

I have both read and experienced that EZ-Air doesn't save much, if anything, when flying domestic.  I suppose you might get the Flexible option for a time.  SW is often a good option and they can be flexible.  

 

But I am a definite EZ-Air fan for overseas.  Last time we flew to Europe for a cruise, I was still using FF points for Business.  This year we have unbelievable low pricing for Business each direction.

[Purple Gallinule]

1 hour ago, MileHighAko said:

Our EZAir flights for September were booked as soon as they opened up (about 10 months ago). We have had EIGHT flight changes since then. Most of them I think are due to airline schedule changes. One flight segment was changed back and forth to create a 30 min connection which is unacceptable to us, but acceptable to the airlines. Fortunately for us our flights were finally ticketed last night (we're 56 days out). Funny thing is that we have two flights for the same segment showing on Delta's website - one the unacceptable connection, but our Princess itinerary only shows the acceptable one.

 

I don't think there are humans rebooking flights to save $.  I do think there are computer programs that try to improve cost. Our flights if booked now would cost twice what we paid for them.

I agree about booking early. Our RT for this trip (Colorado to Vancouver out and Anchorage to Colorado return) is now over twice what we paid. We are big fans of Southwest, but they do not fly to Vancouver or Anchorage, so we are on United.

[caribill]

I would call the airline before calling Princess.

 

If they were the ones who changed the flights, they should be willing to change back without any change in fare.

[hunt182644]

Just wanted to add my two cents worth, all of the above. Cancelled a Sept. Alaska cruise hope we dont encounter the same problems for an Oct. cruise.🤔

[Coolmama_1]

My brother ran into a similar problem. American cancelled his flight to Cleveland so EZ air rescheduled his return flight to Detroit, 200 miles away. Apparently from what I remember, Princess schedules a certain number of seats on planes. There were other flights available, but it was so close to the cruise that the price difference was outrageous. He ended up canceling the cruise. 

[msmoger]

13 hours ago, san diego sue said:

When our flight on United was cancelled late at night before the morning flight (I was traveling day of cruise),I was greatful  that I booked direct and not through EZair. I went on line and immediately booked another flight leaving an hour later and getting in nice and early. I prefer having control and handling any problems with airlines direct rather than with a third party.

 

United also canceled our EZ Air booked FLL from EWR flight a few hours before the scheduled departure. It's a long story but suffice to say I was able to rebook through United, not EZ Air with no issue.  I did eventually speak with the EZ Air folks but they could not do any better than the United rep did.  BTW, it all stayed as part of an EZ Air booking, therefore we were still afforded the EZ Air protections.

[4x4bob]

Oh yes, one more happy EZ Air customer here.  Our Cruise departs in November from San Diego. So, yesterday we received our first flight change notice.

 

The new flight would depart Sacramento at 2:45 and arrive at 4:18.  Which  you experienced cruisers know, the ship would depart at 4:00 PM.  Do you see any problem here? This is why it is dangerous to fly the same day as departure by the ship.

 

And the change notice was sent by a Princess staff person. Makes you wonder just where their head is located at? 😵

 

Lucky for us we had planned to go down there 2 days early.

 

The wife checked.  Our original flight was totally cancelled by the airlines.

 

She then said, maybe we should just cancel the whole thing and look into going next February. The problem with this idea is, we lost over two years cruising due to Covid shutting down cruising and the clock is ticking on us.  We are not getting any younger. 

Bob

[isosika]

Update:

 

I called Princess this morning as soon as they opened up.  To make a long story short, our original flights were restored, including those of our solo traveling friend, we received email confirmations of the restored flights, all within one hour.  

 

Princess and EZAir surprised me.  I am grateful for their assistance.