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Upgrading airfare to premium economy


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We are less than 45 days from departure using Oceania's airfare to Reykjavik on Delta. The website says our flights are confirmed. I keep checking to see if that has changed to booked. Why will Oceania not let us upgrade through Delta? There are still seats in premium economy available and if Delta is willing to upgrade us, why would Oceania care?

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If you've made final payment, which I assume you have, you need to request that your flights be ticketed, not just booked. Then, depending on the class of ticket you have, you should be able to change your seat.

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We request that tickets be purchased as soon as final payment is confirmed. But then you, the cruiser, is responsible for any changes or cancelation. As soon as Oceania acknowledges that air ticket payment has been made, you can then go into your Delta booking and request an upgrade to their comfort + for the oversea/international portion of the flights and make payment directly with your credit card.

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Delta doesn't have true Premium Economy, only seats with extra leg room. If he didn't pay a deviation fee, he's probably at O's mercy as to when they choose to ticket the flights.

 

Sometimes they partner with airlines that do have true PE. Whether or not you can book that class on that airline with Oceania included air is another story. I've had success moving to a bulkhead or exit row once the flights are ticketed.

 

I know on Delta's website you can book PE on some flights they partner with AF on. Not sure of OP's carrier to Iceland so hard to say.

 

I could be wrong but I think even without a deviation you can gets your flights ticketed once final payment is made.

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We are less than 45 days from departure using Oceania's airfare to Reykjavik on Delta. The website says our flights are confirmed. I keep checking to see if that has changed to booked. Why will Oceania not let us upgrade through Delta? There are still seats in premium economy available and if Delta is willing to upgrade us, why would Oceania care?

 

To be clear, it is not Oceania holding you back, but Delta. It is the Airlines policy that only purchased tickets are upgrade-able.

 

FYI Oceania will purchase airline tickets early, provided that a deviation fee is in play and the cruise is paid in full. You needn't have waited until 45 days out.

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Just a word of caution. Oceania can change to a different airline if a better deal comes along at the last minute. If you pay the airline directly for an upgrade, you will lose the money if they make a last minute change. We had this happen with a different cruise line 7 days before departure. We did get a credit for the lost money toward our next trip when we complained.

 

Mary

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The OP says he is flying Delta for the overseas portion of his trip. If he is actually flying Air France, then he should have made that fact clear. Different Airlines yield different facts!

 

Oceania has not ticketed the flight, so we do not know how they plan on doing so! As an example, a couple of years back, we choose UA, via SAS, on a deviation with O Air. When ticketing the flights, O ticketed the domestic portion on UA, but the two international legs on SAS. To do an upgrade of seats, for the international leg, we had to talk to SAS. However, Oceania bought the seats, and SAS, via policy, would only talk to O. O would not talk to us either, only our TA. So to attempt a seat upgrade, we had to ask our TA to ask Oceania to talk to SAS about the upgrade. To say the least, since we were already pif, we weren't at the top of O's priority list. Several days later, O came back with the price to upgrade, an outrageous price at that. We declined the offer. We called SAS, within 24 hours of the flight, when they would talk directly to us without going through O and got a similar outrageous price. The bulk fare rate, that O buys at, and the Class of ticket issued,is essentially non upgradable. The cost of an upgrade is about the cost of a new ticket.

 

So, when the OP gets ticketed by O, he not only has to determine what airline he's flying, but additionally on which airline ( if multiple are used) he is actually ticketed. Each has their own rules and procedures, even though they may be a part of an Alliance. Additionally, if the OP has status with the actual carrier can affect, along with the cost, what he may or may not be able to do.

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Let me further add, that due to new policy changes at the three major US airlines, some, both domestic and international, fares are being sold that are non upgradable, period. That "period", also includes those having status with the airlines. Period includes not only a move from Economy to BC, but also a move up into a better economy seat.

 

As flyers and travelers race to the cheapest seats possible, they are going to have to become increasingly more aware of which Class of seat they, or the cruise lines or travel groups, book them into. The rules are changing quickly in this matter. What was policy six months ago, is totally different today. Buyer Beware!

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Just a word of caution. Oceania can change to a different airline if a better deal comes along at the last minute. If you pay the airline directly for an upgrade, you will lose the money if they make a last minute change. We had this happen with a different cruise line 7 days before departure. We did get a credit for the lost money toward our next trip when we complained.

 

Mary

 

Does that happen often? I booked 2 Oceania cruises a few days ago and now I'm concerned. My TA told me that I won't even know if my request to fly from a non-gateway city will be approved until 45 days before the cruise. Not only that, but I cannot pick the flights I want.

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We did a river cruise earlier in the year and rather than sit in Yangon airport for 8 hours tried to change to an earlier flight and pay the difference. We had to pay the full amount for the earlier flight in view of the class of ticket purchased by the cruise company, obviously the cheapest available.

 

On a number of occasions we have been told by major European carriers that it isn't possible to upgrade an economy ticket purchased by a cruise or tour operator because of the grade of ticket. Sounds like the American airlines are following suit.

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Does that happen often? I booked 2 Oceania cruises a few days ago and now I'm concerned. My TA told me that I won't even know if my request to fly from a non-gateway city will be approved until 45 days before the cruise. Not only that, but I cannot pick the flights I want.

 

I wouldn't be too concerned. In 8 years of cruising on Oceania of almost 20 cruises we've never had this happen.

 

If you pay the deviation fee, $175 pp then you can get your flights before 45 days and you can pick your flights.

 

FWIW, within the last month I have upgraded my seats on an international flight with SAS directly. Once the flights were ticketed there was no problem. This is on a Oceania provided flight. The return is on AA and I also was able to change my seats on them. I could have upgraded to a bulkhead or exit but didn't feel like it was worth $137 pp for these seats.

 

I guess the key is there is no one size fits all. I've had Oceania flights before that were full fare classifications, completely upgradeable to BC or first, but not very often.

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Does that happen often? I booked 2 Oceania cruises a few days ago and now I'm concerned. My TA told me that I won't even know if my request to fly from a non-gateway city will be approved until 45 days before the cruise. Not only that, but I cannot pick the flights I want.

You will usually find out the flight details about 70 days out but you are at the mercy of the air dept

 

If you want to pick your flights pay the deviation fee you can request flight about the 270 day mark

 

...fly in a day or more early or stay longer after the cruise if you have the time

I have used O air with the deviation & never had flights changed on me

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Just a word of caution. Oceania can change to a different airline if a better deal comes along at the last minute. If you pay the airline directly for an upgrade, you will lose the money if they make a last minute change. We had this happen with a different cruise line 7 days before departure.

 

Mary

But did this happen with Oceania ?

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Thanks to everyone for your replies, I contacted my TA for help so will see what he says. We cruise a lot but this is only our 2nd time on Oceania. I always upgrade my seats after receiving flight locator info but this is the first time I've encountered this problem.

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Sorry, I didn't upgrade the flight. I upgraded my seats.

I tried to do it as soon as I knew the flight locator number but The airlines won't let you upgrade until the flights are booked. Oceania told me that would be 45 days out but it actually happened about 38 days out.

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