Bonnie, Has Something Changed with Choice Air Pricing?

There is a thread on the Celebrity board about dramatic increases in Choice Air prices. This prompted me to check the current pricing on my recently booked Choice Air flight. Depart 5/15/19 LHR to DEN Business Class booked with CA about a month ago for $1,300. CA price is now $3,400! This is about what it would have cost had I originally booked directly with the airline instead of CA. It's like CA no longer offers a discount over direct airline pricing. According to the Celebrity thread, this seems to be the new normal. Has CA's pricing relationship with airlines recently changed?

I have also noticed a huge spike in the Choice Air prices between July and September. ~Maya

I also noticed no discount for a cruise we were considering.

I booked with Choice Air on Azamara website last week and they were about $20 higher per ticket (3 tickets) than if I had booked direct. I called Azamara an hour after booking because of price guarantee and was told that base fare was the same and theirs was higher because of assurance program fees. I remember reading somewhere that this was a free service but looks like not the case. Not a big difference in $ but seems a little misleading.

Art

It's probably partly due to general price increases. But it is also likely that they only have a few seats at the lowest prices. I have also found that Choice Air is usually better only for one way or international flights. Not always true, but close.

I recently booked a flight in business class from Edinburgh to Charlotte for $1,230 (with just one stop - a rare thing from Europe to Charlotte). I looked the next day and it had gone up to about $1,650. A few weeks later is was over $2,000. That itinerary is not available today but the cheapest option is still close to the same price for 2 stops and about $100 more for a 1-stop.

On the other hand, I booked a flight from Charlotte to Oslo for the same cruise for just under $2,000 that would cost $3,376 today.

So the flight pricing makes just about as much sense as the cruise pricing. They will charge as much as they think they can get and who knows what influences them as to where to start.

I’d agree with the other opinions...supply and demand (demand has exceeded the allotted supply of discounted seats) on the particular route you’re researching. That’s not to say Choice Air won’t get more supply for the route & date. So check back periodically.

If you check the celebrity thread it’s not just one route this is affecting...

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If you check the celebrity thread it’s not just one route this is affecting...

 

 

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Appears the same is happening on Princess. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. If there are no reasonable air fares the cruises lines will have a harder time filling their ships.

Appears the same is happening on Princess. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. If there are no reasonable air fares the cruises lines will have a harder time filling their ships.

I agree completely. The only way I'll fly international to/from the US is in Business Class. I've always been able to find good fares for one-way Business Class on Choice Air. If that is no longer possible it will definitely affect my future cruise plans. Fortunately I've got 3 cruises in the pipeline, so hopefully this will correct before I look to book another cruise.

I have not seen the price increases on our particular voyage (Pursuit 6 Nov 2018). In fact, there are several LESS expensive flights on offer now.

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I checked our biz class flights from SFO to BCN for our upcoming TA, the cost is the same as when we purchased and there seem to be a few more options, all within a couple hundred $.

Buying direct from the airline is approx 5 x higher than what we paid thru ChoiceAir.

For what it is worth, air fares have been going up everywhere. We have a RT cruise from Rome in a few weeks on Celebrity and I booked the airfare with United a few weeks after the fares opened for my dates. Got a great deal on biz class, RT for $2500. I checked again a few weeks later just to see and it had already jumped to over $4000, now it is over $6000..... Ouch.

Here is our story for our June 2019 cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette.

I have been watching Choice Air Business Class round trip to London - it has held steady at about $7900 for the two of us.

Yesterday we booked a balcony cabin on the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton with return on Cunard CompleteAir Business Class. The timing is perfect - we arrive in Southampton two days before our departure on the Silhouette.

We still have to book air to LGA. But the total price is less, although honestly, not a lot less. But we get to try a cruise line we want to try, spend 7 days on a ship and arrive in Southampton relatively refreshed. We would have come back on another crossing but the timing didn’t work for us on the return.

Here is our story for our June 2019 cruise on the Celebrity Silhouette.

 

I have been watching Choice Air Business Class round trip to London - it has held steady at about $7900 for the two of us.

 

Yesterday we booked a balcony cabin on the Queen Mary 2 from New York to Southampton with return on Cunard CompleteAir Business Class. The timing is perfect - we arrive in Southampton two days before our departure on the Silhouette.

 

We still have to book air to LGA. But the total price is less, although honestly, not a lot less. But we get to try a cruise line we want to try, spend 7 days on a ship and arrive in Southampton relatively refreshed. We would have come back on another crossing but the timing didn’t work for us on the return.

I'm always looking at TAs that sail to or from somewhere I'd like to spend some additional time visiting - just to avoid paying roundtrip business class airfare. I'll take a lesson from you and now start considering TAs with a follow-on European cruise. For what it's worth..... I booked with Choice Air two months ago - one way LHR to DEN business class for $1,300. It would now cost me $3,400! Your $7,900 r/t for two seems awfully high compared to what I'm used to paying through Choice Air, but it seems things have changed. One suggestion.... another poster said that they think the CA website is giving incorrect prices - he got much much cheaper fares for the same flights by calling. If you haven't called them, you might want to give it a try.

If you haven't called them, you might want to give it a try.

I called and got the same prices.

Just booked air LAX-Lisbon-Nice-LAX Business Class AirFrance/Delta next April less than $2,000. Can’t imagine getting it any cheaper.