Air2Sea - Restricted Flights?

[LuCruise]

We always book airline either directly or through a travel site (as we have points).  However, we are considering using Air2Sea next December due to things a bit up in the air.  Our son will be in university but at this point, we don't know exactly where, and won't know until the Spring.  Since airline prices only sky rocket after release date, especially for the busiest holiday time, I am worried of waiting until things are confirmed.  Someone suggested Air2Sea as they are refundable, etc which seems like a great option for us.

 

Flights won't be released for our date for another month or so, but I picked another date to compare  Air2Sea booking and regular booking method.  The price seems comparable (even though Air2Sea is refundable fare up to final payment, and booking regular method is non-refundable...so great!).  However, I did notice one issue as there were definitely less flights shown.  For example, on return, they only had a couple direct flights which were very late vs many options shown when booking directly.

 

Does Air2Sea typically only offer a few flight options?  Even the ones they offered weren't ideal times (but I didn't do extensive checking).

 

Also, when I do a check, it shows in  USD, but my understanding is, if our cruise is booked in CAD, then flight will also be in CAD?

 

Thanks.  

 

 

Edited January 2, 2023 by LuCruise

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, LuCruise said:

Does Air2Sea typically only offer a few flight options?  Even the ones they offered weren't ideal times (but I didn't do extensive checking).

You can research on your own ask them to include those as options.

[LuCruise]

Just now, Biker19 said:

You can research on your own ask them to include those as options.

Thanks for the quick reply.  So basically anything that is available can be booked by Air2Sea?  If so, that's great.

[Biker19]

7 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

So basically anything that is available can be booked by Air2Sea?  If so, that's great.

Probably, though you may not like the price.

[firefly333]

Idk if this is a good reason to book air2sea flights .. just read this

 

....."Currently on Brilliance.  Dense fog has us locked out of the Tampa Bay. Lots of people are going to miss their flights.  So glad we have travel ins and that we did Air to Sea!"

[LuCruise]

23 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Idk if this is a good reason to book air2sea flights .. just read this

 

....."Currently on Brilliance.  Dense fog has us locked out of the Tampa Bay. Lots of people are going to miss their flights.  So glad we have travel ins and that we did Air to Sea!"

Thanks firefly.  Am guessing this is one of the main reasons people book Air to Sea - at least in terms of getting to your ship if any issues.  But good to know they help out in the return too.  Definitely a plus (as long as they are available 24/7 to contact them)

[Tlbecker1]

7 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thanks firefly.  Am guessing this is one of the main reasons people book Air to Sea - at least in terms of getting to your ship if any issues.  But good to know they help out in the return too.  Definitely a plus (as long as they are available 24/7 to contact them)

We always book Air2Sea when we are traveling Internationally for peace of mind.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

Also, when I do a check, it shows in  USD, but my understanding is, if our cruise is booked in CAD, then flight will also be in CAD?

Yes it will be in Canadian

[LuCruise]

54 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes it will be in Canadian

Awesome.  Thanks!

[LuCruise]

54 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Yes it will be in Canadian

On a different note...I know that you have a kid (or two) in university.  Do you find that the dates between end of exams and start up in January line up high school vacation?

[Ourusualbeach]

44 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

On a different note...I know that you have a kid (or two) in university.  Do you find that the dates between end of exams and start up in January line up high school vacation?

They are just as long or longer depending on the course.  Usually get 3 weeks off but could be more depending in when last exam is done. My daughter was done Dec 8th and my son on the 15th.  Both go back next Monday. 

[CruisingHogFan]

I would not use air2sea. If your flight are canceled before the cruise you will have a difficult time with them and be limited to replacement flights as they will stick you on the lowest cost option (overnight flight) and try to say it’s the airlines fault. I even read the Airline’s policy to the agent and he said sorry but nothing they can do. I called the airline directly and ended up talking to a senior supervisor at American Airlines who pulled the booking away from Air2Sea (very lucky as this does not happens often). I was then able to choose any replacement flight I wanted for no cost per the airlines policy. He acted like it’s a common issue….

[LuCruise]

5 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They are just as long or longer depending on the course.  Usually get 3 weeks off but could be more depending in when last exam is done. My daughter was done Dec 8th and my son on the 15th.  Both go back next Monday. 

Thank you.  This will be the last March break where we all go, so booking Dec holidays going forward (as long as he wants to still go).  Good to hear the dates should line up, and even longer time for them is good.

[LuCruise]

4 minutes ago, CruisingHogFan said:

I would not use air2sea. If your flight are canceled before the cruise you will have a difficult time with them and be limited to replacement flights as they will stick you on the lowest cost option (overnight flight) and try to say it’s the airlines fault. I even read the Airline’s policy to the agent and he said sorry but nothing they can do. I called the airline directly and ended up talking to a senior supervisor at American Airlines who pulled the booking away from Air2Sea (very lucky as this does not happens often). I was then able to choose any replacement flight I wanted for no cost per the airlines policy. He acted like it’s a common issue….

Thanks for the head's up.  Am sorry that it happened to you.  Glad it worked out though and AA could help you.

[JamesEM]

I used Air2Sea once, flew out of Myrtle Beach, SC and got to visit Charlotte, NC and WDC airports on my way to Miami, 7 hours was a bit much for me.

[LuCruise]

5 hours ago, JamesEM said:

I used Air2Sea once, flew out of Myrtle Beach, SC and got to visit Charlotte, NC and WDC airports on my way to Miami, 7 hours was a bit much for me.

You mean no direct flights when booking Air2Sea for your route?

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, LuCruise said:

You mean no direct flights when booking Air2Sea for your route?

Smaller airports don't always have direct flights to where you want to go. You have no other choice but to take connecting flights if you are set on flying from that airport.

[LuCruise]

1 minute ago, Jimbo said:

Smaller airports don't always have direct flights to where you want to go. You have no other choice but to take connecting flights if you are set on flying from that airport.

Yeah.  Luckily (or unlucky) we live near a large airport in Toronto often many options if going to another big airport.

My clarification though was the longer flight due to Air2Sea vs booking regular way.

[Beyond the Sea]

We're going to try Air2Sea for an Alaskan cruise this spring.  We're flying out of Ottawa to Vancouver return.  The price when we booked was about $500 less than booking directly with Air Canada.  The flights are in Canadian $ but I've been told the seat reservations are charged in US $ and it looks to be the case when I try to reserve the seats.  I haven't booked the seats yet as I'm not convinced that our flights won't change before final payment.  It's happened already with a non-stop flight to YVR changed to a connecting flight. 

 

I booked the cruise through a travel agent and unfortunately she has to provide the pricing since we are flying to YVR a couple days before the cruise.  I can only see the pricing for flights on the page for the actual day the cruise departs.

[Jbluebird]

We've used Air2Sea in the past without any issues.  I booked them for a flight in August to Amsterdam.  They got us on non-stop flights both ways and were a little less expensive than if I booked directly through the airline. I can cancel or modify them up until the final payment is due for the cruise itself. I also booked the Royal transfer from the port to the airport for our return flight (which is at 11:15 am) and was told that if we miss our flight because Royal didn't get us to the airport on time that they would rebook our flights. Fingers crossed we won't need that!

[LuCruise]

1 hour ago, Beyond the Sea said:

We're going to try Air2Sea for an Alaskan cruise this spring.  We're flying out of Ottawa to Vancouver return.  The price when we booked was about $500 less than booking directly with Air Canada.  The flights are in Canadian $ but I've been told the seat reservations are charged in US $ and it looks to be the case when I try to reserve the seats.  I haven't booked the seats yet as I'm not convinced that our flights won't change before final payment.  It's happened already with a non-stop flight to YVR changed to a connecting flight. 

 

I booked the cruise through a travel agent and unfortunately she has to provide the pricing since we are flying to YVR a couple days before the cruise.  I can only see the pricing for flights on the page for the actual day the cruise departs.

Thanks for the head's up that seat selection is still in USD even though the flight can be in CAD.  That sucks when your flight changes from direct to connecting.  

 

Not sure if this helps but I noticed on the Air2Sea link that you can do a check for flights, and although it defaults to flying in the same day, you can change the date.  The flights shown though are limited so it may depend on the flight you booked.

[S.A.M.J.R.]

I think airlines offer refundable fares (obviously more expensive).  You might want to look into that if you're concerned about changing flight plans. 

 

Regarding college & HS schedules, my son (freshman college) finished 12/9 and returns 1/9.  Daughter (junior HS) finished 12/20 and returns tomorrow (1/4).

[Cthy651]

We have used Air2Sea, when cruising just after covid.  Our return flight was cancelled, and they contacted me right away and scheduled another flight.  So no complaints here.

[Beyond the Sea]

Thanks for pointing that out about the dates.  I hadn't even noticed that it was an option to change the date once the flights showed up.  Much easier now than having to keep bothering my agent for options.

[LuCruise]

8 minutes ago, S.A.M.J.R. said:

I think airlines offer refundable fares (obviously more expensive).  You might want to look into that if you're concerned about changing flight plans. 

 

Regarding college & HS schedules, my son (freshman college) finished 12/9 and returns 1/9.  Daughter (junior HS) finished 12/20 and returns tomorrow (1/4).

I've always found refundable to be much more pricey than other options.  We fly from Toronto Ontario to FLL or Miami so not sure if Canadian makes a difference.

 

For fun, I did an Air2Sea comparison and Air2Sea price was comparable to the second tier of non-refundable (which didn't even get you much).  So really good option for Air2Sea when plans are not 100% confirmed.  But I only did a brief check.