EZ-Air to Europe

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, dickinson said:

@Steelers36 What do you mean by "operating" airline?  We have one flight that says Delta but it is a codeshare with Virgin Atlantic so the plane is Virgin Atlantic (strangely to me if we booked the Virgin Atlantic flight it would cost more).  I assume we check in with Delta.

 

 

The airline who owns the plane and is actually operating the flight.  Your operating airline is Virgin and you deal with them in terms of check-in, baggage, etc.

Yes, sometimes a codeshare can cost less, I never book a codeshare unless it is really saving me money.

[dickinson]

@Steelers36 Thanks!  I am pretty sure that our last trip (end of August into September) had a code share and we checked in with the airline of record and not the "metal". We did carry on only so not an issue about handing over our luggage.

 

We don't like to book codeshares but will to save money.

 

FYI - google agrees with you. 😉 

Edited November 6, 2023 by dickinson

[Kmkub]

@Steelers36 @dickinson @Hlitner 

 

Thank you all so much. I was able to add the trip to my Delta. Perfect. 

 

Last time we flew Delta 1st class, only I got to choose a meal; my husband never got an email or a choice, and he couldn't eat because all that was left was tofu. We shared my not-enough-for-two-meal. It's important we get to choose ahead of time.

 

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

@Steelers36 @dickinson @Hlitner 

 

Thank you all so much. I was able to add the trip to my Delta. Perfect. 

 

Last time we flew Delta 1st class, only I got to choose a meal; my husband never got an email or a choice, and he couldn't eat because all that was left was tofu. We shared my not-enough-for-two-meal. It's important we get to choose ahead of time.

 

Next time, if you know the airline takes advance meal selections, I would phone in in absence of an email.

[rj59]

The good thing about EZ Air is that you can mix and match airlines, whereas if you try to buy one way on Delta and return on United, or one of their partners, it would be hugely expensive. One drawback of it is that they irritatingly show flights that are convenient, but when you try to book them they say they don't recommend it because of a short layover time, like 1 hour in Frankfurt--why offer me that unworkable option then?

 

I decided I'd rather go on Icelandair, since I leave from Seattle and don't want to transfer on the East coast or sit on a plane for 10 hours to land exhausted in Europe, only to have to wait in an immigration line. The Icelandair flights usually arrive in Reykjavik before midnight my time, and getting through immigration into the Schengen zone is a breeze, and when I get to Europe I don't need to repeat it (except London). It's also easier on the return end, because I've heard that getting to the US-bound terminal and going through extra security in Rome can be arduous, but by going on an intra-Europe flight it saves the hassles. Their overall flights times also are shorter than either flying to an East Coast or Europe hub and then waiting, or on the return trip, leaving at dawn to make the US flight from a Europe hub.  Their Saga Class is pricey, but they also have the convenient option of paying to reserve an exit seat, very nice on their small planes, so for $100 or so each way I get lots of legroom. The only drawback I find with them is they don't provide free meals. 

[ldubs]

On 10/2/2023 at 1:11 PM, Steelers36 said:

It's true that EZ-Air can be a challenge at times to get the best fare.  And experiences vary.  For example when I was shopping our Rome fares last year, either Restricted cost more than Flexible or was an insignificant difference that it made no sense to use it.  The Flexibility to re-fare with price drops has some value for sure.

 

 

I'm glad you said this.  Both times booking on EZAir the Restricted was more than the Flexible.  I was really scratching my head why someone would want to pay more for a nonrefundable, no change, accelerated payment.   Thought I was missing something.  

 

Thanks for the post/thread.  Great info.