What/Who is FlightEase?

[LocoLoco1]

Is FlightEase a licensed in-house Travel Agency? How is it different than using a Holland personal cruise consultant?. I don’t get it…

[richwmn]

Flight Ease is the department which handles air (and only Air) for HAL. The same group handles Air only for Princess and Seabourn under different names.

[LocoLoco1]

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

Flight Ease is the department which handles air (and only Air) for HAL. The same group handles Air only for Princess and Seabourn under different names.

If you are correct, then FlightEase is an in-house Carnival Corp. entity. Wondering if the people on the other end, however, are working from home as free-lancers. Methinks I’ll be inclined to book Air myself to better eagle-eye Flt. Options etc. 

[rodndonna]

9 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

If you are correct, then FlightEase is an in-house Carnival Corp. entity. Wondering if the people on the other end, however, are working from home as free-lancers. Methinks I’ll be inclined to book Air myself to better eagle-eye Flt. Options etc. 

 

You can still review options  on-line as you would when booking independently.

 

The advantages (when it works good) are if you get a good 'flexible' rate (does happen for some cases) you can change the flight if something better comes up. You can do this up to final payment for your cruise is due. 

 

Pros and cons... we have had mixed experiences so far but will still always look at using it as an option before booking our flights.

[Native Floridian 26]

The fares are generally better on one-way fares than you would get on your own.  Also enjoy the flexibility of changing them when price drops before final payment.

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, Native Floridian 26 said:

The fares are generally better on one-way fares than you would get on your own.  Also enjoy the flexibility of changing them when price drops before final payment.

This is very true.   On a TA there is almost no choice but to use Flight Ease.  The Business Class(Polaris) rates can not be beat, imo, less that $1400 pp in my case.  I am ticketed for my May TA cruise, returning to US in June.  I did not have the option to not pay in full (casino cruise) so since I was required to pay in full upon booking I asked to be ticketed(flexible rate).  This is a regular route from AMS via EWR so there is probably little chance in the schedule being changed.  However, if so I am confident I will be booked in BC, Polaris since I am already ticketed as such.  I am also "hoping" since I am ticketed I may communicate directly with United if necessary.

[Torquer]

FlightEase advantages:

• Business class air is often much cheaper than you can get anyplace else.
• The flexible fares allow changes/cancellation up until final payment
• They claim to provide assistance in case of a flight missed/cancelled connection.  But many people on CC have disputed this.

 

FlightEase disadvantages:

• The website often gives error messages and is not available to use.
• The flights/fares that are available constantly change.  If you want to think about your choice overnight, it might not be there the next day or be more expensive (or cheaper).  So if you are before final payment, it is best to pick what looks good as soon as you see something you like, and then keep monitoring it over the coming days/weeks for something better.  You can change/cancel as often as you like before final payment with flexible fares.

[LocoLoco1]

So it’s a real Travel Agency owned by Carnival Corp. that only books Air….. I’m still left wondering why I could book a Flt. Minneapolis/Rome and they/she  couldn’t. 

[richwmn]

9 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

So it’s a real Travel Agency owned by Carnival Corp. that only books Air….. I’m still left wondering why I could book a Flt. Minneapolis/Rome and they/she  couldn’t. 

It is not a "real" Travel Agency. It is a part of HAL/Princess/Seaborn which has an agreement with the airlines that permits it to book air fare in conjunction with a cruise. FlightEase has restrictions on what it can book, for example it has to be part of a cruise package, it has to be from or to your home, it can allow an interruption (but only one), and probably more.

Edited November 30, 2022 by richwmn

[Tennessee Titan]

When you get a really low price, odds are it will not be upgradeable....

[CruiserBruce]

32 minutes ago, Tennessee Titan said:

When you get a really low price, odds are it will not be upgradeable....

And it may not generate points for your frequent flyer account, if you have one.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

It is not a "real" Travel Agency. It is a part of HAL/Princess/Seaborn which has an agreement with the airlines that permits it to book air fare in conjunction with a cruise. FlightEase has restrictions on what it can book, for example it has to be part of a cruise package, it has to be from or to your home, it can allow an interruption (but only one), and probably more.

Not exactly accurate.  With Flightease you can change your "home" airport to just about any airport.  So we will often price-out options from MDT, BWI, IAD, EWR, PHL, and JFK.  No problem,  There are also multiple options for Europe and other parts of the world.  So, for example, on a recent Seabourn cruise that ended in Monte Carlo, we used their version of Flightease to book return Business Class air from Prague.  No problem and we got an amazing Biz Class fare.

 

Hank

[richwmn]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Not exactly accurate.  With Flightease you can change your "home" airport to just about any airport.  So we will often price-out options from MDT, BWI, IAD, EWR, PHL, and JFK.  No problem,  There are also multiple options for Europe and other parts of the world.  So, for example, on a recent Seabourn cruise that ended in Monte Carlo, we used their version of Flightease to book return Business Class air from Prague.  No problem and we got an amazing Biz Class fare.

 

Hank

I don't know exactly what the restrictions are, however in your example your return from Prague was allowed because you flew "home".  All the airports you list are close enough to your actual home that you could easily chose them. In the past I was able to book a return from Paris for a cruise that ended in Amsterdam, but only to Atlanta. Also in the past I had one cruise ending in Barcelona and two weeks later another starting in Montreal. FlightEase was NOT able to book me a flight from anywhere in Europe to Montreal since neither the start or finish was my 'home' airport.

[Torquer]

I imagine that because HAL (along with Princess and other lines) gives the airlines so much business, they can get cheaper fares on many airlines than a travel agent can get, including Orbitz, Kayak, etc.  However, not all airlines are available.  And sometimes if you go directly to the airline website you will see a flight that does not show up on FlightEase although other flights by that airline do show up.  You just have to do your research, but the savings are often well worth the time.

 

Someone said, FlightEase bookings do not give frequent flyer miles...that is not the case in our experience, but it may be dependent on the airline.

 

And yes, the business class fares are often dramatically cheaper than you can get elsewhere, like $1000+ cheaper per person.

[saltshell]

If I find a good price on Flightease and book it, can my price go up?

[Red Haired Lady]

On 11/30/2022 at 12:02 PM, richwmn said:

I don't know exactly what the restrictions are, however in your example your return from Prague was allowed because you flew "home".  All the airports you list are close enough to your actual home that you could easily chose them. In the past I was able to book a return from Paris for a cruise that ended in Amsterdam, but only to Atlanta. Also in the past I had one cruise ending in Barcelona and two weeks later another starting in Montreal. FlightEase was NOT able to book me a flight from anywhere in Europe to Montreal since neither the start or finish was my 'home' airport.

Disagree. Both times I have done Australia cruises I have booked round trip flights HNL to SYD using Flight ease.. My home airport is Minneapolis.( I fly from MSP to HNL on flights I booked myself separately. ) The last time I did it was Nov/Dec 2022.