Airfare Prices & Choice Air

[FlyerTalker]

My two kopeks:

 

Words matter. Specific words matter.

 

If your language is inaccurate, your message is inaccurate.

 

Finally, truth and reality trumps sensitivity and narrative every time. As Richard Fernandez frequently writes "reality wins in the end".

[greatam]

So let me throw my two cents in as I am also hoping to learn something about "Cruise air" on this forum and as I have also only booked my own air, am curious about choice air.

 

The use of the term snooty is spot on. I'm amazed at the condescending comments, I don't care how "experienced" a traveler someone is. There's no need, really, to be so negative and pick on someone's choice of words (unreal) when someone is looking for informative advice.

 

Where'd you get the SNOOTY from? I have rarely seen SNOOTY which I exprolate that Choice Air/EZ Air can be a VERY bad value (NOT PRICE wise) frequently. And those tickets can totally trash your cruise at other times. I hope you realize that VERY, VERY often you DO NOT get the same tickets with the SAME FARE RULES you get from an airline booked ticket.

 

Cheaper, MAYBE. But the same ticket with the same fare rules, even on the same flight # on the same day-NOT VERY OFTEN.

 

Ready the sticky at the top of this forum. Written about 7 years ago. BUT the ONLY thing that is changed is the cruise lines have buffaloed passengers into thinking this is all NEW AND DIFFERENT. The ONLY thing that is different-YOU do the work that the cruise line air/sea dept used to do. The cruise line saved $1000's of dollars in labor by putting up a "handy/dandy" website for you to choose tickets from instead of having the air/land dept do it. Are they any different than what was offered 4-5 years ago?? NO There are some VERY severe restrictions which may prevent you from getting on your cruise in a timely fashion.

 

And the REAL downside, as a general rule, you have NO IDEA what those restrictions are because you cannot read them before you book. YOU TRULY have no idea what you purchased.

 

When you are are caught in a travel glitch (missed connection generally or an incorrect booking initially, you may be simply STUCK waiting for the next seats on the ORIGINATING airline which may the same day or two or three days in advance. You truly have NO IDEA about 90% of the time when booking economy CHEAPO flights on cruise line air.

 

I will tell you-you may not get a nonstop but you can certainly come VERY, VERY close to the generally HIGHLY RESTRICTED cruise air flights just looking a little outside the box and booking directly with an airline. Just takes a little work and a few questions on this forum.

 

Post your dates, departure and arrival airports and we will try to help you come very, very close to the cruise air price WITHOUT all the nonsense and restrictive fares. Usually a better flight experience also.

Edited April 16, 2015 by greatam

[alcpa1]

Curiosity got the best of me so I checked out the cruise air options for a cruise out of SJU we are taking later this year. Our air had already been booked so I was aware of pricing. Not only was our return flight not available on cruise air but the pricing was in line with what we paid. What was prevalent for the airline of our choice was a 10 am departure from SJU....not a great option. We have flown in and out of SJU at least 15-20 times and I know what it takes to get through that airport.

And what about our poster last week entitled something like Thunderstorms in Atlanta. Although we did not hear from him some of us were not surprised when it was irops and not weather that, pardon my French, screwed up his embarkation day.

If airfare was the only consideration then fine. You take your chances. I'm no longer willing to do so.

As for the $600 fare from Boston to Ft. Lauderdale...We pay almost that much and are at least 800 miles closer. Just thought you'd like to know.

[Brighton Line]

Things happen, I had no choice to fly the "day of" even made sure it was the first flight out of LGA so the metal would actually be on the ground overnight for 6am departure.

Needless to say it went down with a mechanical but it took the airline over 2 hours to actually cancel the flight. Flight mechanic kept coming to the flight deck, we could watch them work on the engine.

 

I was on my cell phone even before the PA announcement finished to rebook, agent didn't even have the flight listed as cancelled yet but I kept her on the phone until the computer updated. Was booked on the next leaving before I even unbuckled my seat belt.

 

I was able to make it but there was a long line of people at the gate counter that probably didn't.

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

We've not had any experience with Choice Air as of yet, but are booked with Choice Air next month from Sacramento to Vancouver, and Anchorage back to Sacramento, we looked at booking our own flights and looked at Choice Air, I don't know if it is just the route we chose or what, but we were able to compare apples to apples, with the exact same flight and the Choice air was about a 30% savings. Our total price was just under $400 per person, and to book straight with Alaska Air, our price was just over $600 per person. As I said, we chose our flights, we are flying in the day before we sail and spending an extra night in Anchorage, so we wouldn't have to worry about flight delays or anything, but we would have had that same worry whether we booked on our own or through Choice Air. We even went so far as to do a dummy booking choosing the exact same seats. Of course we are flying a relatively short flight, but that is our experience thus far. We'll see if it all works out in real time.

[fbgd]

I don't know if it is just the route we chose or what, but we were able to compare apples to apples

 

So how do the fare rules you obtained from Choice Air compare to those of the booking directly with the airline?

 

An arse in the same seat isn't an apples to apples comparison. Choice Air sells a very opaque product with practically unknown fare rules that in many cases make them a far worse proposition than purchasing with the airline.

Edited April 17, 2015 by fbgd

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

It's only a problem if you cancel. Since we only booked the flight 6 weeks out and have trip insurance I couldn't care less about the "rules". If we have to cancel at this point then we would have far worse problems than airline fare.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FlyerTalker]

It's only a problem if you cancel.

WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.

 

Cancellation is one area. But there is SO much more to your "ticket".

 

Since we only booked the flight 6 weeks out and have trip insurance I couldn't care less about the "rules". If we have to cancel at this point then we would have far worse problems than airline fare.

How about "rules" covering how you are handled in case of a mechanical causing a flight cancellation? You are focusing ONLY on the issue of YOU deciding you don't want to travel. Also, your over-reliance on "insurance" is troubling. But then, you couldn't care less.

 

But hey....you know all about what you bought. Same flights, same dates, less money. It's all apples to apples - right?

 

Actually, the answer is NO.

[waterbug123]

we were able to compare apples to apples, with the exact same flight and the Choice air was about a 30% savings.

 

Exact same flight? Yes

Exact same tickets, with same rules and restrictions? Probably not.

Will that matter? Maybe, maybe not. But as Flyertalker said, it's not just about whether or not YOU decide to cancel. The flight could be severely delayed or canceled. What will CA do then? Who really knows?! Lots of anecdotal evidence out there suggesting their actions could be all the way on either end of the spectrum.

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

Our flight is only an hour for the first half and 45 minutes for the second half. I guess we are just stupid or naive because we choose to look at the good and not expect to be screwed over at every turn. I will say I hope a few of you are not on our cruise because you appear to be very miserable people.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ducklite]

Our flight is only an hour for the first half and 45 minutes for the second half. I guess we are just stupid or naive because we choose to look at the good and not expect to be screwed over at every turn. I will say I hope a few of you are not on our cruise because you appear to be very miserable people.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Just an FYI on my last four r/t flights... (Three different carriers)

 

Flight one: two legs in each direction. Outbound was smooth. The return, not so much. First flight was cancelled forcing a reroute through EWR (from the midwest to Orlando) with a 15 minute connection. After doing the OJ run through the airport I got to the gate to learn the flight was delayed by two hours due to weather. I got home five hours late.

 

Flight two: Outbound flight delayed, had 18 minutes to make the connection at PHL which required going from B to F. Ran like a crazy person to find the flight was two hours delayed due to a mechanical. Inbound flight was delayed three hours due to mechanical causing a misconnect which forced an overnight (my third in under a year).

 

Flight three: First leg was on time, connection was three hours delayed due to weather 2000 miles away. On the return the first flight was on time, second flight was delayed for a reason I never did find out, we landed an hour late. According to coworker who checked a bag, over half the luggage wasn't loaded.

 

Flight four: First leg was delayed by two hours due to a crew issue which caused a misconnect. This caused a delay of over four hours and seven hours sitting in an airport waiting for a different flight. On the return the first flight left three minutes late--obviously no big deal The connection was an hour delayed due to ATC--they made up none of it during the flight.

 

Different flights, airports, types of planes, even countries--and about half of them were 25-75 minute flights. It can and does happen, and lately more often than not. When they have to re-ticket an entire plane they have a set criteria of how that is done. It starts with those on full fare first class tickets, then frequent flyers by status tier then full fare economy tickets, blah blah. Those on cheap/consolidator/negotiated fares are the last to get re-ticketed. Depending on many factors, it can take several days before there are seats available.

 

My best advice is to have a back up plan, buy insurance, and have a credit card with a lot of available credit to buy same day walk up tickets for a different flight if yours isn't going to get you there. Usually at lease a portion of that cost will be reimbursed by the travel insurance. Read the fine print on that as well.

Edited April 17, 2015 by ducklite

[greatam]

Our flight is only an hour for the first half and 45 minutes for the second half. I guess we are just stupid or naive because we choose to look at the good and not expect to be screwed over at every turn. I will say I hope a few of you are not on our cruise because you appear to be very miserable people.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You sure missed the point. The chances that you purchased the SAME tickets with the SAME fare rules from Choice Air as you would have from an airline are NOT very good.

 

If the first plane is late and you miss the second, depending on the fare rules (which you most likely DO NOT know and CANNOT print out), you may be waiting for a day or two until there are seats available. NOT a lot of flights out of SEA I am guessing to YVR that are not full. And your tickets MAY have restrictions that you CANNOT be put on another airline even if that flight would get you to your cruise on time.

 

None of us are "very miserable people". We are all just trying to point out that what you thought was an apples to apples comparison-same flight, same seats, etc. for a cheaper price DID NOT get you the SAME TICKET. There is a world of difference in airline tickets even if they are the same price. The underlying FARE RULES can make or break your trip. And since you have no idea what you purchased when it comes to the FARE RULES, you may possibly have trashed your trip just due to those VERY PRECIOUS FARE RULES.

 

Good luck!!!

Edited April 17, 2015 by greatam

[ducklite]

BTW--I'm seeing $213 r/t ABE to MIA and return traveling July 18 and returning on July 26.

 

Allentown is a short drive (depending on where you live possibly even closer) and parking is cheaper and MUCH more convenient than EWR.

Edited April 17, 2015 by ducklite

[Zach1213]

Our flight is only an hour for the first half and 45 minutes for the second half. I guess we are just stupid or naive because we choose to look at the good and not expect to be screwed over at every turn. I will say I hope a few of you are not on our cruise because you appear to be very miserable people.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I wouldn't say some of the people on here are miserable...we just travel A LOT and spend a ton of time on airplanes. With that, we have seen it all. We've made 20 minute connections and missed 4-hour connections. Everything has gone smoothly, and everything has gone as bad as possible. We've seen it all, and many of us just want people to be aware of potential issues in case they happen. We're really here to educate, but education isn't always positive. We would rather you know the (possibly negative) truth ahead of time rather than be surprised by something unexpected.

[Shorex]

Our flight is only an hour for the first half and 45 minutes for the second half. I guess we are just stupid or naive because we choose to look at the good and not expect to be screwed over at every turn. I will say I hope a few of you are not on our cruise because you appear to be very miserable people.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The very experienced flyers who post regularly here are realistic about the vagaries of air travel. Being well versed and grounded in reality does not translate to "expect to be screwed over" or being a "miserable person." It translates to acquiring knowledge first hand about what CAN go wrong and how to be proactive in mitigating what DOES go wrong. Those are the valuable lessons that are shared on this board to those who are willing to learn.

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

For some reason you guys seem to think that because this is the first time I've posted here and the first time I booked with Choice Air that I'm not a seasoned traveler. I could tell you about all of my flights too. Yes, we have had things go wrong, but the majority of the time everything is smooth. I am pretty sure we a credit card with a balance that will allow us to fly around the world if we choose. We alway give ourselves an extra day or two on each end to pad ourselves. We see no reason to pay twice as much for something just so we can lord it over others. We have taken vacations on 6 different continents and 34 different countries, so we are not naive. And yes, you guys are "the expecting to get screwed over". We "expect" things to not go perfectly but we make decisions based on that. If I made all of my vacation decisions based on the words of some blowhards on Cruise Critic we'd be afraid to leave our house. Now I am done with this conversation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ducklite]

For some reason you guys seem to think that because this is the first time I've posted here and the first time I booked with Choice Air that I'm not a seasoned traveler. I could tell you about all of my flights too. Yes, we have had things go wrong, but the majority of the time everything is smooth. I am pretty sure we a credit card with a balance that will allow us to fly around the world if we choose. We alway give ourselves an extra day or two on each end to pad ourselves. We see no reason to pay twice as much for something just so we can lord it over others. We have taken vacations on 6 different continents and 34 different countries, so we are not naive. And yes, you guys are "the expecting to get screwed over". We "expect" things to not go perfectly but we make decisions based on that. If I made all of my vacation decisions based on the words of some blowhards on Cruise Critic we'd be afraid to leave our house. Now I am done with this conversation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Why did you ask for advice then if you already know it all?

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

I never asked for advice. I just gave my opinion to somebody who asked and it differed from the CC Gods who think they own this page and you all went into attack mode.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fbgd]

For some reason you guys seem to think that because this is the first time I've posted here and the first time I booked with Choice Air that I'm not a seasoned traveler.

 

<snip>

 

We see no reason to pay twice as much for something just so we can lord it over others. We have taken vacations on 6 different continents and 34 different countries, so we are not naive

 

I'm sorry but you indicated you were doing an "apples to apples" comparison and comparing Choice Air fares with what you are buying directly from the airline in the way you described is comparing apples with cement. That does show naivety.

[ducklite]

OMG the airfares are unreal...Newark to FLL...almost $600! Really??? And there are a ton of seats available on the flights I'm looking at.

 

Who has experience with Choice Air? I have no idea how it works. Can you see prices before you book the cruise? And do they generally have better pricing than if I book on my own? Or is it hit or miss? Any info appreciated :D Thanks

 

I never asked for advice. I just gave my opinion to somebody who asked and it differed from the CC Gods who think they own this page and you all went into attack mode.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

It sure looks like you were asking for advice. I asked early on if you had looked at other nearby airports for options, you never answered. Not looking at the SIX other airports within 90 minutes of EWR tells me you aren't as travel savvy as you claim to be. (And I'm not counting single carrier Trenton in the six) I also question the travel savvy of anyone who goes by the seat maps on an airlines web site to determine how many seats are actually sold.

Edited April 17, 2015 by ducklite

[ImaginationCruiseBride]

I'm not the original poster. Look at the names.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ducklite]

I'm not the original poster. Look at the names.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Sorry, my apologies.

[greatam]

and the first time I booked with Choice Air

 

And yes, you guys are "the expecting to get screwed over". We "expect" things to not go perfectly but we make decisions based on that. If I made all of my vacation decisions based on the words of some blowhards on Cruise Critic we'd be afraid to leave our house. Now I am done with this conversation.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

The first sentence SAYS IT ALL!!! You truly have NO IDEA what you purchased, what RULES are attached to your ticket and how you would solve any problem based on those very PRECIOUS FARE RULES.

 

Again, you most likely DID NOT get the same ticket you would have purchased direct from an airline. Same plane, same seat, same flight time probably. Same FARE RULES-DOUBTFUL. The underlying fare rules governing your Choice Air ticket may or may NOT allow you to change the routing or have your ticket endorsed to another airline if you run into a travel glitch. You may be simply STUCK until there are seats available in your fare class on the SAME routing on the original airline.

 

You are NOT the customer of the airline. You are the customer of Choice Air. Choice Air OWNS the tickets, not the airline. And if there is a glitch, while you are trying to deal with Choice Air to fix your problem, others on the plane are booking the very seats you need. Your tickets are most likely "bottom of the barrel", specially negotiated/consolidator/bulk fares (call them what you want) and you will be the last to be accommodated in a glitch.

 

Encouraging others to book Choice Air STRICTLY on price puts others at a HUGE disadvantage. If you know all the pitfalls, fine. Buy what you want with your eyes wide open. But those of us that fly 75-100,000 miles per year, every year know that PRICE is NOT the only determining factor. How a problem is handled and what the fare rules ALLOW are very important whether for a leisure trip or those of us that fly for business a lot.

 

If you have the wool over your eyes and BELIEVE you are getting a published fare ticket the same as the airline sells, you are sadly mistaken and could be in for a rude awakening if there is a problem. 500+ people missed their cruise due to their non re-routable, non endorsable tickets purchased through the cruise line during the South American earthquake.

 

And this poor lady and her entire group missed their cruise because the plane made an emergency landing in Omaha. Had absolutely NOTHING to do with US Air. Others made it to Florida about 2 hours later than the scheduled arrival time. BUT this lady, due to the restrictions on her Choice Air tickets, HAD to fly the original routing (through PHILADELPHIA) even though there were other options that others were given. The ship left while they were still trying to get to Philly. ALL in the FARE RULES of the Choice Air tickets she purchased.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1398770&highlight=choice+air+omaha

Edited April 17, 2015 by greatam

[hun]

I came on trying to figure out if I should book Choice Air for our Med cruise in October. I've been watching fares and tonight Choice Air is $400 less pp than the same flights on AA.

 

They're the exact same flights I'd book on my own and I have the option to select seats. I also will be buying travel insurance.

 

in a nutshell, can someone please tell me why I shouldn't use choice air? I've read other posts where folks say choice air changed their flights but I wonder if that may have been at a time (if that was the case) where one didn't know the airline? Wouldn't I get a confirmation number I can double-check on the AA site?

 

Thanks- Appreciate the insight!

[CantanaLobo]

I came on trying to figure out if I should book Choice Air for our Med cruise in October. I've been watching fares and tonight Choice Air is $400 less pp than the same flights on AA.

 

They're the exact same flights I'd book on my own and I have the option to select seats. I also will be buying travel insurance.

 

in a nutshell, can someone please tell me why I shouldn't use choice air? I've read other posts where folks say choice air changed their flights but I wonder if that may have been at a time (if that was the case) where one didn't know the airline? Wouldn't I get a confirmation number I can double-check on the AA site?

 

Thanks- Appreciate the insight!

If you could provide some vital information associated with the fare rules for the Choice Air tickets, I'm sure the folks here on the forum will be able to help you:

1. Do the Choice Air tickets say something like AA ONLY in the fare rules? If the flight gets cancelled, hopefully AA has alternative metal to get you where you want to go before the ship leaves because they won't put you on a partner.
   
2. How about NONCHG? If you suddenly realize you connections are too tight - sorry, can't just pay a change fee plus fare difference - have to buy a whole new ticket.
   
3. Anything like ONLY VALID IN CONJUNCTION WITH A CRUISE in the rules? If you cancel the cruise you can't just fly to the port and spend the week in Barcelona (or wherever) playing tourist.
   
4. What is the fare class - that's one determinant in the pecking order for re-accommodation if things go pear shaped like delayed/cancelled flights due to weather or mechanical. Becomes important if there's only eighty available seats on flights that will get you to the port on time and you're at the bottom of the list of a 120 people.

These are the kind differences greatam, waterbug123, and the rest are pointing out. The issue with Choice Air is finding out what the specific fine print (fare rules) is for the specific ticket you are buying before you buy the ticket. If you don't have that information, you can't make an informed choice.

 

Some percentage of the time that fine print won't matter, some percentage it will. How much are you willing to save to have those encumbrances in the fare rules? Nothing wrong with saying "That stuff probably won't happen to me, I'll risk it to save $XXX". BTDT. But it's with the knowledge that I am *not* getting the same ticket I would get from the airline, and planning accordingly. If Choice Air is close to the airline price, I'd buy the airline. $400 PP saving would be tempting for me. Everyone needs to make their own "choice".

 

Just an FYI, with travel insurance you typically have to pay and then get reimbursed. If you need to buy a last-minute airfare, you might need a credit card with a hefty limit. The fine print for each policy determines specifics about what they provide. If reading airline fare rules doesn't make you blind, the insurance description of coverage surely will.

Edited April 18, 2015 by CantanaLobo