Beware of ez air

I just checked my flights on AA site and found that I had been dropped from the SYD-LAX flight after the 4 Continent cruise! My Cruise Personilzer still had the flights there - the ones I paid for and supposedly was ticketed for at final payment back in May.

Called AA - nope, not on the flight. And I had even paid for an upgrade seat via AA.

Called Princess and got a snotty rep who informed me that the airlines can change the reservation (not Princess fault) and I will probably have to pay more! WHAT ????? She said it was a Flexible Fare and it can change up to 45 days before boarding. I thought it was flexible for me!

She said they would let me know...still no answer

I think this is a deceitful practice on Princess part. I paid for the flights, got a record locator code, the flights said they were ticketed and now they are not ???? And I have to pay more ??? And why did my Personilzer not reflect the correct information that I had no flight from Sydney to LAX ????

Princess said they would have to get me on a flight "within their parameters" meaning I have lost my seat and will probably be stuck in the middle.

I am more than livid at Princess :mad:

Whilst I can understand you're upset Princess has no control over AA.

Ultimately Princess are on your side and will do everything they can to fix the AA cock up. You then have the peace of mind knowing that Princess will get you on board whatever happens to the flight you eventually end up on.

I'm sure your travel insurance will cover the cost of the lost seat too.

Whilst I can understand you're upset Princess has no control over AA.

 

Ultimately Princess are on your side and will do everything they can to fix the AA cock up. You then have the peace of mind knowing that Princess will get you on board whatever happens to the flight you eventually end up on.

 

I'm sure your travel insurance will cover the cost of the lost seat too.

Princess does have control over booking the flight and informing of any change, which they did not. I found the problem. I also paid a specific amount at final payment and now have to pay more? Absurd!

I think Princess is on the side of the almighty dollar and that's it. I have no peace of mind with Princess, just the opposite.

You can request that the flight be booked at the time of final payment. This eliminates that flex feature--you have locked in the price and can no longer cancel without penalty BUT you have also locked in your seat on that flight. This makes your place secure unless the airline changes the flight (in which case you are arguing with them to get you what you want/need.

I was told by Delta that prior to Princess actually purchasing the ticket, I had "a spot" on the plane but no ability to assign seats other than what their computer did automatically, etc. Translation: I couldn't get the far forward seats that my mobility impaired family member needs. I talked to my TA, and suggested that since I had insurance (private) there was no risk in ticketing the flight early, so that's what we did.

This is the first report I've heard of someone being removed from a flight and told that the fare may increase, Like you, I thought EZ Air locked in your quoted price and flight but allowed you to claim a lower fare should one come available.

You can request that the flight be booked at the time of final payment. This eliminates that flex feature--you have locked in the price and can no longer cancel without penalty BUT you have also locked in your seat on that flight. This makes your place secure unless the airline changes the flight (in which case you are arguing with them to get you what you want/need.

 

I was told by Delta that prior to Princess actually purchasing the ticket' date=' I had "a spot" on the plane but no ability to assign seats other than what their computer did automatically, etc. Translation: I couldn't get the far forward seats that my mobility impaired family member needs. I talked to my TA, and suggested that since I had insurance (private) there was no risk in ticketing the flight early, so that's what we did.

 

This is the first report I've heard of someone being removed from a flight and told that the fare may increase, Like you, I thought EZ Air locked in your quoted price and flight but allowed you to claim a lower fare should one come available.[/quote']

 

I did have the flights "locked in" at booking and I paid in full early (not a cheap cruise) to ensure the flights and price. I had the Record Locator code and was able to upgrade my seat because this is a 15 hour flight and I do not want to be stuck in a middle seat!

 

My flights still show in my Personalizer as they did on my "ticketed" flights. So I am very glad I checked on my own...YOU CANNOT TRUST WHAT IS IN YOUR PERSONALIZER !!!!!!!!

A few years ago, we booked a Princess cruise sailing Hawaii and onto Tahiti. Friends with whom we were traveling were more comfortable with a fly/cruise package, so we reluctantly went ahead with it.

A few months before the cruise, I used the record locator numbers for each couple and upgraded us on the leg from DFW to Honolulu. I thought we would be OK with the BOS to DFW in economy as I grabbed bulk head seats. I entered our FF numbers for our booking, printed the new confirmations and waited until late February when I did the 24 hour check in. Oh, no! Our friends were all set with the upgraded seats, BUT our seats were now in the last row, no recline, adjacent to the toilets! DH immediately called our TA who spent considerable time working with Princess and AA. By early evening, Princess contacted our TA to say we were on stand-by for an upgrade, and to ask again in BOS and DFW. Not much help. AA was out of line when they refused to recourse the additional charges for the upgrade that we were no longer receiving. One call to the credit card company took care of that additional charge for us.

No luck at BOS to verify if we had an upgrade on the second leg of the flight, but when we changed planes at DFW, we were told we had the upgraded seats all the time. What caused the stress, glitch, frustration? When I entered our FF flyer numbers, something in the AA program conflicts with the price code factor used by Princess and screwed up the flight booking. That's what the gate agent told us.

Never again will I go along to get along when friends want a fly/cruise package.

Darcy

A few years ago, we booked a Princess cruise sailing Hawaii and onto Tahiti. Friends with whom we were traveling were more comfortable with a fly/cruise package, so we reluctantly went ahead with it.

 

A few months before the cruise, I used the record locator numbers for each couple and upgraded us on the leg from DFW to Honolulu. I thought we would be OK with the BOS to DFW in economy as I grabbed bulk head seats. I entered our FF numbers for our booking, printed the new confirmations and waited until late February when I did the 24 hour check in. Oh, no! Our friends were all set with the upgraded seats, BUT our seats were now in the last row, no recline, adjacent to the toilets! DH immediately called our TA who spent considerable time working with Princess and AA. By early evening, Princess contacted our TA to say we were on stand-by for an upgrade, and to ask again in BOS and DFW. Not much help. AA was out of line when they refused to recourse the additional charges for the upgrade that we were no longer receiving. One call to the credit card company took care of that additional charge for us.

 

No luck at BOS to verify if we had an upgrade on the second leg of the flight, but when we changed planes at DFW, we were told we had the upgraded seats all the time. What caused the stress, glitch, frustration? When I entered our FF flyer numbers, something in the AA program conflicts with the price code factor used by Princess and screwed up the flight booking. That's what the gate agent told us.

 

Never again will I go along to get along when friends want a fly/cruise package.

 

Darcy

This is good to know as I was considering EZ air....I will book direct with the airlines.

We have used ez air several times without any problem except once. About 3 years ago a flight returning from FLL suddenly was canceled with United. The flight to FLL was still ok. I got United to reinstate the flight, but a few days later it was canceled again. United swore Princess had canceled it. I ended up talking to customer service who talked to someone she knew in the flight department. Customer service said this person would check on the flight every day until we returned (15 days). We had no more problem.

I used EZ air a few years back. We were told that there are 2 price ranges. 1 is restricted and will lock your price for your seat at the current price. The second price, flexible, doesn't guarantee you the booking price. They can change the price until you pay in full. Yes, it does allow you change or cancel up to final payment without penalty.

Your fight needs to be with the airline...not Princess.

I used EZ air a few years back. We were told that there are 2 price ranges. 1 is restricted and will lock your price for your seat at the current price. The second price, flexible, doesn't guarantee you the booking price. They can change the price until you pay in full. Yes, it does allow you change or cancel up to final payment without penalty.

I made final payment months ago to lock in the fare. Flexible for Princess to change up until 45 days out!

On the phone for the 2nd time for over 45 minute to no avail. American Airlines blames Princess. Princess blames AA. What a racket and I am stuck in the middle wasting a lot of time.

And my Cruise Personalizer still has my flight like nothing was wrong....BEWARE!!!!!!!

I HAVE LEARNED MY LESSON :mad::mad::mad:

Booking direct with the airline doesn't offer protection either. We just did an Alaska cruise tour. I booked direct with Delta. Flight from Sacramento to Seattle to Fairbanks. Total time including layover in Seattle: 7 hours. I got an email from Delta changing my flight. It was from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Minneapolis/St. Paul to Fairbanks. Total time including layovers: 18 hours. Holy Cow!

It took over an hour on the phone to get that fixed but instead of arriving in Fairbanks at 2:30 PM I was now booked to arrive at 1:30 AM. Better but...

Fortunately a few weeks later Delta called and said my original flight had been reinstated if I wanted it so everything worked out fine. However, I checked daily for the next couple of months to make sure that the flight stayed the same.

Airlines offer no guarantees and seem to just do whatever they feel like.

I did have the flights "locked in" at booking and I paid in full early (not a cheap cruise) to ensure the flights and price. I had the Record Locator code and was able to upgrade my seat because this is a 15 hour flight and I do not want to be stuck in a middle seat!

 

My flights still show in my Personalizer as they did on my "ticketed" flights. So I am very glad I checked on my own...YOU CANNOT TRUST WHAT IS IN YOUR PERSONALIZER !!!!!!!!

We were required to complete a form that basically said "Buy my tickets now" and had details that we knew this would prevent us from taking advantage of any price reductions.

The act of paying for the cruise in full did not mean that Princess would purchase our tickets. After trying to get the seats we needed (multiple calls to airline and being told Princess had not purchased our tickets but had made a "reservation" for us), I called Princess to find out why my payment had not been applied to the purchase of tickets. They explained that they don't make the purchase until 45 days before cruising unless I had completed this form....they did e-mail me the form and I sent it in virtually immediately.

Sorry for all your troubles. So far we've been happy with EZ air and saved a few hundred dollars per person over purchasing directly thru the airline. BUT I keep learning more about how to make it work.

This is a direct quote from the Fare Restrictions pop-up Flexible option on the Princess Website when using easy air. The link is titled "What Are Flexible and Restricted Fares?"

"Prices are not subject to increase, except for charges resulting from increases in government imposed taxes or fees."

So no, the Flexible Fare price will not increase except for increases in government imposed taxes or fees.

I have used ez air a few times and been happy with it so far. I had to call princess to add a return flight to one of my upcoming cruises though.

This is good to know as I was considering EZ air....I will book direct with the airlines.

At this point I believe that is the safest and most secured way to know everything upfront with the airline (s) that you choose.

I will be flying from LAX to Buenos Aires. I have very nervously booked EZ Air for the first time ever in 33 cruises. (Always book my own direct with airline) But, this time I went with EZ Air. Here is why .... $1864 with the airline direct, $593.41 with EZ Air Flexible. A very substantial savings, kind of a no brainer. I had numerous options to choose from. Actually I have already re-fared from $694 once. Everything is good at this point, booking was immediately on the airline website and I have pre-reserved seats (I understand, not a guarantee) I check the airline website every once in a while. I was willing to purchase the airline ticket now to have it show ticketed for some reassurance. I called to do that only to find out it can not be done without prepaying the whole cruise. The cruise is pretty far away, so I did not pursue it. In addition, from what I read here on CC, I sense that Princess does not direct the reservation to be ticketed until 45 days out anyway, paid in advance or not. Maybe with a lot a hassle, it can be done??? That is my scenario.

Princess does have control over booking the flight and informing of any change, which they did not. I found the problem. I also paid a specific amount at final payment and now have to pay more? Absurd!

 

I think Princess is on the side of the almighty dollar and that's it. I have no peace of mind with Princess, just the opposite.

Linda, something similar was recently posted about an elderly couple who booked EZ Air only to find out at the airport on the return leg that the Princess air dept. failed to actually book the ticket. After much teeth gnashing and finger pointing to to the airline, they finally fixed their goof and repaid the couple for the price of the walk-up tickets. Print out copies of all your current bookings, Keep calling the air dept., record who you speak to, tell them that you want the ticket fixed to what the Personalizer says, including your previous seat assignments OR you want a full refund. I am guessing the 45 day limit has passed and they should have booked the ticket anyway, yes?

Here is that thread from last month: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2363344

I have not had any problems with EZ-Air, but tI have always used restricted where I paid the full amount at the time of reservation and the ticket was issued.

My understanding of Flexible under the program is that you do not have to pay until the final payment due date for the cruise, even though the OP did pay. It is my understanding that Princess may place a hold for seats under the program and that the seats will show up on the carriers web site, but that the actual payment to the Airline does not take place until after the full payment date and as such makes it possible for cancellations of the holds to take place. I also believe the terms of the hold allows the cruise line to make changes, which I would suspect also allows the airline to make changes based upon how their ticket sales are going on specific flights. In other words flexible means it is somewhat fluid, and not fully locked in. For it to be one sided that the passenger could have flexibility and the airline not would result in flexible having higher fares, not often lower fares.

If you want specific seats and want everything locked in use restricted. If you don't want to pay until full payment due date and you might want to change flight times use flexible.

But do NOT use flexible and pay the full amount early and expect to have it all locked in.

I suspect that what the OP is hearing from both the airlines and Princess is correct. The airlines is saying that Princess had not paid for the ticket (which would be true under the flexible program if it was more then 45 days from the cruise) and as such it was their fault. Princess is saying that the airline canceled the reservation, which is also correct.

I will be flying from LAX to Buenos Aires. I have very nervously booked EZ Air for the first time ever in 33 cruises. (Always book my own direct with airline) But, this time I went with EZ Air. Here is why .... $1864 with the airline direct, $593.41 with EZ Air Flexible. A very substantial savings, kind of a no brainer. I had numerous options to choose from. Actually I have already re-fared from $694 once. Everything is good at this point, booking was immediately on the airline website and I have pre-reserved seats (I understand, not a guarantee) I check the airline website every once in a while. I was willing to purchase the airline ticket now to have it show ticketed for some reassurance. I called to do that only to find out it can not be done without prepaying the whole cruise. The cruise is pretty far away, so I did not pursue it. In addition, from what I read here on CC, I sense that Princess does not direct the reservation to be ticketed until 45 days out anyway, paid in advance or not. Maybe with a lot a hassle, it can be done??? That is my scenario.

When I have used restricted they have paid the airline in full with in a few days of my having paid them. Had a friend of mine with the airline check on the status and that it had shown up as issued ticket, not just reserved hold.

Now that was a few years back so maybe the program has changed.

When I have used restricted they have paid the airline in full with in a few days of my having paid them. Had a friend of mine with the airline check on the status and that it had shown up as issued ticket, not just reserved hold.

 

Now that was a few years back so maybe the program has changed.

Correct--if you book "restricted," they purchase the ticket right away and you lose the ability to get a better rate.

Also true that you must have the cruise paid in full before you can ask them to book the airline tickets on a flex rate.

But it really wasn't a lot of trouble. Once I learned what was required, it was a simple form to complete (basically a signature that I understood what I was doing) and fax it in. And it got me the flex fare, but purchased the tickets to allow me to get the seats we needed thru Delta.

In our case, the airfares have risen since we purchased. But if they had dropped, we couldn't have taken advantage of that.

A common theme with these ez air issues is AA. Unfortunately international airlines cant operate in the US domestically so princess is forced into using them

A common theme with these ez air issues is AA. Unfortunately international airlines cant operate in the US domestically so princess is forced into using them

No. Princess is not forced into using AA. UA and DL also exist in EZAir.

The passenger gets to pick what airline at what price to use.

Of course if you are flying out of a small airport not near a major city, your airline choices may be limited.

OP sounds like u did everything possible to make sure you accomplished our goal and still got screwed, especially on your seats and higher fare.

Why do things get messed up when we travel?????:p

So frustrating......

We have had good luck with EZ air, the few times we've booked it.

I am curious is your flight a few days before the cruise?

OP sounds like u did everything possible to make sure you accomplished our goal and still got screwed, especially on your seats and higher fare.

 

Why do things get messed up when we travel?????:p

 

So frustrating......

 

We have had good luck with EZ air, the few times we've booked it.

 

I am curious is your flight a few days before the cruise?

Yes, it sounds like you did everything correct EXCEPT request the form from Princess to fill out to have them purchase tickets early on a flexible fare. It doesn't matter if you made final payment early thinking they were going to purchase your tickets when you made final payment. You MUST fill out the early ticketing form to get them to actually purchase the tickets. Once this is done Princess purchases them. Of course the airlines could still make changes just as if you had purchased directly with them based on the airlines schedules. But once paid for by Princess your ticket becomes non refundable. You can no longer take advantage of price drops. I believe that whomever you talked to at Princess in referring to having to pay extra cash meant that if you didn't want whatever flights they put you into within the amount of money you had paid and wanted to chose other flights it could cost more dollars. This could have been avoided IF you would have filled out the form to be ticketed right away when you made final payment. Princess emailed form to us. We printed off and filled out. Then faxed it back to Princess. Tickets were paid for and issued within a day or so. We did gave changes on the flight after payment that was made by the airline. All it took was a call to the airline to get any issues to our satisfaction because we had fully paid tickets.

We booking EZAir it states on one of the pages when you book that it is the passengers responsibility to check any flight changes etc with the airline. Princess does not know the airline changes until they are notified by the airline. It's really everyone's own responsibility to make sure all their ducks are in a row for their vacation. Should the airlines or the cruise line notify us? Sure but it often doesn't happen. Sign up on your airlines website for notifications for changes to your flight. We have always done this with EZAir and have been notified of changes by the airline way before the changes showed on the cruise personalizer.

Best of luck OP in getting a satisfactory flight.

Booked EZair after I saw a flight that looked good with timing.

After final payment, I got a notice from my travel agent that I'm not arriving at 8pm but 2Am and our first event on our cruisetour would depart at 8:00am. We wouldn't even get to the Princess lodge in Fairbanks till after 3am! And they call that day 1 of our cruisetour.

So we opt to go in a day early, but the Princess lodge won't accommodate us so we must stay at a regular hotel one night then cab it to the Princess lodge. I'm actually happy with this plan as I can explore Fairbanks, although I'm not happy with how it all came about. Now comes the second part of this mess.

I review the new itinerary I see that my return flight has been swapped too!!!

Gone is our post cruise flight of 10:30 am to one that doesn't depart till 8:00 pm and puts us home the whole next day at 8:00 AM!

I decided to call the airline myself give the flight numbers and find out that the original return flight still exists and she says there are "Plenty" of seats available.

Now awaiting assistance from my travel agent. I regret doing EZ air for sure. Maybe this is how it works in the description, I don't know. I do know that most people don't want to do a deep study into this process and think this might be the easier/safer way to go. That's not the case for us at least. I don't care for the name, EZ air either, it gives customers the notion that it is an 'easier" option.

Feeling slightly better having just vented.....