Flight Change

[papaflamingo]

Just thought I'd relay my most recent experience with flights for your info.  

We are using Regent Air for our upcoming Explorer cruise from Hong Kong to Tokyo in Feb. 2024.  I deviated 210 days out and got the flights I wanted.  To go from Atlanta to Hong Kong we have to connect in SFO.  Our original intinerary on United was Atlanta to SFO with a 4 hour turn time in SFO then on to Hong Kong.  Well as luck (and airline marketing) would have it, United changed the SFO-HKG flight by about 2 hours leaving only !:49 to change planes in SFO.  THEN they changed it again to only 1:45 layover.  A little "tight" for us.  Anyway,  I called United to see if I could change but since the ticket was issued by Regent and had not been paid for, no change possible.

I then called Regent and unfortunately any possible changes that they showed would result in another $175 per person deviation fee as we'd have to change to a different day or pay a very significant up charge.  Fair enough, no surprises here.  But the agent did say that the ticket would be paid for on Dec. 20. 

So yesterday, Dec. 21, I tried to see if I could change the ticket on the UAL website, no luck.  It said I had to go through the ticketing party (Regent).  So I called UAL  directly, got through almost immediately, and told the agent what I was trying to do.  Amazingly she was able to change us for NO FEE to our requested connection the day before.  So now, we are leaving a day early with 13 hours in SFO (my requested flights) then arriving in Hong Kong the same day as originally scheduled but 13 hours earlier!  So we'll get a day room in SFO and now don't have to worry about delays in the middle of winter in Atlanta.  

Anyway, point is, if you aren't happy with your flight because the airlines changed the schedule on you then once the flight is paid for, you can try to call the airlines directly and see if they can change you to a better flight for no additional. Obviously the new flights must still have Regent contract seats available, but definitely worth a try (I found flights that were the same cost on UAL's website as the flight we were originally on).  Also saved me $175 per person by not having to do another deviation with Regent.

[flare3192]

can you get Regent to ticket earlier -- when you have paid instead of their normal 60  or so days out? I know you could request that on Viking

[Tnkbstr55]

Thanks for that informative post.  We are doing the same itinerary in 2025.  Coming from the NYC area we also anticipate a stopover on the West coast.  I would ask though if your domestic leg was booked by Regent in Business class or Economy?  And, what carrier will you fly to Hong Kong?  Hope you have a great trip.

[papaflamingo]

4 hours ago, flare3192 said:

can you get Regent to ticket earlier -- when you have paid instead of their normal 60  or so days out? I know you could request that on Viking

By deviating you can get your booking as early as 210 days out.  But apparently the ticket won't be paid for until around 60 days. I think that's regardless of when you pay for the cruise. As far as the booking, you can, at least on U.S. airlines, select and change seats etc. immediately.  Also you can call Regent and make changes without any penalties other than an additional $175 pp if you cancel and rebook.  But as far as I know the ticket won't actually be paid for until the 60 day (or so) mark.  That may mean you can't select seats on certain airlines until then, but at least Delta and United you can select seats immediately. 

Not sure it this answers your question or not. 

[papaflamingo]

3 hours ago, Tnkbstr55 said:

Thanks for that informative post.  We are doing the same itinerary in 2025.  Coming from the NYC area we also anticipate a stopover on the West coast.  I would ask though if your domestic leg was booked by Regent in Business class or Economy?  And, what carrier will you fly to Hong Kong?  Hope you have a great trip.

Since we were flying from a listed airport, Atlanta, and staying on the same carrier all the way through, the domestic leg is First Class.  When I discussed our return they said one possibility was JAL to Boston and JetBlue to Atlanta.  The JetBlue leg would be coach but that may be more a function of JetBlue not having a First Class on that route. 

Since you'll be coming from NYC, you might look at non stop on UAL from Newark.  That was an option when I booked the flight.  It was just easier to go to SFO for us.  But one thing to look at is if the airlines tickets the flight "business class" all the way through then you'll get First Class for the domestic leg.  You can also ask the Regent Agent to make sure and have them select your seats when you are on the phone with them to be sure (at least for U.S. carriers). 

We are on United to Hong Kong and Delta from Tokyo.  Did have to pay an up charge do get the Delta non stop, but figure it's worth it to me.  

[DaveFr]

5 hours ago, flare3192 said:

can you get Regent to ticket earlier -- when you have paid instead of their normal 60  or so days out? I know you could request that on Viking

Three or four months ago I checked on this issue. I was told that while Regent would ticket earlier if final payment had been made, there was a trade-off to be considered. Normally, Regent air tickets are fully cancelable and refundable until 60 days before the cruise. They go into a 100% penalty for cancellations less than 60 days before the cruise. But if you ticket before the 60 day mark, the 100% penalty begins on the date of ticketing.

 

Personally, with the exception of getting seats, I don’t have a problem with waiting until the 60 day mark to manage my booking on the airline website. I have found that calling the airline and asking nicely usually results in getting seats assigned before Regent tickets my flights.

 

Dave

[papaflamingo]

36 minutes ago, DaveFr said:

Personally, with the exception of getting seats, I don’t have a problem with waiting until the 60 day mark to manage my booking on the airline website. I have found that calling the airline and asking nicely usually results in getting seats assigned before Regent tickets my flights.

 

With U.S. airlines at least, you can select seats as soon as you deviate with Regent (210 days out).  When I deviate I tell the Regent agent what seats I want and they're assigned immediately and I can enter the confirmation number into my airline account and change them if I desire.  The only reason 60 days came into the mix for us is that I wanted to switch my flight and once it was paid for (60 days out) I was able to contact United directly and switch to the new flights. 

[ON cruiser]

Thought my recent experience might be of interest to some. We are on the June 3rd Navigator sailing out of Monte Carlo. So, that means flying to Nice and ground transportation from there. Our plan was to leave Toronto May 31, arrive June 1, two days early (one day on us, one day on Regent as we’re in a PH).
 

210 days out, after doing my research (and, on my own, finding many undesirable flights connecting in CDG, Frankfurt, tight connections, etc.), I called the Regent Air Concierge number. Of the two decent routings I identified, one was a significant up-charge, and one was simply unable to be booked by the air department (the fellow said if I wanted that route to take the credit and “DIY”).

 

So I asked what he could do without a charge beyond the $175 PP. Happily, he found us a very decent route on SAS, via Copenhagen, a relatively calm airport, with a two hour twenty minute layover; all  Biz class albeit SAS doesn’t allow advanced free seat selection (same as BA). Return a few days post-cruise from Amsterdam is non-stop on KLM…great, all set??

 

Actually, nope. SAS scrubbed the May 31 flight out of Toronto; it became a very different itinerary: Leave yet another day early (May 30), via Stockholm, longer layover. My TA put that on hold with Regent as a placeholder. As I still work, leaving another day earlier was not ideal.
 

Last Wednesday I called the Air Concierge—as it was an existing not a new air reservation, one presses the corresponding number ( 2, if I recall); and I got right to an agent. We reviewed a few options which I dug up for May 31–all were available yet at an extra charge. 

 

So, again, I asked what she had. She tried a few things, then she found us a nice routing on Delta: leave Toronto 11:10 AM (so, not at the crack of dawn) to JFK. A longish layover there of 5 hours, but as we’re 1st class on that initial segment and Biz class the next, we can go to the Sky Lounge at JFK. Also, if we’re late leaving Toronto or are awaiting a gate at JFK, we’ve got “wiggle room”.

 

Second segment non-stop JFK to Nice, no European connection needed. Also selected seats right away (unlike SAS), and looking at the Delta seat map I could see our selected seats occupied by us.
 

Regent agents were very pleasant and helpful both times. Hopefully no other major schedule changes ensue ( minutes here or there ok), but that is up to the airline, not Regent.

 

Given SAS is in some form of protection as it leaves Star Alliance for the KLM-Air France orbit (that group is purchasing SAS, pending approvals), I prefer the stability of Delta.  So it seems to have all worked out well in the end.

 

Happy holidays to all!

[cAPS lOCK oN]

1 hour ago, ON cruiser said:

So, again, I asked what she had. She tried a few things, then she found us a nice routing on Delta: leave Toronto 11:10 AM (so, not at the crack of dawn) to JFK. A longish layover there of 5 hours, but as we’re 1st class on that initial segment and Biz class the next, we can go to the Sky Lounge at JFK. Also, if we’re late leaving Toronto or are awaiting a gate at JFK, we’ve got “wiggle room”.

 

FYI - You're also able to use Virgin Atlantic's club house in JFK. It's supposed to be a better choice than Delta's lounge. We've got a long layover in JFK en route to our cruise in June and we'll have time to check both of them out.

[ON cruiser]

Thanks Caps lock! Was not aware that we could use that lounge (Delta’s website makes no mention of it). Good information to have!

[cAPS lOCK oN]

1 hour ago, ON cruiser said:

Thanks Caps lock! Was not aware that we could use that lounge (Delta’s website makes no mention of it). Good information to have!

The club house in Heathrow was really cool, so I'm hoping the JFK will be too.