FYI - Princess Air

On airline sites, it asks DEPARTURE date and RETURN date.

On Princess air section, it asks ARRIVE BY date and RETURN date.

I had put departure date for my date and I was able to catch it before they proceeded the ticket.

Beware of the wording for the dates you put in.

We used to book air through Princess but quit doing that when I found I could do it cheaper and get better schedules by doing it myself. They always sent us the longest way they could instead of the most direct route.

Princess should change that. I wonder if there are some checks and balances if you book a flight the day you disembark from a cruise and it would be impossible to make it, I wonder if it catches that.

Hopefully your post helps others!

It can be misleading. I like the feature though, especially when losing/gaining days.

I fly a day or two early, never really looked at the wording, maybe I should. I always use Princess air because I cannot come close to their price when pricing one ways. I already have my flights booked for April, 2016, transatlantic! :)

I fly a day or two early, never really looked at the wording, maybe I should. I always use Princess air because I cannot come close to their price when pricing one ways. I already have my flights booked for April, 2016, transatlantic! :)

Caveat emptor!!

The main thing about booking with the cruise line is that if for some reason the ship is delayed and you booked air through the line, then they will make the arrangements to change the tickets for you at no additional charge such as when Katrina hit New Orleans and the ship couldn't dock there. It had to go to Galveston and people were stuck for transport who didn't book through the cruise line (this is for any cruise line, not just Princess).

Princess should change that. I wonder if there are some checks and balances if you book a flight the day you disembark from a cruise and it would be impossible to make it, I wonder if it catches that.

 

It only offers flights after the suggested first flight out time.

The main thing about booking with the cruise line is that if for some reason the ship is delayed and you booked air through the line, then they will make the arrangements to change the tickets for you at no additional charge such as when Katrina hit New Orleans and the ship couldn't dock there. It had to go to Galveston and people were stuck for transport who didn't book through the cruise line (this is for any cruise line, not just Princess).

There have been numerous examples of when cruiseline provided air has worked out poorly for the passenger. And using the Katrina example really doesn't fit, as all airlines gave waivers for passengers flying to/from MSY.

There is a lot of marketing fluff that makes it seem as though the cruiseline will be your guardian angel, shepherding you through any problem. Nothing could be further from the truth. Beware of weasel words like "work with" and "assist you".

And this is not a knock on Princess air, but rather for almost all cruiselines.

Please read your cruise contract and the terms and conditions for cruiseline provided air. And read the threads in Cruise Air.

 

There have been numerous examples of when cruiseline provided air has worked out poorly for the passenger. And using the Katrina example really doesn't fit, as all airlines gave waivers for passengers flying to/from MSY.

 

The one instance in which Princess Air is very helpful is when the ship cannot get back to port in time to make your scheduled flight.

Princess will make the necessary change for you. Those without Princess Air must try to contact the airline from the ship to make changes.

We have used Princess Air and have never had a problem. We have used it 3 times and it was cheaper than what the airline had to offer. All three times were with one stop. We live in Manitoba, Canada.

We have used Princess air many times without a problem. The best deals have been on international/ one way flights.

It only offers flights after the suggested first flight out time.

This always amazes me. The cruise lines are in a position to know the earliest you can book a flight out (or in). They don't want to eat the change fee unnecessarily. If they are willing to finance my shorty connection time, who am I to argue.

As FlyerTalker keeps saying, there are so many unseen restrictions on most of the tickets supplied by the cruise lines, it is impossible to know what either the cruise line or the airline will do for you if things go South. When there are no problems there is no difference in the tickets other than price and if that is your only worry then you have no problem. I doubt if the cruise line will do anything for you if you foolishly book a ticket for a cheap flight leaving an hour after you dock on disembarkation day. If the ship is late they might (weasel word) try to get you on a later flight. The issue might be that the highly restricted ticket is only good on airline X and must go through city Z, so the cruise line can only re-book you on that particular itinerary. Would you like to know if this is what the cruise line is selling you? Don't expect them to tell you because they are not very transparent. :(

Attributed to John Ruskin (though never confirmed) is this truism:

"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey."

If you consider price alone, so be it. But know that there is much more to an airline ticket than price, airline, and flight.

 

If you consider price alone, so be it. But know that there is much more to an airline ticket than price, airline, and flight.

True, but if Princess Air and the airline show different prices for the same exact flights that you want, then I would pick the one with the lower price.

True, but if Princess Air and the airline show different prices for the same exact flights that you want, then I would pick the one with the lower price.

Well, YOU might select the lower priced ticket, but FlyerTalker's point is that not every consumer would. The reason is that although the Princess Air ticket and the airline ticket are for the same exact flights, the two tickets might be entirely different. The Princess Air ticket might come with numerous limitations and restrictions that the airline ticket does not. Some consumers would pay the extra money to obtain the airline's ticket with fewer restrictions.

If the flights proceed as scheduled, the consumer might never know the difference between the two tickets. If unforeseen circumstances arise, these differences between the types of tickets may have large impacts on air travel on the day of the flight.

Each individual consumer needs to decide whether the lower price of specific airline ticket is worth the potential risks in the event of unforeseen circumstances. There's nothing wrong either way, as long as the consumer has the proper information to make this decision.

And next to impossible to find out the necessary information to make an INFORMED decision.

For my trip last year Princess could offer me flights with a change of planes.I wanted direct.They advised me to book my own flights because they told me the Airlines hold the best direct flights for their own customers.I did book direct to my satisfaction :)

And next to impossible to find out the necessary information to make an INFORMED decision.

Exactly. We booked Princess Air from Rome to Seattle this December. We were booked on British Airlines. I called British Air to see what our baggage limitations were. Was told it depended on the type of ticket. I called Princess to ask what type of ticket they had sold me. They couldn't tell me; told me to ask the airline. There is a note on the EZ air site that states that your baggage fees could be as high as $200. When you click on it for clarification it tells you less than nothing. So I will see what happens in my first time using Princess to book a flight.

For my trip last year Princess could offer me flights with a change of planes.I wanted direct.They advised me to book my own flights because they told me the Airlines hold the best direct flights for their own customers.I did book direct to my satisfaction :)

What the cruiseline does is make massive bulk purchases of tickets many months in advance of their cruises. These tickets go "on the shelf" and get distributed as needed when the time comes for passengers to be ticketed. It's not that the airline "holds" the "best direct" (and I assume you really mean non-stop, not direct) for their own customers - it's that the cruiseline hasn't purchased them as part of their bulk contract.

Also, these bulk/contract/consolidator tickets often come with much more restrictive fare rules than those you would buy directly from the airline. Same flights but different tickets.

Highly recommend that you head over to the Cruise Air forum here at CC and give the sticky at the top a read. Lots of insight into how cruiseline air works and what you are really buying.

Exactly. We booked Princess Air from Rome to Seattle this December. We were booked on British Airlines. I called British Air to see what our baggage limitations were. Was told it depended on the type of ticket. I called Princess to ask what type of ticket they had sold me. They couldn't tell me; told me to ask the airline. There is a note on the EZ air site that states that your baggage fees could be as high as $200. When you click on it for clarification it tells you less than nothing. So I will see what happens in my first time using Princess to book a flight.

See if you have a 13 digit ticket number starting with "125". That would be a ticket issued by BA. FWIW, the six character alpha-numeric code is the locator, but does NOT represent the actual electronic ticket (designated by the 13 digit number). You can have a locator but not be ticketed.

If you have that ticket number, BA can find you in their system and tell you what your allowance.

Exactly. We booked Princess Air from Rome to Seattle this December. We were booked on British Airlines. I called British Air to see what our baggage limitations were. Was told it depended on the type of ticket. I called Princess to ask what type of ticket they had sold me. They couldn't tell me; told me to ask the airline. There is a note on the EZ air site that states that your baggage fees could be as high as $200. When you click on it for clarification it tells you less than nothing. So I will see what happens in my first time using Princess to book a flight.

We booked a code shared flight on American Airlines that was operated by British Air. The BA site only listed costs for luggage never said what was allowed at no cost. I had to have an AA agent investigate and confirm that we were each allowed 1 checked bag (50 lb) limit and one carryon and one personal item each. When I did online checkin for our flights I did not say what I would be checking at checkin at the airport. We did not have any problem. Hope you have the same situation.

If your British Airways flight has been ticketed, a BA agent can find out your baggage allowance. It would be in their system, with the complete fare code and fare rules. However, I suspect that you have not been ticketed, but only have a reservation. BIG difference.

 

See if you have a 13 digit ticket number starting with "125". That would be a ticket issued by BA. FWIW, the six character alpha-numeric code is the locator, but does NOT represent the actual electronic ticket (designated by the 13 digit number). You can have a locator but not be ticketed.

 

If you have that ticket number, BA can find you in their system and tell you what your allowance.

I suspect you are correct. While Princess has already been paid thru my credit card for the flight all I have is the flight locator. I will call them on Monday to see if they can tell me when I can download my eTicket.

I am happy that we got to pick the flights we wanted to Houston through ez air and the price was reasonable. I have not made final payment. I can go to the United website and see our flights (still not paid for) reserved with no unusual baggage fees. What do you think our chances are that these flight reservations will stand?

The only reason we booked a cruise from Houston is that is one of the few places we can fly from Omaha non-stop especially in the winter. I do NOT want to fly to Chicago first.

The price of this flight has gone up considerably in the last month which is no surprise since it is over the holiday and Houston is a big hub for United.

Is it a risk making final payment and then hoping we can still keep this flight? According to the Princess Personalizer and United we have the flights booked.