Bad Experience With EZAir and Customer Relations

[eandj]

When you book EZ air it states that "reconfirming flights is the guests responsibility".

 

.

 

Thank you for answering my question. :)

That is very clear then to those that book with Princess. People need to know their responsibility. We all just need to be super dilligent.

[Colo Cruiser]

We booked Lufthansa directly last November to Munich & it was that a big mess! :(

 

We prepaid to make seat reservations & by watching my reservation discovered that our flight from LAX to Frankfurt no longer had seat assignments. I called them & despite being their computer's fault we eventually were assigned different less desirable seats on the same type of aircraft.

 

Checking later they had us flying on one day only to FRA and the next day again to FRA & connecting the MUC! Again, I had to call them to fix the problem because their computer failed to recognize an even worse screwup. Their computer didn't generate any notification despite having flights to FRA on 2 consecutive days & only a connecting flight to MUC on the 2nd day which would've resulted in missing our river cruise. So the OP not receiving any notification about a flagged too short of a connection time isn't surprising to me.

 

Sadly it's become necessary to regular check flights because we cannot depend upon airlines to notify us about changes...even those resulting in being flagged as impossible to make a connection. Based on my experience their computers are not programmed properly to even recognize conflicts in reservations & not to always make notifications and even if emailed it could go to a junk folder & be deleted,

 

By being proactive & before calling the airlines about changes that won't work, I first check the airline's schedule for better flight options including a different routing. I've called them & an agent made the changes for us...humans are many times able to make changes to computer mistakes.

 

Airlines schedule flights which are sold by sources such as TAs & cruise lines and when airlines make schedule changes they do not always inform the booking source nor passengers about changes. I know this happens even when booking directly with an airline so I would blame the airline & not any secondary flight booking agent...including eZAir.

 

 

Lufthansa won't assign free seats for our Frankfurt flight until within 24 hours of departure. They say they release many of the pay seats to be assigned for free then. I don't like not having seats until I leave. :(

We have flown them a few times. Not the best and with these random strikes they had last week our flight # has been canceled twice. I hope its settled before we leave in Oct.

 

Looking at their the Lufthansa prices for the same flights on their website they are 3k to 4k . :(

Edited September 11, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[Astro Flyer]

Lufthansa won't assign free seats for our Frankfurt flight until within 24 hours of departure. They say they release many of the pay seats to be assigned for free then. I don't like not having seats until I leave. :(

We have flown them a few times. Not the best and with these random strikes they had last week our flight # has been canceled twice. I hope its settled before we leave in Oct.

 

Looking at their the Lufthansa prices for the same flights on their website they are 3k to 4k . :(

 

I feel the same way as you & that's why we paid for advance seat assignments.

 

Even then I discovered that the computer deleted our assignments & by the time I discovered the mistake our preferred seats had been reassigned. Apparently there was no procedure available to their agent to restore our paid pre-reserved seats and she only said "sorry, what other seats do you want". :(

Edited September 11, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[whatsup6897]

We used EZ Air for our Asia cruise last year. The airline changed the flight several times between the time of purchase and when we flew. The last change only gave us 45 minutes to change planes in LAX. Our travel agent contacted EZ Air and was told that 45 minutes fell within the airline guidelines for the minimum amount of time to change planes and would not change our flight.

 

We got to the airport early and were able to get on an earlier flight to LAX so we had no problem with our connection. Once at LAX we discovered that the plane to Shanghai could not come to the gate and we had to take a shuttle to the plane. The last shuttle went to the plane 45 minutes prior to take off. So if we had taken our originally scheduled flight, we would definitely have missed the connection, even if we arrived on time.

 

That said, I am SO glad we used EZ Air. After booking our flights Princess changed the debarkation port on the itinerary due to unrest in Bangkok. EZ Air took care of changing the flights. If we didn't have EZ Air we would have had to incur the costs to change our flight home.

[tct7777]

Princess could have booked you on a flight with acceptable times at the time you booked and then the airlines changed the flight times. We have had airlines change flight times on us multiple times after booking. A couple times after the airlines made changes the airlines had our connecting flight taking off prior to our initial flight landing! We were never notified by the airlines but only became aware of the issue/problem after checking on our flight on the airlines website. Our reservations then also had been red flagged but no notification was sent to us by the airline. These were not with EZ air but the airline directly.

 

What was your connection time? When you picked your flight with EZ air why did you pick a flight with such a tight connection? If the times were changed by the airline after you booked, why weren't you routinely checking on the airlines website for changes? You said you were using the airlines website to try to check in so you had access to the reservation on their site. It would have been easy to look at it weekly. There would have been time to adjust the flights if you had noticed this earlier. It states on EZ air when booking that it is your responsibility to check with the airlines for changes and to verify times directly with the airlines you are booked on. I am sorry you got caught in this snafu but ultimately is was your responsibility to check the flight times and connection times you booked on EZ air and then to follow up to make sure there had been no changes.

 

1) I know my responsibilities and I do check them regularly but thank you whatcruiseisnext for outlining them for me.

2) I have used ezair in the past as I said and had no problems. Everything ran very smooth.

3) Ezair notifies you of changes by email and advises you to check with the airline. So checking the airline website regularly should not be necessary unless ezair is not doing what they have in the past.

4) The only change was from my local airport. My flight was leaving 15 minutes earlier and getting to the first connecting airport earlier. I was notified of this by email and did check the airline.

5) I had a 15 minute window from when my American flight arrived in Seattle to when my Alaska Air flight departed. When I first booked the flights I mentioned this and the Princess rep said this should not be a problem as the terminals were very close. (Not true) I am not as super well traveled and knowledgeable as some people are so I did not doubt the claim. I trusted that Princess would not advise me wrongly. I have done several cruises and this was the only time I have ever had a problem like this.

6) My reason for posting this was to vent a bit but also so new cruisers or people such as me that trusted the cruise company reps will be more cautious and aware that this could happen.

[bhopal21]

I can't get over them booking you with a 15 minute window.

 

Most airlines will not allow you to book with less than a 45 min window even continuing on the same carrier.

 

They really did you a disservice.

 

Mike:)

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...I am SO glad we used EZ Air. After booking our flights Princess changed the debarkation port on the itinerary due to unrest in Bangkok. EZ Air took care of changing the flights. If we didn't have EZ Air we would have had to incur the costs to change our flight home.

 

Good point, and probably the best argument for using cruise air. Glad it worked out for you :).

[whatcruiseisnext]

1) I know my responsibilities and I do check them regularly but thank you whatcruiseisnext for outlining them for me.

2) I have used ezair in the past as I said and had no problems. Everything ran very smooth.

3) Ezair notifies you of changes by email and advises you to check with the airline. So checking the airline website regularly should not be necessary unless ezair is not doing what they have in the past.

4) The only change was from my local airport. My flight was leaving 15 minutes earlier and getting to the first connecting airport earlier. I was notified of this by email and did check the airline.

5) [b ][color=DeepSkyBlue]I had a 15 minute window from when my American flight arrived in Seattle to when my Alaska Air flight departed. When I first booked the flights I mentioned this and the Princess rep said this should not be a problem as the terminals were very close. (Not true [/b]I am not as super well traveled and knowledgeable as some people are so I did not doubt the claim. I trusted that Princess would not advise me wrongly. I have done several cruises and this was the only time I have ever had a problem like this.

6) My reason for posting this was to vent a bit but also so new cruisers or people such as me that trusted the cruise company reps will be more cautious and aware that this could happen.

 

Thank you for posting the details. I can certainly understand why you'd be upset. Glad it turned out okay for you.

Edited September 12, 2015 by whatcruiseisnext

[Steelers36]

Maybe Princess should change the name from EZ Air to something else if you have to check the airline website every week to make sure the reservation is still doable. That is definitely not EZ Air. It is High Maintenance Air.

 

You should periodically check a reservation made yourself directly with the airline for any changes - especially if made well-ahead of travel date.

 

We've had changes happen many times, and sometimes it required a scramble call to the airline to get on a different new flight when schedule changed significantly.

[shredie]

I can't get over them booking you with a 15 minute window.

 

Most airlines will not allow you to book with less than a 45 min window even continuing on the same carrier.

 

They really did you a disservice.

 

Mike:)

 

It takes me 15 minutes to figure out which way I should turn when I get off the plane. Sounds like that Princess rep has never set foot on a plane.

[Steelers36]

Rather than post to a specific poster, I read a common theme about issues around making connections that are also a change in airlines.

 

This is a major faux pas, IMO, unless you build in plenty of extra time. EZ Air and generic websites like Travelocity or Expedia, regularly construct trips with multi-airlines. And these booking engines have no regard for partner/codeshare airlines versus other case, nor for possible different terminals. Heck I've even heard of people with bookings via NYC area and flying in one airport and having to tfr to another.

 

If you book via an airline website, you will generally only be offered flights with them and codeshare or alliance partners (e.g. Air Canada & United, American and US Air, Delta & Air France, etc). If you must use multiple airlines, at least going with partners means your luggage can be more readily checked through and transferred.

 

In case of disruptions and delays, you are going to be far-better served if only need to deal with one airline. Of course it doesn't matter if you fly Southwest to the ship and Jetblue home, for example. Just think about the full one-way trip.

 

IDK whether EZ Air can cook up impossible connection times, but before booking an offered itinerary, read carefully what the connection airport is and then go to its website and figure out where the gates are for your inbound airline and where they are for the outbound airline. Get a sense of how you get between gates. Sticking with one airline for connections at larger airports can only lead to far less stress and a more relaxed travel experience.

 

My advice would be to think carefully if saving a few bucks on a complex itinerary is really worth it over sticking with a single provider, or a single plus codeshare partner.

 

Happy flying.

[caribill]

Several points:

 

o Using EZAir, a travel agent, a travel web site or booking directly with an airline makes no difference. Choices given will include those with the minimum allowed connecting time no matter how unrealistic those times may be. (For example, an hour to connect from domestic to overseas is a legal connecting time at O'hare, even in the middle of winter when weather delays are likely.) It is up to the consumer to select flights that have realistic connecting times. EZAir does not force any particular flight choice onto you; you pick the flights you want.

 

o Again, it makes no difference how you purchased the ticket, flight times, flight numbers, flight routes and flight aircraft may change. Sometimes the airline notifies you, sometimes it does not. (Recently flights I booked directly with the airline had times changed. No notification from the airline. I found out when looking at the flights on the Internet. There was a note that the schedule had changed and a button to click on to say I accepted the changes.)

 

o If an airline changes schedules to make the new flight times impractical (improper connection time, arrive after a cruise has left, etc.), they will usually allow you to change to appropriate flights at no charge to you. (Last year I had one flight changed from 10 AM to 8 AM. Airline offered to rebook at no charge to a 4 PM flight if I wanted.)

 

o EZAir does not offer flights for all airlines. Southwest, for example, is not offered.

 

o EZAir does not guarantee pricing until the flight is paid for. There have been posts that flights were totally changed by Princess when flights had not been paid for yet. Princess said that demand for those flights had forced the price charged by the airline to go up, so Princess maintained the reserved price by changing the flights to a more inconvenient schedule that could keep the original price. Paying for the flights when booked (which could mean paying for the entire cruise) would have prevented that.

 

And of course, before booking any flight by any method, shop around for the price/schedule combination that meeds your needs. EZAir might be best. Or it might not.

[Steelers36]

Excellent points and ideas, Bill. That was a 5* post.

Edited September 12, 2015 by steelers36

[emmieepoo]

First time ever posting to the forums. I felt someone else especially new cruisers may benefit from this so they don't get stuck. Several months ago we booked an Alaska cruise through the Princess website. We used EZAir for our flights like we always had in the past. The night before the cruise I tried to do online check in and the airline's website wouldn't let us. A message came up stating not enough time for connections please contact airline immediately. When I called them the gentleman I spoke to said the same thing but he said it may be very close and as long as there is no delay we should make it. He said princess should have caught this when we booked. He also said he could not check us in. Because of that connection flag we would have to check in at the airport. After I got off the phone with him I called Princess. The person I spoke with stated they did not see a problem and we should be fine. When we arrived at the airport and tried to check in the same thing happened. The supervisor that was helping us stated that even if we made it our luggage never would. He said the baggage handlers would never have enough time to get our bags to the other side of the airport as it was a different airline for that leg of the trip. I asked if he was sure and he said he had been with the airline for 20 years and he was sure our luggage wouldn't make it. He doubted we would make it unless we ran across the airport. Thankfully he (the airline check in supervisor) moved us to a slightly earlier flight that connected through a different city and solved the problem. If this guy had not been on his game and just did an override on the alert allowing us to check in who knows what would have happened.

When we got onboard guest services emailed ezair and the response was Princess would never book someone on a flight without enough connection time. When we got home yesterday I called guest relations and the lady we spoke to said the exact same thing. Almost from script. She said rather arrogantly that the airline employee must have been mistaken because Princess would never allow that to happen.

So I guess the lesson is Princess knows airlines better than the actual airlines do. Those messages that airlines have set in their computer to keep people from being stranded at an airport far from home mean nothing. A 20 year airline employee's knowledge of his company are nothing compared to Princess cruise lines.

I love every other aspect of Princess Cruises. The onboard staff are amazing. They treat you like royalty. Customer relations and EZair have some issues.

My wife and I are really ticked off about this. I just wanted to share this because we almost had a cruise that we had saved up for ruined because of some problem that Princess refuses to even investigate.

 

Several years ago Princess booked out air. They did not allow enough time between flights. We missed our connecting flight and missed the boat! Will never go through Princess for our air. I do that myself!

[Astro Flyer]

Several years ago Princess booked out air. They did not allow enough time between flights. We missed our connecting flight and missed the boat! Will never go through Princess for our air. I do that myself!

 

Not sure about how many years ago you had the bad experience but now passengers see all of their flight options & get to select the option they prefer.

 

Princess lists flight options the airlines say are doable & gives prices for passengers to decide which is their best option & not a decision made by eZAir.

[caribill]

Several years ago Princess booked out air. They did not allow enough time between flights. We missed our connecting flight and missed the boat! Will never go through Princess for our air. I do that myself!

 

That must have been before EZAir. At that time you had no choice in what flights were booked. Princess did make the choices and many were indeed poor options.

 

With EZAir, you do the picking and you have a number of choices to pick from, so it is up to you to pick the right combination of flights that meets your needs.

[cruzsnooze]

Who in their right mind books with a 15 minute window. I would never trust a flight to be on time with such a short window.

[Matcodixon]

Who in their right mind books with a 15 minute window. I would never trust a flight to be on time with such a short window.

 

I do almost all of my own booking and never would, however even with over an hour connection time, I have had two occasions where there were delays that caused me to miss the connection with very bad and expensive results. I always arrive a day early or more for a cruise.