CHOICE AIR - how does it work?

[NJ&Ozzie]

Hi,

Can't seem to find the "Search" button on this forum.

 

But looking for info how booking one-way air with Choice Air. Any experiences? How does it work exactly? What are fees?

 

See a good air rate on their website but you need a booking number to go forward. We have cruise on hold right now, hoping to check air fare. A catch 22 situation!!

 

Looking for one-way from Barcelona to Toronto in May. We will be Diamond - does that affect pricing?

 

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks!

NJ :)

[Clarea]

Hi,

Can't seem to find the "Search" button on this forum.

 

But looking for info how booking one-way air with Choice Air. Any experiences? How does it work exactly? What are fees?

 

See a good air rate on their website but you need a booking number to go forward. We have cruise on hold right now, hoping to check air fare. A catch 22 situation!!

 

Looking for one-way from Barcelona to Toronto in May. We will be Diamond - does that affect pricing?

 

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks!

NJ :)

You can go to the Choice Air website and click on "Quick Flight Search Only", you can see all the flight options and prices.

[NJ&Ozzie]

You can go to the Choice Air website and click on "Quick Flight Search Only", you can see all the flight options and prices.

 

Thanks - I did this. See a flight that works for us. But can't book it without a cruise booking number first.

 

We have a cruise on hold but haven't booked it yet.

 

Is there an admin fee for Choice Air? Saw something on Crown & Anchor info that fee is covered, depending on your C&A level.

 

NJ :)

[Clarea]

Thanks - I did this. See a flight that works for us. But can't book it without a cruise booking number first.

 

We have a cruise on hold but haven't booked it yet.

 

Is there an admin fee for Choice Air? Saw something on Crown & Anchor info that fee is covered, depending on your C&A level.

 

NJ :)

There is an admin fee, but it's included in the price you see quoted for the flights.

 

The part that is covered if you are Platinum and above in C&A is the fee for Choice Air Plus. This is some sort of extra service that I'm unfamiliar with.

[bonnyweed]

I recently booked a transatlantic cruise. AFTER I made my booking and had a booking number I was sent an email saying I could now make a booking on Choice Air. It's not really a Catch 22. You've seen the price and know it's a great deal so all the more reason to book your cruise ASAP.

For years I have shunned booking any flights through any cruise line because I could always find cheaper prices and better travel times on my own. That has now changed. Choice Air was able to get me a non stop fare from Boston to London on British Airways for $400 ish including taxes! No other site could come near it by several hundred dollars. I don't know why it was so cheap, but I don't care.

[bonnyweed]

Yes, there was a $50 booking fee on Choice Air, but even with that added in, it was only $403 each nonstop Boston to London. I don't have anything near diamond status.

[Alamogirl]

We used them once and no more. We had reservations for 4, myself, my DH ad our 2 teenage nephews. Had our seats and confirmation and the day before we were leaving I went to check info again an our seats were changed. I called and asked why and was told check at the airport. We were spread out all over the plane. All 4 sat in different areas. The flight attendant was the one who told me when you book via them you don't get guaranteed seating.

[Rancher Dave]

Of note if you are looking for ff miles, especially on UA it is bulk fare so likely no miles towards elite status. In some cases fare exactly same as from airline so various factors to consider.

[Valiamo]

Typically the move of seats is the airlines doing and NOT the booking company. Your seats are never fully guaranteed unless you pay extra $$ for the service. The booking company booked them in good faith, the airline screwed you over.

 

Also it depends on the Airline... was on one flight by a US budget carrier, where despite having confirmed seats, almost every single group on the plane was split up, one family had their 2 year old daughter sitting 15 rows ahead of them, 9 year old son 5 rows back, and Mom and Dad 1 row apart. The stewardesses were complete yahoos about it and basicly refused to make any seat changes. 1/2 of the passengers started moving around, almost everyone ended up sitting with their parties, and the family was all together. The Stewardesses were pissed off at all of us, and only came around once for coffee on a 3 hour flight.

[SnowBird Cruzer]

For years I have shunned booking any flights through any cruise line because I could always find cheaper prices and better travel times on my own. That has now changed. Choice Air was able to get me a non stop fare from Boston to London on British Airways for $400 ish including taxes! No other site could come near it by several hundred dollars. I don't know why it was so cheap, but I don't care.

 

That's been my experience over the years too. Cruise line airfare was so expensive. But something happened between 2009 and 2012/2013 and it's looking good.

 

I've been watching airfares for my cruise in 10.5 months on the various websites (Expedia, Hipmunk, Orbitz, etc) and actually, as of today, none have fares for my return flight yet. So today I went to Choice Air to see what they had.

What they had is blowing me away!! They have a nonstop to San Juan from Chicago for less than anything I've seen, by quite a bit. The airfares I can find that are closest all have at least one layover. The flight times are also better than anything else I've been able to find on my own.

 

I've been reading some of the various threads on Choice Air. I guess I'll have to be vigilant to keep checking my reservation to watch for changes. That's okay, Anal Retentive Man will help me with that!

 

Still, I'm leery of booking that far in advance. If I just wait two months, JetBlue will have fares and they are generally pretty competitive.

 

I haven't used Choice Air yet, but I am seriously considering it.

I appreciate all the comments about using them. I'm learning.

[maggieq]

Isn't the booking fee waived for diamond + and above?

 

Thanks!

[willing292]

Airfares generally aren't published until 331 days before the flight date. Choice air gets bulk or group rates. You have to make sure you monitor your seat selection on a regular basis thru the website of the airline you are flying on. Delta does not award miles for choice air flights.

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[WestfieldTraveler]

If you have booked choice air with your cruise and then cancel your cruise before final payment date, does your choice air also cancel with no penalty?

 

Or, what are your options if you can find a lower priced flight on your own or just want to cancel your choice air booked flight?

[Clarea]

Isn't the booking fee waived for diamond + and above?

 

Thanks!

No, everyone has to pay the basic Choice Air service charge of $15pp domestic, $25pp international. What is waived is the Choice Air Plus fee, which is some sort of extra level of service that I've never used, so I can't give an example of rhat that might be.

 

If you have booked choice air with your cruise and then cancel your cruise before final payment date, does your choice air also cancel with no penalty?

 

Or, what are your options if you can find a lower priced flight on your own or just want to cancel your choice air booked flight?

You have a choice of booking fully refundable flights (more expensive) or non-refundable flights (less expensive). If you cancel the cruise before final payment date, and you have purchased non-refundable flgihts, you will lose all or part of the airfare. Each flight choice may have different cancel amounts.

 

No matter what kind of flights you choose, the Choice Air service charge is always non-refundable.

Edited April 27, 2014 by clarea

[Katie H]

Airfares generally aren't published until 331 days before the flight date. Choice air gets bulk or group rates. You have to make sure you monitor your seat selection on a regular basis thru the website of the airline you are flying on. Delta does not award miles for choice air flights.

 

 

Shirley, Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

We booked our flights on Delta through Choice Air and flew two weeks ago. Miles have been credited to both my account and DH's account. When we booked, we were given a locater code and with that were able to go to Delta's site and enter our FF numbers and choose our seats. Seats never changed. I called several weeks before the flight to ask about using miles to upgrade. Turns out I did not have enough miles but I was told the tickets were upgradable to first class if I had the miles.

[Free2bMeForever]

I've been able to get good prices on 1 way international flights on Delta and gotten Skymiles awarded for the flights through ChoiceAir, but understand that may not always be the case. I am careful to plan well. I always plan to stay at least 1 night and often 2 pre-cruise so a delayed flight won't be problematic. I also look at layover airports. I typically won't fly through Northeastern US in the middle of the winter. There are many posts on the pros and cons. My advice is to do your homework and make the decision you are most comfortable with. Sometimes "peace of mind" is worth more than money.

[ppfqp]

We booked our flights on Delta through Choice Air and flew two weeks ago. Miles have been credited to both my account and DH's account. When we booked, we were given a locater code and with that were able to go to Delta's site and enter our FF numbers and choose our seats. Seats never changed. I called several weeks before the flight to ask about using miles to upgrade. Turns out I did not have enough miles but I was told the tickets were upgradable to first class if I had the miles.

 

thanks for sharing your experience. Where did you fly to and from?

[billsgal]

We have used Choice Air to fly to Alaska and also to Europe a number of times and in all cases, our FF miles have been added to our account. We have flown British Air and since they are a partner of American Airlines, we have had those miles credited to our AA account. Maybe some airlines will allow the miles to be posted but others wont.

 

We are using Choice Air again next month to fly from London to Boston and because the flight is on BA, but operated by AA, we were unable to upgrade the seats. That's a bummer! But the price was right:D

[Katie H]

thanks for sharing your experience. Where did you fly to and from?

 

 

We did a trans-Atlantic cruise so we flew from Charlotte to Miami on American and got our miles for that. Then from Nice, France to Charlotte on Delta and received our miles. The price was considerably less than what we were seeing online.