Anyone used Choice Air recently?

I've been pricing tickets for our next Azamara cruise, and Choice Air is coming in about $600 less per ticket than the same tickets booked directly with the airline. My usual concern with booking air through the airline is that many do not issue the tickets until 75-90 days before the flight, and we want to be able to select our seats before then.

I asked our TA if that's how it worked with Choice Air, and she said no, that the tickets are issued immediately and you can select seats. When walking through the process today, though, there was no option for selecting seats before paying for them. So I wanted to check to see if our TA is right... I had hoped we could select the seats before purchasing. I don't want to pay for the flights and then discover we can't select our seats until much later.

Anyone have any recent experiences booking their flights that they can share?

You should be able to go on the airlines website and select your seats after your purchase, once you have your record locator

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You should be able to go on the airlines website and select your seats after your purchase, once you have your record locator

Right. Booked seats for next spring's b2b2b minutes after finishing with ChoiceAir.

I've been pricing tickets for our next Azamara cruise, and Choice Air is coming in about $600 less per ticket than the same tickets booked directly with the airline. My usual concern with booking air through the airline is that many do not issue the tickets until 75-90 days before the flight, and we want to be able to select our seats before then.

 

Believe you have a typo regarding booking air through the airline?? Don't you mean thru the cruise line as booking thru the airline you can always book your seats immediately except of course with BA? And, of course if this booking is with BA you won't be able to book your seats until 24 hours prior to your flight unless Business Class.

And BA charges you extra in business class for seat choice. We flew Virgin Atlantic back from London last year with no problems. BA back from Amsterdam plane change in London this year was a real pain. Had a five minute argument with one of there reps about carry ons even though we were business and they were tagged as approved in Amsterdam.

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Believe you have a typo regarding booking air through the airline?? Don't you mean thru the cruise line as booking thru the airline you can always book your seats immediately except of course with BA? And, of course if this booking is with BA you won't be able to book your seats until 24 hours prior to your flight unless Business Class.

Never had a problem choosing economy plus seats on BA immediately after booking on ChoiceAir.

Believe you have a typo regarding booking air through the airline?? Don't you mean thru the cruise line as booking thru the airline you can always book your seats immediately except of course with BA? And, of course if this booking is with BA you won't be able to book your seats until 24 hours prior to your flight unless Business Class.

Yes, you're right, I meant my concern about booking through the cruise line. Wish that edit feature worked for longer than the first view of our posts!

The flights aren't BA, it's Air Canada Rouge. That concerns me based on some reviews, but we're buying the premium seats, so I hope they're okay. Premium on any other airline is coming up at almost double the price, and two stops instead of one.

Thanks, everyone, for the information--glad to know we can get our seat assignment if we purchase tickets now.

If you booked your insurance with the cruise line, your ChoiceAir tickets are included.

I've used ChoiceAir on six/seven occasions now--sometimes their prices can't be beat--and have been generally pleased with the outcome...

You should know that--as is true if you were to book independently--some airlines based outside The US [and not all offer advance seat selection here] have far more restrictive rules than those to which you may be accustomed... As such, you should check the related provisions of each airline that will provide service for your anticipated itinerary...

• In some cases, there is no opportunity to select seats prior to check-in...
  
• In some cases, advance seat selection comes with an additional fee [not included in your fare regardless of whether you book directly through an airline or via ChoiceAir]...
  
• In yet other cases, class of service may determine your ability to select seats in advance [or as is the practice with some European airlines, have a seat assigned to you (which can perhaps be changed in advance following initial assignment and/or at check-in)]...
  

I recently returned from a month long trip to Europe which included two river cruises; ChoiceAir was not an option so I booked--Business Class--independently through United [with some of my flights provided by their code share partners]...

• From The US to Munich, service was provided by United; I selected my seat at the time of booking...
  
• Upon arrival in Munich, I had a connecting flight to Warsaw with service provided by Lufthansa... Though my flight number was a United code share flight number, I could not select my seat in advance via either the United or Lufthansa website [but as a Business Class passenger, a seat was eventually assigned to me in advance; had I been flying Coach, I'd have needed to either pay a fee for advance seat selection or selected a seat--without additional fee--upon check-in]...
  
• Following the first river cruise, I flew from Budapest to Zurich to catch the second... That flight was purchased via the same United ticket with service provided, via a code share arrangement, by Swiss... Lufthansa owns Swiss; the same rules relative to advance seat selection--as outlined above in the context of my flight from Munich to Warsaw--applied...
  
• Upon conclusion of the second cruise, I returned to The US from Amsterdam on a flight operated by United... Again, I was able to select my seat for that flight at the time of booking...
  

In the relatively recent past, I've booked flights to Barcelona via ChoiceAir [with service provided by Lufthansa] and--different trip--from Barcelona [with service provided by Swiss]... All [connections on both] were Business Class with the same advance seat selection rules in play for each segment... And though I don't recall the details--it's been six or seven years; policies can/do change--I believe that I encountered a similar seat selection dynamic when flying British Airways on a ticket purchased through ChoiceAir...

My thoughts/experiences for what they're worth... I do not wish to alarm you but am not certain that there is a categorical answer to your question... While doing your "homework", you might also look at luggage allowances if important to you; foreign carriers--including the major ones--often have more modest allowances for both checked and hand baggage than are offered--varying by ticket class--by the major US airlines... As I recall the rules, luggage allowances for an entire trip are governed by the the rules associated with your first flight on a single ticket [during my most recent trip; Lufthansa and Swiss used United allowances]...

Have a good trip!

Sorry for my delayed response... I started it early this morning, got interrupted by an appointment before I finished, and then completed it when I got back home... In the meantime, I note that others have weighed in...

If you booked your insurance with the cruise line, your ChoiceAir tickets are included.

Truly have no idea what purchasing insurance from the cruise line has to do with getting air tickets included. Did not think Azamara had any type of included air??

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Truly have no idea what purchasing insurance from the cruise line has to do with getting air tickets included. Did not think Azamara had any type of included air??

 

 

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I wonder if the poster means that the CruiseCare insurance would also cover the flights? It's a moot point for us, as we buy our trip insurance independently.

On a related note, I stupidly bought our insurance already, based on our expected costs, then discovered these less expensive flights, so we probably won't need as high a coverage rate. The Trip Insurance Store had offered the option to just purchase insurance on the deposit, then add coverage later as we booked flights/hotel, so I should have done that. They said if the dollar amount we need covered drops significantly, though, we can submit documentation of the trip costs and have our coverage levels lowered. Lesson learned, next time go with the minimum and add on!

 

The flights aren't BA, it's Air Canada Rouge. That concerns me based on some reviews, but we're buying the premium seats, so I hope they're okay. Premium on any other airline is coming up at almost double the price, and two stops instead of one.

 

Thanks, everyone, for the information--glad to know we can get our seat assignment if we purchase tickets now.

In January and this July we had to book AC Rouge to obtain direct flights and had no problems selecting the seat after receiving the appropriate documents from Choice Air.

The air crew on the second flight were noticeably better than in January, in fact as good as on regular Air Canada.

You are making an excellent decision in buying the Premium Economy seats. Adds greatly to your comfort, although the price they quoted, in our case $100., was for some reason in U.S. funds.

In our opinion, AC Premium Economy Seats behind the bulkheads have advantages and disadvantages. No seat reclining into your space but, if you are tall, you can't place your feet under the seat in front nor, for that matter, can you store items there. On our flight over we were in regular Air Canada at the bulkhead and there was equipment also blocking the usage of the space under our seats. Seat Guru may have further suggestions.

Hope this helps!

In January and this July we had to book AC Rouge to obtain direct flights and had no problems selecting the seat after receiving the appropriate documents from Choice Air.

 

The air crew on the second flight were noticeably better than in January, in fact as good as on regular Air Canada.

 

You are making an excellent decision in buying the Premium Economy seats. Adds greatly to your comfort, although the price they quoted, in our case $100., was for some reason in U.S. funds.

 

In our opinion, AC Premium Economy Seats behind the bulkheads have advantages and disadvantages. No seat reclining into your space but, if you are tall, you can't place your feet under the seat in front nor, for that matter, can you store items there. On our flight over we were in regular Air Canada at the bulkhead and there was equipment also blocking the usage of the space under our seats. Seat Guru may have further suggestions.

 

Hope this helps!

You have read my mind... I have been debating about bulkhead or the second row, based on comments on Seat Guru and FlyerTalk. We aren't tall (5'6" and 5'7"), so we might be all right with the bulkhead seats. My DH likes that no one would be reclining into his space.

We had PE bulkhead seats on United for our British Open cruise. I didn't mind that there wasn't any storage in front of us, but I did mind that the overhead bin directly above us was used for plane storage, and so our bags had to go several rows back. Do you recall if it's the same on Rouge? These flights would be on the 767, with the 2x2x2 configuration. Or did you not get PE on your Rouge flights, and were referring to the regular AC flights?

The price to upgrade from regular economy is much more than $100, but worth it! We could get the preferred economy for $100 but would rather spend more for premium, especially since the premium tickets will be much less than our United tickets this year.

Believe you have a typo regarding booking air through the airline?? Don't you mean thru the cruise line as booking thru the airline you can always book your seats immediately except of course with BA? And, of course if this booking is with BA you won't be able to book your seats until 24 hours prior to your flight unless Business Class.

Can't even book business class seats until 24 hours before flight unless you're willing to pay a lot (£60+ per seat for Business class)

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You have read my mind... I have been debating about bulkhead or the second row, based on comments on Seat Guru and FlyerTalk. We aren't tall (5'6" and 5'7"), so we might be all right with the bulkhead seats. My DH likes that no one would be reclining into his space.

 

We had PE bulkhead seats on United for our British Open cruise. I didn't mind that there wasn't any storage in front of us, but I did mind that the overhead bin directly above us was used for plane storage, and so our bags had to go several rows back. Do you recall if it's the same on Rouge? These flights would be on the 767, with the 2x2x2 configuration. Or did you not get PE on your Rouge flights, and were referring to the regular AC flights?

 

The price to upgrade from regular economy is much more than $100, but worth it! We could get the preferred economy for $100 but would rather spend more for premium, especially since the premium tickets will be much less than our United tickets this year.

Yes it was on a Rouge 767 (2x2x2) and I don't recall anything in the overhead bins.

And I apologize for not distinguishing between "Premium Economy" and "Preferred Economy". We were in the latter.

If memory serves the seats in "Premium" were more elaborate versions of the regular seats with even more room. That may well lessen the bulkhead issue.

If you want inflight entertainment keep your smart phone or laptop etc. handy as you will need to use the Air Canada app to access the offerings on Rouge.

However, the movies and tv shows on our flights were aged and banal, so we preferred to load up on podcasts or books.

I've been pricing tickets for our next Azamara cruise, and Choice Air is coming in about $600 less per ticket than the same tickets booked directly with the airline. My usual concern with booking air through the airline is that many do not issue the tickets until 75-90 days before the flight, and we want to be able to select our seats before then.

 

I asked our TA if that's how it worked with Choice Air, and she said no, that the tickets are issued immediately and you can select seats. When walking through the process today, though, there was no option for selecting seats before paying for them. So I wanted to check to see if our TA is right... I had hoped we could select the seats before purchasing. I don't want to pay for the flights and then discover we can't select our seats until much later.

 

Anyone have any recent experiences booking their flights that they can share?

We've always had good luck with Choice Air....very good prices and as you say, found them to be less than airline websites. I don't believe any airline lets you choose seats before you pay....so this is no different. After paying Choice Air - we go to the airline website and select seats.

Editing error

I am using Choice Air for my cruise. I am flying from Ft. Lauderdale to Dubai and back to Ft. Lauderdale, via New York from Athens. I was able to make the seat selection on all flights. The prices were awesome only $1300 round trip. They did say if I cancel there is a $175 fee.

Kathy

Can't even book business class seats until 24 hours before flight unless you're willing to pay a lot (£60+ per seat for Business class)

 

 

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Unless you have status. It's free for Silver and Gold Executive Club members at time of booking and 7 days rather than 24 hours if you are Bronze. Personally if I'm paying Club World airfare and have to pay to select I may very well fork out to choose my seat dependent on route and aircraft as seat location can make a big difference to comfort and privacy.

Phil

If you can book seats it is a good idea to check seatguru.com as it has good clear comments about each seat and its pitfalls. Like Phil, I would not risk a BA seat allocation as they have plenty history of splitting couples up. Even though its business class, there are also a few really bad seats because of their proximity to toilets. On a night flight that can be an issue as the person in the aisle seat gets quite disturbed by lights and people bumping into them - so I would pay if I had to (I'm lucky I don't have to as work trips have got me nice status!). The other advantage of paying for seats is BA will try and avoid bumping anyone out of them because of the hassle which is a nice benefit given any overbooking risks

We have paid in the past, but no longer do so after a row we had with BA a couple of years ago. We were flying back from Mumbai business class and had paid to book seats. At the airport they offered us an upgrade to first class for less than £200 - we jumped at it, as we felt we'd be unlikely ever to fly first class any other way - and it was well worth it - a great experience. In my naivety I thought BA would have no issues refunding us the fees we had paid to book our business class seat - how wrong I was! Since than, I refuse to pay to book seats - especially when we have usually only paid for economy or premium economy seats, then upgraded using air miles.

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We've always had good luck with Choice Air....very good prices and as you say, found them to be less than airline websites. I don't believe any airline lets you choose seats before you pay....so this is no different. After paying Choice Air - we go to the airline website and select seats.

Hmmm... usually when booking through the airline, I select the flight, then enter our information, and am able to select our seat before completing the transaction. I did that today as a trial with these flights on Air Canada Rouge, so see what seats were available.

Choice Air prices weren't any better for our last cruise, so I'm very happy to have found a great deal this time, and am relieved to know I can select the seats right after paying for them. We took included air with a river cruise once and had to ask to have the tickets issued in advance because even though we'd paid for the flights, Air Canada had no record of us, and thus we couldn't select seats--they just had the bulk ticket sale to the cruise line.

BAs terms and conditions re paying to select seats clearly states there will be no refund if any upgrade is given or purchased other than through an upgrade by rebooking. However the odds of getting an airport upgrade are never great but it's something people should understand.

 

 

 

Choice Air prices weren't any better for our last cruise, so I'm very happy to have found a great deal this time, and am relieved to know I can select the seats right after paying for them. We took included air with a river cruise once and had to ask to have the tickets issued in advance because even though we'd paid for the flights, Air Canada had no record of us, and thus we couldn't select seats--they just had the bulk ticket sale to the cruise line.

When Choice Air was first introduced there was considerable discussion on this Board as to whether it was different from the "Cruise Air" that was often offered as a special incentive by cruise lines to encourage booking.

Viking Rivers often continues this tradition. Royal Caribbean argued its programme was different.

Indeed, in its earlier years we did occasionally have problems selecting seats.

Glad you found a great price and the choice of seats should now be relatively easy.

I would point out that on the Air Canada site, when you attempt to manage your booking, you will be notified that you have purchased your ticket through some other partner (I cannot remember the exact wording) and you must choose a link which will take you to the seat selection page.

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