Flight Ease Questions

[packedandready]

Looking at flights for Alaska next summer. Trying to decide between Flight Ease and booking independently. I've read both good and bad so still trying to decide. Cost is comparable, so wondering if the 'supposed' help with flight cancellations/changes is really a help. If I understand correctly, we wouldn't be ticketed until much closer to sailing. What risks come with that??? The flights I'm looking at allows seat selection, how often (if at all) are the seats changed because of not being ticketed? I understand that HAL is at the mercy of the airlines when it comes to cancellations and changes. We are using a travel agent for the first time in almost 30 cruises. That was hard to do, but we're kind of going way out with this one and spending much more $$$$ than we usually do and wanted an extra set of eyes. She said she'd booked whichever we felt more comfortable with. Thoughts??? Opinions??? Suggestions??? Anything else we need to think about?

[StartrainDD]

For purpose of this response, I am assuming you are booking round trip flights.

 

The one big "Advantage" of booking through FlightEase is that you don't need to pay for the flight until final payment for the cruise.  That also means that if for any reason you end up cancelling your cruise before final payment, the air will be cancelled as well so you don't lose the air $$$.

 

If you are booking with a US carrier, you can select seats.  Many foreign carriers do not accept seat reservations until the airfare is actually ticketed.  We have that situation with flights next June coming back from Amsterdam on Air Canada.

 

The airlines have travelers in a vise these days.  We just had our first outbound flight for a November trip canceled, creating a 6 hour stop over (instead of 2 hours), and the airline will not refund so we could book with another carrier.  These flights have been booked since January, and NOT through the cruise line.  If it had been with flight ease, they likely would not have been ticketed yet (cruise lines ticket about 45 days before...) so still changeable.

 

Others will say they want to be "In control" of their booking, and there is some validity to that as well.  For one-way flights, the fares are often (not always) more economical through the cruise line.  As you can see there is no "Right answer."  You need to go with the best choice for you and your party.

[DaveOKC]

I book myself, but my flights are always to US or Canada.  I like the control it gives me, plus on one line I get some additional benefits.  The issue of non-refundable fares used to be a concern, but nowadays most airlines let you cancel and get credits (SW has done this forever and I like using them for this reason for far out cruises - I just booked for April today!).

 

Agree that sometimes Flight Ease can get you better pricing for one way flights, but most times they are a bit higher priced than booking direct with the airline.

 

[Mary229]

 I am sailing next summer and what I have done is book flight ease in case there is a sudden upswing in prices.  I will likely book my own in a few months just before final payment.  The flight ease booking serves as a hedge while I keep looking.  I generally only use FE for international flights 

Edited September 15, 2023 by Mary229

[Roz]

When I book flights through river cruise lines I get good deals.  When I've tried using Flight Ease for ocean cruises,  there's no savings.  I can't figure it out. 

[horseymike]

6 hours ago, StartrainDD said:

For purpose of this response, I am assuming you are booking round trip flights.

 

The one big "Advantage" of booking through FlightEase is that you don't need to pay for the flight until final payment for the cruise.  That also means that if for any reason you end up cancelling your cruise before final payment, the air will be cancelled as well so you don't lose the air $$$.

 

If you are booking with a US carrier, you can select seats.  Many foreign carriers do not accept seat reservations until the airfare is actually ticketed.  We have that situation with flights next June coming back from Amsterdam on Air Canada.

 

The airlines have travelers in a vise these days.  We just had our first outbound flight for a November trip canceled, creating a 6 hour stop over (instead of 2 hours), and the airline will not refund so we could book with another carrier.  These flights have been booked since January, and NOT through the cruise line.  If it had been with flight ease, they likely would not have been ticketed yet (cruise lines ticket about 45 days before...) so still changeable.

 

Others will say they want to be "In control" of their booking, and there is some validity to that as well.  For one-way flights, the fares are often (not always) more economical through the cruise line.  As you can see there is no "Right answer."  You need to go with the best choice for you and your party.

That is horrible. If they try to stick you with that flight against your wishes. May I ask what airline you are booked on ?

[rodndonna]

I can't think of any reason not to book with FE at this point if the cost is comparable (at least as a backup). If the airline changes the flight times to something you don't like or a sale comes up, you can reprice it  with FE (until final payment) or cancel and book independent.

 

 

[rodndonna]

5 minutes ago, horseymike said:

That is horrible. If they try to stick you with that flight against your wishes. May I ask what airline you are booked on ?

 

Isn't that the case with most airlines? A change in 4 hours in layover, from 2 hours to 6 hours is not enough to allow you to cancel (at least with Air Canada and Westjet). They might allow you to rebook another flight with them if available, but they won't refund as a result of  that kind of change in schedule. 

[Curlingwhiz]

We do as previous posters have mentioned - we book Flight Ease as soon as we can find an acceptable route.  As it is not paid until the time of final payment and is totally cancelable, we continue to scan for flight sales, better routes etc.  But having a fallback booking is somewhat reassuring.

 

As to cost, it seemed like we used to get better deals with Flight Ease......now it is fairly comparable.

 

We once were on a cruise in Germany which was blockaded for most of a day by protestors - it made us quite late to our disembarkation.  Having Flight Ease on that trip proved invaluable as they took care of transport, hotel rooms and changed flights for those impacted.  (We had left lots of time for our home flight from Copenhagen so we were fine, but once we saw how the crew was handling the disruption, we were able to just relax and watch the show.............however we saw a lot of very stressed passengers who had privately booked their flights)

 

We usually try to get premium economy and have not had any issues booking our seats thru Flight Ease?

[cccole]

You can take a look at www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.  We have had several flights delayed or cancelled, both international and domestic, in the last few years and we have always been given the opportunity of a refund or change of flights.  Well, a refund is not always the first approach from all airlines but they will do it if asked.  And, we have no special status with an airline.  Recently we have had notices from Jet Blue letting us know of possible delays or cancellations so we can cancel or change flights.  We used to use 3rd party reservation sites in addition to booking direct with airlines.  Now we only deal with the airlines directly, it's much easier to resolve a problem before or during your travels if you do not have to go thru a 3rd party.  You have to make the decision that you are comfortable with. JMO. Cherie    

[rodndonna]

46 minutes ago, cccole said:

You can take a look at www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.  We have had several flights delayed or cancelled, both international and domestic, in the last few years and we have always been given the opportunity of a refund or change of flights.  Well, a refund is not always the first approach from all airlines but they will do it if asked.  And, we have no special status with an airline.  Recently we have had notices from Jet Blue letting us know of possible delays or cancellations so we can cancel or change flights.  We used to use 3rd party reservation sites in addition to booking direct with airlines.  Now we only deal with the airlines directly, it's much easier to resolve a problem before or during your travels if you do not have to go thru a 3rd party.  You have to make the decision that you are comfortable with. JMO. Cherie    

 

Those speak to delays and cancellations, but the poster was speaking to schedule changes - which is more of a grey area. Generally with Canadian airlines, when we are notified of a bigger schedule change (many hours), we get the option to accept the change, reschedule or cancel for a refund. Smaller reschedules tend to just notices with sometimes an offer to  select a new flight. 

 

Somewhere ... there must be a clear delineation on the number of hours they can reschedule without offering, but I can't find it. I don't think a change of 4 hours in the layover would count though.

 

Our major Canadian airlines (Air Canada and Westjet) offer pre-emptive rebooking as you pointed out with JetBlue. Very handy in the winter, where any potential delays or cancellations to a flight allow you to rebook your flight without penalty. They have done this for many years. VERY handy living in winter climate and have used it numerous times. I have yet to test access to that feature (which is easily done on-line on the airlines website) with a flight booked through FlightEase. I like to think because it is ticketed at that point, you can go to the airline site and rebook yourself, but have never (thankfully) tested it with a FlightEase booking.

[cccole]

Actually schedule changes include delays and cancellations.  We have been fortunate with domestic and international airlines when they reschedule us to another flight and it is more than 4 hours they are great about refunding.  It is not always the first option they want you to take.  First option is a credit, but you can request a refund.  I think that you and I are going to have to disagree about the benefits of Flight Ease vs booking direct with an airline.  All I know is that we no longer book with a 3rd party and prefer to deal directly with an airline.  Different strokes for different folks, as they say.  JMO. Cherie 

[cccole]

You might also look at www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/refunds.  I know that when we were dealing with foreign airlines landing and taking off from U.S. airports there was no problem getting a refund.  And, domestic airlines have been great.  You might be interested in the last subject.  It refers to refunds from airlines, travel agents, and on line agencies.  That's one of the reasons we deal directly with an airline.  Hope the OP will make the choice that is comfortable for them.  JMO. Cherie

Edited September 15, 2023 by cccole

[swin26]

9 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Agree that sometimes Flight Ease can get you better pricing for one way flights, but most times they are a bit higher priced than booking direct with the airline.

I booked an international flight using FE for next summer.  Business Class going and Premium Economy for the return.  The FE price was over $1000  pp cheaper than booking directly with the airlines.  

[cccole]

That's awesome.  I hope you will let us know next summer if you have the same flights and itinerary that you have now booked.  That would be great.  Cherie

 

Apparently it is also important for you to verify with the airline that the tickets have been ticketed, with an airline ticket number.  

Edited September 16, 2023 by cccole

[CT D&N]

I have flown with tickets booked through Flight Ease on two occasions and in both cases these flights were significantly less expensive than I could book elsewhere. However, as you might have read elsewhere, Flight Ease reservations have been known to get canceled/changed without notice, typically close to your sail date. This happened to me with one of my flights. I had direct flights booked direct flights on Delta and about 30 days before my cruise I checked my Delta account and my flight reservation was gone (was there the day before). Called Flight Ease and they confirmed my flight had been canceled but offered to rebook me on awful flights - how nice of them. I refused and after being on the phone for two hours they agreed to rebook my original flights. I pressed them about why my original flight reservation was cancelled or if it was ever ticketed but they would never give me a direct answer. It seems to me that they don't necessarily ticket your flights at the time you make final cruise payment but instead wait until closer to your sail date. I've again have flights booked through Flight Ease (significantly cheaper) but I will be certain to request that they ticket me at the time of final payment for my cruise and I'll confirm this with the airline.

[vicd1969]

I used Flight Ease for international because their fares are often flexible so you can switch flights and airlines easily before final payment without penalty. However, don’t rely on Holland America or your TA to manage your flight reservation. Apply the airline’s booking code to manage your flight on the airline’s website or app. That way you can get notified on schedule changes or cancellations, or select seats when available. Delta is notorious for making changes but they are very accommodating if you call them to revise your flights if the new itinerary doesn’t work for you.

[StartrainDD]

16 hours ago, horseymike said:

That is horrible. If they try to stick you with that flight against your wishes. May I ask what airline you are booked on ?

Yes, this was American Airlines.  During the Covid slowdown AA quietly changed their policy and flight changes will not be refundable unless the change is more than FOUR HOURS.

 

We will certainly use American only as a last resort for future international travel.

[tupper10]

It depends on the airline if you can pick your seats right away by booking with FE.  We booked for Europe next year on Delta through FE and we were able to pick our seats right away. We also used them for Alaska (here now) and again we could book our seats right away and see our trip on the Delta site even before final payment.  

[horseymike]

1 hour ago, StartrainDD said:

Yes, this was American Airlines.  During the Covid slowdown AA quietly changed their policy and flight changes will not be refundable unless the change is more than FOUR HOURS.

 

We will certainly use American only as a last resort for future international travel.

I am really sorry this happened to you ,  I hope they have a better option for you before you travel for your cruise. I know it’s a nuisance but stay after them , sometimes the right person can and will help you. Thanks for making us aware of their change in policy.

[Mary229]

As an aside to this discussion, no matter if you book your own or through flight ease if nonstop is available - book it, at least on your way to the ship. 
 

I would go so far as to fly to the intermediate city a day early so that the flight would  be nonstop.  On the way home I am not so picky but when I am going I pay the extra.  

Edited September 16, 2023 by Mary229

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 9/15/2023 at 1:28 PM, Roz said:

When I book flights through river cruise lines I get good deals.  When I've tried using Flight Ease for ocean cruises,  there's no savings.  I can't figure it out. 

Quite the opposite experience.  Flight Ease and similar cruise booking activities use bundled fares and flights to get the best prices.  Routing is another story.  Flying across the Pond using business class using Flight Ease provides significant savings, especially on US carriers.  Have found little to no savings for US domestic travel.