FlyerTalker

There is no Choice Air forum. matrix.itasoftware.com

If you want to do comprehensive research, ITA Matrix is your friend. Choice Air will show you the flights that they have available to sell to you. Not the full range. Highly recommend that folks here take advantage of the Cruise Air forum here at CC. For those that want straight talk and real answers.

Still....if you buy cruiseline air, you are NOT getting the same tickets as what you would have gotten on your own. There are many caveats and fare rules that came come back to bite you when the excrement meets the impeller. Plus, it puts an extra layer in between if issues arise. It's not a huge issue when all goes right. But when something comes up, that's when you need your own tickets most of all.

OTOH, I highly suggest NOT taking a nap. Yes, that first day you drag, but push yourself through the day and get a solid night's sleep. Yes, that first day is tough - but that's why you come in a day or two early. This shocks your system into being on the new time. By napping, you just postpone the system adjustment.

All the more reason to buy your own airline tickets.

Amazing how crucial details like dates, times and flight numbers get left out by posters complaining about issues with their flights. I have a number of proprietary tools that can research details on flights.....but when I merely see " well, luckily there is only one scheduled IB flight SFO-BCN. And I don't understand the "through AA" part. First off....seat assignments are NEVER guaranteed. Second - because you bought through the cruiseline, your ticket is under the control of Azamara. Had you bought them directly, you would be the customer. Third - the comment about getting a refund for not having your first choice of seats is laughable. You didn't buy a specific seat. You bought an upgrade to PE. You are being transported in PE. End of story, as far as a refund goes. Fourth - there are no unassigned seats in row 1. And there are only 3 unassigned seats in the PE cabin (out of 21) Fifth - you are most likely on a Level aircraft, operated by IB. Sorry to be blunt, but those are the facts.

Why would you think that? Your contract is with the corporation, not who may have ownership interest. You have a mortgage contract with a bank. It gets bought. You still have the same obligation as before. You have a rental lease with a company. They sell out to a different company, but the contractual arrangements carry through to the new entity. If contracts were automatically subject to cancellation if there is an ownership change, could you picture how this would completely throw the principles of business law out the window? (And yes, if there are specific provisions in the contract addressing such issues - as you might find with a contract where the expertise of the owner is of significant value in the transaction - then we would turn to those provisions for answers).

Yes, skip the cleaning and the maintenance. Then we can have more postings like: Some complain that there's uncleanliness. Some complain that there's too much cleaning. Guess you can never please everyone.

Not that I have heard. If so, I will definitely post. The good news in this is that they are trying to reduce "day of flight" cancellations or major delays.

In the wake of an over 10% cancellation rate this past Monday (and operational issues over the weekend), Delta has announced that they are paring back schedules for the next few months. The schedule is to be "thinned", with reductions starting this weekend and projected to continue through August at this time. There are no city-pairs that are being eliminated, but there will be reductions in frequency over some (as yet unannounced) routes. In addition, DL is planning to de-peak their ATL flights, so be aware of flight time changes for any connections through ATL. Other items include earlier boarding times and some behind the scenes crew issues. Although it is always wise to keep on top of your flight details for ANY airline, if flying DL in the next three months, you should especially check to see if your flights are impacted by these reductions.

Granted. Just that some seem to make it a big deal in certain cases, yet are remarkably fine with less "virtuous" choices in the opposite direction.

Correct. OTOH, the DL incident did schedule a "non-qualified" pilot to his flight - with the issue being that the pilot was not ETOPS-certified for the ETOPS flight to Hawaii.

' Yes it is. You either patronize a business or you don't. And rationalizing that a cruise is somehow a "different" purchase than staying at a hotel (or the like), is sophistry. And since you "keep up with these things", I wonder if you have boycotted their other investments, or are just trying to make this a cause celebre?

For example....DL just had a flight from Seattle to Kona delayed for 17 hours. First, for 9 hours, then another 8 hours when DL then found out they had scheduled a pilot who was unqualified to fly the ETOPS leg to Hawaii. Eventually, they left. And because it was a "delay", that didn't count towards the total of 10% actual cancellations that day.

Spoken by someone spoiled by being only a couple of miles from Logan.

Just meaning you don't want to assume anything....at any time. Check, recheck, then do it again.

You may want to check again. https://www.heathrow.com/at-the-airport/terminal-guides/which-terminal

LATAM is better than a "three star". Bet you looked at SkyTrax. Their ratings are a joke among flyers. For example, Garuda is listed as a five star airline, as is Hainan. EasyJet and Vueling are four star? Now, some of their rankings are spot on. But take SkyTrax with a big grain of salt. (And FWIW, other 3 star carriers include AA, DL, UA, and AS) Many believe that consulting contracts with SkyTrax and affiliated companies affect the ranking given to carriers. Or lack of contract dropping airlines down a notch or two. Not sure why you think that. Have not been on Marina in a number of years and have no future bookings on Oceania at this time.

Absolutely the case. You should be getting at least a 2% return on all of your plastic spend. You can guarantee that by getting a 2% cash rebate card. You'll lock in that rate, not higher or lower. Or you can get a bit more esoteric and find cards with bonus categories and lesser categories. Depends on what you want. For example: Amex Gold card gives 4X on all spend at grocery stores. Assume you spend $10k annually there, including stocking your home bar. That's 40,000 points without breaking a sweat. Toss in another 4x on airline tickets and on all restaurants. Buy a McDonald's card with your credit card, then use that rather than cash. Ditto with Starbucks or whatever. Spend as little as you can with cash and use your cards. Remember to pay them in full each month - otherwise your interest kills your rewards.

Timatic from IATA is an international standard reference used by most all of the world's airlines. https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/ https://www.iata.org/en/publications/timatic/

If immigration is the bottleneck, connecting baggage won't be an issue. The bags will transfer without your involvement. Standard Euro customs in Funchal.

And there's the rub. Everyone wants that non-stop, so the demand is high. High demand, fixed supply = higher pricing. Econ 101. OTOH, if you take a stop along the way, the price drops dramatically. Look to LATAM or especially Avianca for revenue business class tickets. Found full lie-flat itineraries from EZE to LAX in business on AV for about $850 one-way. Stop in Bogota, stretch your legs, and back to another 787. At that price, it's not worth it to waste your FF points.

DL has eliminated award charts and gone completely dynamic. AA has gone to a four-tier award chart, so they are quasi-dynamic.

They are wanting you to think they are "free". Actually, they are being purchased with an alternative currency. And you want to get the best return from your CC spend.

Here's a view of how they extended the runway at Funchal - using 180 pillars to hold up the 1000 meter extension.