A Canadian flying via Choice Air (Celebrity)

Hello fellow travelers,

Sorry this is a bit long winded...

I am hoping someone can explain or confirm how Choice Air operates its relationships with airlines outside of the US.

I am a CDN flying to FLL in January. I checked Canadian airlines individually and then looked at my options through Choice Air. Choice Air had the best prices (approx $110 in savings) and the times I wanted for my flights so I called a Choice Air agent and booked my flights with my CDN credit card

After the call, I went on the AIr Canada website to select a seat. I wanted more leg room. And here is where I found a ‘big unknown’ to me. The price for the seat selection was $48 USD. (Had I booked directly with AC The price for the same seat was $35 CDN). I paid for my ticket with Canadian funds. I called AC directly and they said because the third party had paid for my seat in USD then all subsequently purchases (seats, food, luggage) will be in USD. Is that true? No-one at Choice Air EVER told me that any subsequent purchases are in USD. Note..I do understand that if my flight is from a USA city, my seat upgrade would be in USD (same with extra luggage fees). If I am starting my travel from a CDN city should not all prices be in CDN for that portion of a trip?

So 30 minutes after booking my flights through Choice Air, I called them back and cancelled the flights. The *deal* for the flights was not a deal when I would be paying for any upgrades in USD. BTW, that $48 seat was charged as a USD amount to my CDN credit card so the final price in CDN was $63.00! I did cancel that too and got my money refunded on the seat. I was told by Choice Air that because I cancelled within the 24 hour period of booking I would get a refund but it would take 7-10 business days. We are now up to 15 business days and all I am getting is a run around.

To be clear..I will continue to deal with Choice Air to get my money back as that is my problem to resolve and not the reason for my posting. If you do have an answer..I would love to hear it.

My question to the forum...am I the only one who did not know that if you book with Choice Air your upgrades, baggage are in USD even though your cruise and credit card are in CDN? Would the same thing happen if traveling to Europe?

Choice Air had the best prices (approx $110 in savings) ...

 

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My question to the forum...am I the only one who did not know that if you book with Choice Air your upgrades, baggage are in USD even though your cruise and credit card are in CDN?

It sounds like you assumed that if you bought a ticket through Choice Air, you'd get the same product as if you bought a ticket directly from the airline. But if there's one piece of constant advice on this forum, it is that buying a ticket through Choice Air gets you a different product with different terms and conditions, and that many things may be different from what you'd get if you bought directly from the airline.

Some CCers post their view that a seat on a flight is a seat on a flight and that they're all the same. There's an echo of this in your sentence that seems to think that the lowest price is the same as the best price. But those who are experienced know that an air ticket is so much more than a seat on a flight. It's an entire package, and one of the issues about cruise line air travel of any kind is that it's sometimes difficult to know exactly what's in the package and what the rules are. Sometimes, a higher price is a better price even if you end up with the same seat on the aircraft.

Hence I am not surprised to hear that this is the way that Choice Air has worked in your case.

 

I am a CDN flying to FLL in January. I checked Canadian airlines individually and then looked at my options through Choice Air. Choice Air had the best prices (approx $110 in savings)

 

After the call, I went on the AIr Canada website to select a seat. I wanted more leg room. And here is where I found a ‘big unknown’ to me. The price for the seat selection was $48 USD. (Had I booked directly with AC The price for the same seat was $35 CDN).

 

that $48 seat was charged as a USD amount to my CDN credit card so the final price in CDN was $63.00!

Let me see if I understand this. If you purchased the ticket directly from the airline you would have paid $110 more for it, plus $35 to upgrade the seat for a total additional cost of $145.

By purchasing through Choice Air, you essentially paid a total additional cost of $63.

I understand being upset at the "surprise" of the charge being more if paid in US dollars as required by the terms of your ticket, and at the additional exchange fee, but you still would have been out less money by buying the ticket from Choice Air and paying the higher fee to upgrade the seat than if you booked directly with Air Canada and upgraded the seat. So you are voluntarily paying more money overall because you are mad at Choice Air?

Let me see if I understand this. If you purchased the ticket directly from the airline you would have paid $110 more for it, plus $35 to upgrade the seat for a total additional cost of $145.

 

By purchasing through Choice Air, you essentially paid a total additional cost of $63.

 

 

I understand being upset at the "surprise" of the charge being more if paid in US dollars as required by the terms of your ticket, and at the additional exchange fee, but you still would have been out less money by buying the ticket from Choice Air and paying the higher fee to upgrade the seat than if you booked directly with Air Canada and upgraded the seat. So you are voluntarily paying more money overall because you are mad at Choice Air?

There might also be the added cost of paying baggage fees in USD instead of CAD.

Still, the math does seem to favor Choice Air.

How much time have you now spent on this? Was this worth the time and aggravation?

Two factors at play.....

The fare class you book into defines what the cost of seat selection is. There is no guarantee that the fare class you are booked into with Choice Air is one that Air Canada offers to the general public.

The extra fees on Air Canada are independently priced in CDN and US dollars. They don't normally change thouse due to currency variations. So depending on Trump, the price of oil, or any host of other factors the CDN dollar may be up or down relative to US dollar. However Air Canada is not constantly changing the advance seat selection fee to reflect this. End result is sometimes it is cheaper one way or the other.

Choice Air being a US company it is not surprising they have purchased the flight in US dollars.

I'm not sure why you assumed that because you used a CDN credit card that you would be charged in CDN dollars. You were buying the flight from a US company, not directly from Air Canada, so of course you would be charged in USD. And I agree with the others here, you can't just assume that seat selection and checked bags will be included in the price. There are many different types of economy tickets. The cheapest come without the frills.

Two factors at play.....

 

The fare class you book into defines what the cost of seat selection is. There is no guarantee that the fare class you are booked into with Choice Air is one that Air Canada offers to the general public.

 

The extra fees on Air Canada are independently priced in CDN and US dollars. They don't normally change thouse due to currency variations. So depending on Trump, the price of oil, or any host of other factors the CDN dollar may be up or down relative to US dollar. However Air Canada is not constantly changing the advance seat selection fee to reflect this. End result is sometimes it is cheaper one way or the other.

 

Choice Air being a US company it is not surprising they have purchased the flight in US dollars.

Thank you for your input and perhaps I was not clear in my post.

I understand that Choice Air being a US company would purchase the flight in USD and calculate that rate into CDN dollars and advertise that price in CDN and then charge me in CDN dollars. Which they have done. I accept that. Had I bought my cruise in USD my flights would have been in USD pricing as well. But since my cruise is CDN so is my cost for the plane ticket. I cannot have cruise payment in one currency and flights in another.

What I was upset about was the lack of communication to the purchasers to understand that any upgrades either a seat selection, paying for luggage or even pre-ordering a meal will now be in USD ONLY, even though I paid for my ticket in Canadian dollars. I never expected seat selection or luggage to be free as someone was thinking I was assuming. That is not the case. It was In which currency I would be charged.

6rugrats...yes, I have spent too much time and aggravation on this. I just wish I had known in advance that I would be paying for things in two currencies. And I am obviously the only person that did not know this is what happens when booking with Choice Air.

 

What I was upset about was the lack of communication to the purchasers to understand that any upgrades either a seat selection, paying for luggage or even pre-ordering a meal will now be in USD ONLY,

I think it's very unrealistic to expect all the Choice Air agents to be experts, or to even have a basic level of knowledge, on these things. They would need to know ALL the ins and outs of ALL the policies on ALL topics for ALL the airlines on which they might sell tickets. They'd have to know all of the fine print for every ticket they sell. They'd have to know which credit cards charge fees for currency exchange rates and which ones don't, and would have to know which ones you have. The would have a long list of other fees and policy details, beyond seat selection and baggage fees, that the would have to either be able to read your mind to know which ones you might want to know about, or they'd have to recite the list for all of them and most people would be extremely exasperated at having to listen to all of that if it doesn't apply to them. At some point the consumer has to take responsibility for asking the right questions rather than making assumptions.

Beyond all that, I'm still curious why you canceled, when it appears that even with the increased price for seat selection, the OVERALL price for ticket + seat selection is less with Choice Air.

Did your purchase your cruise in US$?

I purchased my cruise in CDN$.

I purchased my air (Air Transat, YYZ - FLL) in CDN through RC (Air2Sea) for my January 2019 cruise. I then went to Air Transat and purchased my seats in CDN.

I think it's very unrealistic to expect all the Choice Air agents to be experts, or to even have a basic level of knowledge, on these things. They would need to know ALL the ins and outs of ALL the policies on ALL topics for ALL the airlines on which they might sell tickets. They'd have to know all of the fine print for every ticket they sell. They'd have to know which credit cards charge fees for currency exchange rates and which ones don't, and would have to know which ones you have. The would have a long list of other fees and policy details, beyond seat selection and baggage fees, that the would have to either be able to read your mind to know which ones you might want to know about, or they'd have to recite the list for all of them and most people would be extremely exasperated at having to listen to all of that if it doesn't apply to them. At some point the consumer has to take responsibility for asking the right questions rather than making assumptions.

 

Beyond all that, I'm still curious why you canceled, when it appears that even with the increased price for seat selection, the OVERALL price for ticket + seat selection is less with Choice Air.

You expect a customer to know ALL of these facts, but not the one selling the product. Do you own shares in the company? Why else would one make such a preposterous suggestion?

Expecting a customer to know the questions that have to be asked is nonsensical. Do school teachers sit there and wait for students to ask the necessary questions? Of course not. Students don't know what they need to know. Same with consumers approaching a new product and merchant.

I get very tired of seeing posts that suggest things are far too complicated for the poor corporation. Yet expect the greedy consumer to be fully informed and tolerant of the poor corporation. Let's all shed a few tears :loudcry: for corporations as they struggle to cope with consumer expectations :rolleyes:.

You expect a customer to know ALL of these facts, but not the one selling the product. Do you own shares in the company? Why else would one make such a preposterous suggestion?

Because there is a concept known as due diligence. That the purchaser has a responsibility to know what they are buying. To naively make assumptions is part of the "It's someone else's responsibility" mentality that keeps spreading.

The OP made some HUGE assumptions, but thinks it's the fault of the cruiseline for not telling them EVERY SINGLE contingency that might possbily come up. If the currency of the transaction is of that great a concern, why the heck didn't the purchaser ask? Oh, because it's not my responsibility to find out things in advance.

Caveat emptor. Truer words are rarely spoken.

Because there is a concept known as due diligence. That the purchaser has a responsibility to know what they are buying. To naively make assumptions is part of the "It's someone else's responsibility" mentality that keeps spreading.

 

The OP made some HUGE assumptions, but thinks it's the fault of the cruiseline for not telling them EVERY SINGLE contingency that might possbily come up. If the currency of the transaction is of that great a concern, why the heck didn't the purchaser ask? Oh, because it's not my responsibility to find out things in advance.

 

Caveat emptor. Truer words are rarely spoken.

Due diligence is pointless when one excuses the principal contact from being responsible for providing accurate information. How can one say that on the one hand the consumer should have asked, if on the other one excuses the person answering from providing an accurate answer?

Customer paid in CA$. Why in the world would she think that subsequent transactions with the Canadian carrier might be in a different currency?

Caveat emptor yes. But that does not relieve the seller of a duty to disclose relevant facts. Too many people seem to forget this.

You expect a customer to know ALL of these facts, but not the one selling the product. Do you own shares in the company? Why else would one make such a preposterous suggestion?

 

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Nope, I don't own any shares of any cruise line or any airline. I do know that making assumptions is asking for trouble.

As for the company selling the product and what they know, they sold a ticket on an airline and presumably knew enough about that product to give the customer the flight details, the price, and other ESSENTIAL information. Do YOU really expect the company to tell every customer, without them asking, about EVERY potential fact, fee, rule, regulation, procedure or other unique situation that MIGHT apply to the occasional customer? Think about it: before they take your credit card and process your payment, do you truly want to sit through 30 minutes (at the very least) of them telling you every single airline's policy and procedure on seat selection, seat selection fees, upgrade policies/availability/procedures/fees, rebooking options if there is bad weather, rebooking options if there is an airline strike, emotional support animal procedures, pet policies and fees, wheelchair service options, special in-flight meal options, in-flight entertainment options, in-flight wi-fi availability and fees, prohibited checked baggage items, prohibited carry on baggage items, accepted forms of payment for any and all of the above and more that incur additional fees, potential currency exchange rates for said items, and about a zillion other things, any of which might be important to a particular customer who would get mad later because "the never told me?" If you say yes, I won't believe you, because no one would listen to such an extensive and time-consuming littany of things.

It is up to the customer to know what they want, and if they are familiar with what's offered, they need to know do a little research so that they "know enough to know what they don't know" and can ask the specific questions that are relevant to them.

But that does not relieve the seller of a duty to disclose relevant facts. Too many people seem to forget this.

As I've said before, the bottom line is this: If you choose to book a cheaper ticket through a discount travel agent, expect things to be different from how they would be if you were to buy the ticket directly from the airline. And that's exactly what you chose to do when you decided to prioritise saving money and therefore opted for a Choice Air ticket. Your complaint is no different in substance from a complaint from someone who bought a ticket through Choice Air and later discovered that there's some other Choice Air condition or rule that they don't like, for example about changes or cancellations. If you make a choice like that to save money, there may be rough that must be taken along with the smooth.

And now, it seems, you have opted to cut off your nose to spite your face by cancelling the option you booked which would still have been cheaper despite the higher seating fees, and going for something which is going to cost you more in any event. That's a bit of an irony.

And now, it seems, you have opted to cut off your nose to spite your face by cancelling the option you booked which would still have been cheaper despite the higher seating fees, and going for something which is going to cost you more in any event. That's a bit of an irony.

I guess someone didn't tell him that it was going to cost more overall.....:D

Just love 2 cruise: Look at flights out of Hamilton or Buffalo. So much more civilized, and less costly, than Toronto.

My question to the forum...am I the only one who did not know that if you book with Choice Air your upgrades, baggage are in USD even though your cruise and credit card are in CDN? Would the same thing happen if traveling to Europe?

I think this is a really good question; I would target the Canadians on the Celebrity board with the same question. If this is standard practice for that program then it should be standard practice to advise the consumer of the change in currency for related subsequent purchases.

Except that your definition of "relevant" seems to be "the facts that I want to know about". ...

Since I did not define "relevant" you are assuming something that is not true simply to fit your argument.

I doubt there are many on this board that do not think it relevant that a transaction may involve more than one currency.

I doubt there are many on this board that do not think it relevant that a transaction may involve more than one currency.

Well, here's one vote to say it is irrelevant to me. Eventually, I will pay in the currency that's in my bank account - and that's what is relevant to me.

I doubt there are many on this board that do not think it relevant that a transaction may involve more than one currency.

The OP's complaint was that they had to pay more for seat selection because they booked through Choice Air, and they didn't know that in advance.

If it had been the same amount of money in either route, I doubt whether they would have cared one jot whether that was charged in the CAD equivalent or the USD equivalent of the price. The charged currency is pretty much irrelevant if the underlying transaction value is the same.

IMO Canadian Airlines is the offending party. Except for the difference in the exchange rate, it does not seem right to have two different prices for seat selection and luggage. If I was the OP, it would be the airlines that I would avoid and the source of my disappointment.

I am not sure if it is reasonable for Celebrity Air to know all the odd policies of every single airline.

Since I did not define "relevant" you are assuming something that is not true simply to fit your argument.

 

I doubt there are many on this board that do not think it relevant that a transaction may involve more than one currency.

I couldn't care less what currency a transaction is charged in. I just ordered something online 2 days ago from a company in Europe. They are charging me in Euros and I'm fine with that. I did check the current exchange rate so I'd know the amount I can expect to see charged on my credit card, where of course the charge will show up converted into dollars.

I am not sure if it is reasonable for Celebrity Air to know all the odd policies of every single airline.

Which is what I've been saying all along. There are too many policies/procedures/rules/fees etc. across too many airlines to give a rundown of all of them to every customer who calls to book. And there is no way a phone rep can possibly know which ones MIGHT be relevant to a given customer.

IMO Canadian Airlines is the offending party. Except for the difference in the exchange rate, it does not seem right to have two different prices for seat selection and luggage. If I was the OP, it would be the airlines that I would avoid and the source of my disappointment.

 

I am not sure if it is reasonable for Celebrity Air to know all the odd policies of every single airline.

Canadian Airlines went out of business in the 1990s. I think your referring to Air Canada.

All airlines do this. For example, Delta charges $25 CDN/US for the first bag at check-in and $35 CDN/US for the second bag. If you check in in Canada you are charged in CDN dollars if you check in the US it is US dollars.

Recently I check into a Las Vegas hotel (one of the MGM properties). Pre-paid reservation, however I arrived early and they had some silly $25 US charge to get access to the room early. I have both a CDN and US dollar credit card. The front desk staff member swiped by US dollar credit card, the computer system billed $25 US converted to CDN by the hotel. The credit card then converted back to US.

This happens all the time. Cruise lines, hotels and airlines charge different amounts in different markets (countries) currencies.

Airlines regularly have different fees - depending on the underlying fare rules for each specific ticket category.

But, since so many think that a ticket is a ticket is a ticket, they can't grasp the concept that you are buying more than just a seat on an aircraft. You are buying the complete fare rule structure that goes with the ticket and price you paid. And that they can, and are, often significantly different from fare to fare. (And "fare" is NOT the same as "price")

If you think commodity, you'll get surprised. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but sometime those differences will come back to bite you in the you-know-what.