Negligence and Misrepresentations by EZ Air Princess Cruises

[Coral]

Once the reservation is ticketed though, any issues need to be resolved between the passenger and the airline. Princess may help, but it is mostly out of their hands.

 

I think this is fine IMO. If I had booked it directly, I would have to deal with the airline also.

 

Again, I have read the horror stories but there are always horror stories with flights. I am in a city where flights are very $$$ so this was a huge financial help to me on this cruise.

[Wishing on a star]

Okay, just to clarify. My own curiosity.

So you can book EZ air, and NOT pay and have your flights ticketed...

Princess will ticket all flights 45 days out.

 

But, you can go ahead and pay and ticket your flights, if you want.

Once you have a ticket with the airlines, you have your confirmation number and can then go directly thru the airline to make any changes or address any issues. (such as those dreaded flight or seat changes)

 

What happens if if you book EZair and don't go ahead and pay and get tickets, then the prices go up.

Princess would have to honor that fare from when you booked, right...

[Rittenburg]

Sorry to report to you all that the ball was dropped by Princess EZ Air as confirmed by Air France and by Princess itself. Some sub-agent of Princess made the itinerary changes but failed to issue the ticket numbers to the carrier.

 

Until today all that EZ Air offered was to have us pay an additional $1,860 to correct EZ Air's mistake. Today they offered to allow us to cancel our flight through Princess and re-book a better seat on an airline independent of EZ Air.

 

Until they screw with your schedule and plans you won't realize just how obtuse they can be.

[Wishing on a star]

WOW!

So, it was some kind of EZ Air screw up.

I know how it can be, I was cursing and near tears over flights on one trip to Hawaii. (The airline...)

I know Airlines are like this. So, I think we all would have almost expected it was them.

 

I hope everything is working out!!!

[land lover]

We paid our full ticket in September to get airline seats we needed. We went to the carrier and bought a slight upgrade. In December EZ Air changed our flight and we lost the seats. We worked with EZ Air to get them back. In April I learned that EZ Air cancelled our outbound flight and failed to notify me. When I called, they refused to make me whole, rather, they stated that their responsibility was only to get us to Rome, no matter how. They offered another flight but failed to tell me that the only seats were the very type of seat we wished to avoid: the middle of the 4 seats in the middle of the jet. Other flights with window seats were available, but they concealed that fact. The carrier allowed us to move to an aisle and adjacent seat in the middle, but our 2 seats by the window were not within what EZ Air was willing to pay. On top of this, they refused to upgrade us to premium economy unless we paid over $2k, and they refused to upgrade even one leg of the trip. Finally, they refused to even guarantee that our unpleasant new arrangements would actually be there when we got to the airport.

So much for "EZ" Air, its guarantees, and their claim "The Easy Way to save time, money & stress when you book your cruise vacation & airfare early"

We are reserving our legal remedies until our return.

 

Certainly disappointing...but this is how traveling is...if you have never had similar situations in the past like this, count yourself lucky. Experience is the best teacher, to prevent future disappointments. Don't you still have the option to cancel your flight, then do it, problem solved or is it.....Good Luck.....

Edited April 13, 2018 by land lover

[cdv0228]

i am currently going around and around with EZ Air as well. We leave on Caribbean Princess on may 1st.

 

i waited to last week to log into deltas website to purchase upgrades to first class seats. Two days ago, i just found out that our flight was changed to a earlier flight and we were rebooked into the main cabin. I called Delta, and they stated it is a locked fare and any changes were made by Princess (as the flight was not cancelled but just sold out now. I then called princess, who told me, per the contract they can make changes to the flight as needed and any payments made directly to delta are not of EZ-Airs concern. We paid $x.xx to EZ air for our original flight and they rebook us into what category seat was booked from day one. Our new flight does not have any First class seats available. Delta says upgraded seat fees are non-refundable, and I am out $1200 due to princess's decision to change the flight.

 

All i have to say is, while the pricing was great with EZ-Air, if you plan to book thru them, do NOT upgrade your seats after the fact!

 

**Edit to Add** Princess customer relations stated the best they would do was to offer dinner at a specialty dining venue. :rolleyes:

[diane.in.ny]

Okay, just to clarify. My own curiosity.

So you can book EZ air, and NOT pay and have your flights ticketed...

 

No. Your flights are not ticketed until you pay.

Princess will ticket all flights 45 days out.

 

Right. You have to pay your invoice 75 days out (although I think that is changing). But you can change your air until the 45 days out. On the other hand, if you want your flights ticketed at the time you make the final payment, Princess has a form you can request. Complete it, send to Princess, and your flights will be ticketed before that 45-day window.

 

But, you can go ahead and pay and ticket your flights, if you want.

 

Yes, once Princess received the form back requesting you ticket the air.

Once you have a ticket with the airlines, you have your confirmation number and can then go directly thru the airline to make any changes or address any issues. (such as those dreaded flight or seat changes)

 

You should get the airline confirmation number when you make your EZAir reservation. It is not your Air Booking number. It shows as the confirmation number under the airline name when I print out my reservation. I have used that at the airline site to make sure the seat requests are correct, to enter KTN number, etc.

 

What happens if if you book EZair and don't go ahead and pay and get tickets, then the prices go up.

Princess would have to honor that fare from when you booked, right..

 

That is the beauty of Flexible EZAir. Yes, whatever you book the fare at stays. You can keep checking back for lower fares and rebook. So far we got our lowest fare for RT east coast city to Sydney in February. The current fares are significantly higher but we still have our February reservation.

[Coral]

Right. You have to pay your invoice 75 days out (although I think that is changing). But you can change your air until the 45 days out. On the other hand, if you want your flights ticketed at the time you make the final payment, Princess has a form you can request. Complete it, send to Princess, and your flights will be ticketed before that 45-day window.

 

My TA went to use the form and I mentioned on CC someone said they had it ticketed while they were on the phone with Princess. My TA called and was put on hold and then the airfare was ticketed while she was on the phone. This happened this week. I don't remember who first reported this but was glad they did.

 

My TA said when she used the form previously, it took a few days. I don't know if they still use the form or not.

[Justprettynpink]

On the other hand, if you want your flights ticketed at the time you make the final payment, Princess has a form you can request. Complete it, send to Princess, and your flights will be ticketed before that 45-day window.

 

But, you can go ahead and pay and ticket your flights, if you want.

 

Yes, once Princess received the form back requesting you ticket the air.

 

I learned this week that the form no longer needs to be filled out. You just need to call after final payment and request the air to be ticketed.

 

I faxed my request form on Monday no tickets on Thursday so I called to check on it when I was told no longer need to complete the form.

[Wishing on a star]

So, what all of this seems to mean, is that Princess EZ Air, can actually change your seats/flights, even AFTER you have paid your tickets. Not just the airline?

 

I would have thought that once you paid for your tickets, it's your baby, to deal directly with the airline if needed.

 

I don't think I would be okay with that.....

Airline changes are enough to worry about and deal with.

Don't need ANOTHER party messing with your flights.

[capriccio]

My TA went to use the form and I mentioned on CC someone said they had it ticketed while they were on the phone with Princess. My TA called and was put on hold and then the airfare was ticketed while she was on the phone. This happened this week. I don't remember who first reported this but was glad they did.

 

My TA said when she used the form previously, it took a few days. I don't know if they still use the form or not.

 

Two weeks ago my TA didn't use the form. She sent me an email saying it may take up to 3 hours for the reservation to show up as ticketed on the airline's website. When I checked 30 minutes later it showed as ticketed and we were able to upgrade our son and daughter-in-law for free from coach to economy plus since our airline status allows that as a perk.

[Coral]

Two weeks ago my TA didn't use the form. She sent me an email saying it may take up to 3 hours for the reservation to show up as ticketed on the airline's website. When I checked 30 minutes later it showed as ticketed and we were able to upgrade our son and daughter-in-law for free from coach to economy plus since our airline status allows that as a perk.

 

My TA sent me an email saying "you are ticketed". I then logged into United's website and saw that United's website said it was ticketed also. So it is pretty quick.

[caribill]

What happens if if you book EZair and don't go ahead and pay and get tickets, then the prices go up.

Princess would have to honor that fare from when you booked, right...

 

Yes...and no.

 

When Princess first started EZAir, they said that pricing was not guaranteed until you paid for the flight. However it appears from many posts that the fare never did increase, so it appears that the pricing is essentially guaranteed. That is the "yes."

 

Now for the "no." Until the airline is paid and the ticket actually issued, the airline may increase the price for Princess. If that happens, Princess will keep the price it offered you, but may change you to a different flight schedule in ortder to keep that price.

 

Basically, Princess makes a choice if the airline has increased the price.

 

a) Increase the price to you for the same itinerary and make you upset --or--

b) Keep the price the same but change the itinerary and make you upset.

 

I guess they figure more people would be upset if the pricing changed than if the itinerary changed.

[Coral]

Yes...and no.

 

When Princess first started EZAir, they said that pricing was not guaranteed until you paid for the flight. However it appears from many posts that the fare never did increase, so it appears that the pricing is essentially guaranteed. That is the "yes."

 

Now for the "no." Until the airline is paid and the ticket actually issued, the airline may increase the price for Princess. If that happens, Princess will keep the price it offered you, but may change you to a different flight schedule in ortder to keep that price.

 

Basically, Princess makes a choice if the airline has increased the price.

 

a) Increase the price to you for the same itinerary and make you upset --or--

b) Keep the price the same but change the itinerary and make you upset.

 

I guess they figure more people would be upset if the pricing changed than if the itinerary changed.

 

Here is the fine print with my very recent EZ Air:

⬢No fees will be charged for changes and cancellations made more than 45 days from the outbound flight date or sail departure date (whichever is earlier).

⬢Tickets are nontransferable.

⬢In some instances, name changes will not be permitted, and will require cancellation and rebooking of flights. The original airfare and schedule may no longer be available and a new reservation may need to be created at the current available price. If the current available price exceeds the original airfare, customer must pay the additional charge.

⬢Change and cancellation can be made 45 days or less from the outbound flight date or sail departure date (whichever is earlier) and a fee starting at $150 up to the full cost of the ticket, per ticket will apply.

⬢ Prices are for e-ticket, per person and include all flight taxes and fees.

⬢Prices do not include baggage fees or other fees of up to $200 for the first or second checked bag. Please contact the airline for further details.

 

⬢Flexible Air rates are not subject to change prior to the receipt of final payment on the cruise and air booking. Flexible Air flights which are confirmed on a booking remain at the same rate, with the exception of a change in taxes or fees or a schedule change resulting in the cancellation or re-booking of flights.

⬢After ticketed departure time, no changes are permitted and ticket has no value if guest has not cancelled the ticketed flight reservation.

⬢Reconfirming flights is the guest's responsibility.

 

⬢Federal law forbids the carriage of hazardous materials aboard aircraft in your checked or carry-on baggage.

 

---------------------

My TA said that when I pick up my flights, my costs will not increase, unless taxes go up. She also said that Princess doesn't change flights, it is airlines that change flights.

 

I do think EZ Air was different when it first started. I think they have refined it.

 

[land lover]

This is my opinion after experiencing EZ-air

 

Example...u select a Flexible EZ-air flight at 10:30pm...but there is another one at 11:30pm most likely you will be changed to the later flight....you select a flight at 11:30am another is at 9:30am with the same carrier or a partner you will most likely be switched to the earlier flight....

 

this is what happened to me.....suddenly my original flights became unavailable on EZ-air as my cruise drew nearer.

 

Now others have mentioned their flight is still showing on EZ-air..so did mine the first few days after I noticed the change, but when calling Princess they no longer could access it for me...and it eventually disappeared from flexible rates.

 

 

Last year I used it 3 times....and I presently have 1 booked......all were/are for international flights....all were landing day of cruise....and none were one way

 

All my flights times were changed except one non-stop LAX to LHR.....that one was landing at 11ish....same day..

[land lover]

so now I will continue with my recent situation and changes with EZ-air and a flight to Seattle.....next month

 

In Jan. I booked 2 EZ-air tickets, I wanted the flexibly of cancelling prior to final payment,and the knowing Princess will work with u to get to the "next" port if there is a delay.(this for the person coming from ELP)

 

#1 El Paso TX to Seatac...cost 411.00

 

# 2 Orange Co. CA to Seatac 196.00

 

As you can see the flights were no bargain, but roughly what the airlines were charging at the time I booked.

 

 

I am listing these flight times from memory............

They r arriving day of cruise

 

original.......ELP- LAX 48 m. layover SEA landing at 10:30

Changed by EZ air to ELP-LAX 2hr+ layover- SEA landing at 12:57 pm (transfers to the ship stop at 1pm.)

 

original.....SNA-SEA landing 10:40am

 

AS you can see originally we could have transferred together .....

 

There were changes made to the return as well.....

 

original....SEA-PHX-Elp arrival 8pm

Changed to later arrival 11pm

 

Original SEA-SNA arrival 1:15

Changed to later arrival 6:15 pm

 

So my opinion from my last post seems to run true with the changes that we received on these flights.....and my past international flights....

 

Living in Southern Ca and often going out of LAX there are a lot of options to change our flights.

 

Someone living in a more remote location, using a local airport would probably experience no change on an outgng flight but possible changes on a return flight..... for example orange county/john Wayne is no fly from 11pm to 7am.....so we often need to go out of LAX, but often use SNA to return from international trips....

 

 

 

 

BTW...all my flights are booked economy.....

Edited April 14, 2018 by land lover

[azbirdmom]

My TA said that when I pick up my flights, my costs will not increase, unless taxes go up. She also said that Princess doesn't change flights, it is airlines that change flights.

 

I do think EZ Air was different when it first started. I think they have refined it.

 

She is right and I agree that it is different now. When an airline changes schedules, Princess adapts but it isn't always what someone may want. If it's not ticketed, you can always cancel and try to find something that is better for you. Most schedule changes occur further out so there is a strong likelihood that they will happen before the flexible EZAir flights are ticketed. But when schedules have changed after ticketing, I've had fairly good luck working with the airlines to have them move me to a flight that is acceptable. The key is staying on top of reservations and checking the airline websites frequently to ensure that changes have not occurred. This would include checking to see that ticket numbers are actually displayed there as well as frequent flyer / TT numbers, correct names, etc. The earlier you can get in front of this stuff the better off you'll be.

[happy cruzer]

Does the Princess website show you the tickets and the fares? And then any changes that may occur? If so then monitoring them may be the only way to see changes.

[Coral]

Does the Princess website show you the tickets and the fares? And then any changes that may occur? If so then monitoring them may be the only way to see changes.

 

You can see what you have booked. Though if there is a change, when you hit Modify to look at possible other flights, you will be notified that there is a change in the flight and the website will be updated soon. A few days later, you will see your new flights and will agree to the flight change. I am guessing it would show up but I checked my flights daily so that is how I noticed the changes.

 

My TA forwarded my new flight info to me both times there was a change. One flight change was purely a change in regional jet company, the other was a 5 minute time change. I actually keep track of the flight on the airlines website.

[pompeii]

You can see what you have booked. Though if there is a change, when you hit Modify to look at possible other flights, you will be notified that there is a change in the flight and the website will be updated soon. A few days later, you will see your new flights and will agree to the flight change. I am guessing it would show up but I checked my flights daily so that is how I noticed the changes.

 

My TA forwarded my new flight info to me both times there was a change. One flight change was purely a change in regional jet company, the other was a 5 minute time change. I actually keep track of the flight on the airlines website.

 

This happened to me recently. I had booked a *very* reasonable fare of $148 RT from Cleveland to San Francisco under the current air sale (which saved us $150 pp.) A couple of days later I got the dreaded "there-has-been-a-change-we-cannot-access-your-flights" message; I sat tight and sure enough a couple of days later I received an email with the new itinerary. It was a schedule change leaving 20 minutes or so earlier. The $148 fare stayed the same. I was pleased because I assumed the fare was too good to be true, especially since when I searched new flights it has gone up to about $300 RT.

 

But I do have a question. I see the following in the T&C at the bottom of the Payment and Credits tab on the personalizer:

 

†Air Fare and Air Government Fees and Taxes are subject to change until final payment. Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment.

 

Doesn't that seem like it contradicts what was quoted above from the EZAir booking?

[Coral]

This happened to me recently. I had booked a *very* reasonable fare of $148 RT from Cleveland to San Francisco under the current air sale (which saved us $150 pp.) A couple of days later I got the dreaded "there-has-been-a-change-we-cannot-access-your-flights" message; I sat tight and sure enough a couple of days later I received an email with the new itinerary. It was a schedule change leaving 20 minutes or so earlier. The $148 fare stayed the same. I was pleased because I assumed the fare was too good to be true, especially since when I searched new flights it has gone up to about $300 RT.

 

But I do have a question. I see the following in the T&C at the bottom of the Payment and Credits tab on the personalizer:

 

†Air Fare and Air Government Fees and Taxes are subject to change until final payment. Due to the volatility of air prices, please be advised that all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment.

 

Doesn't that seem like it contradicts what was quoted above from the EZAir booking?

 

I do have to say it is sort of annoying that error message, especially since I can go to the airline and see the flight changes but it took 3 days to show up on Princess.

 

The bold text you refer to, I think this is like port taxes. Air taxes can change beyond control and we are still responsible for them. Usually they are only a few dollars change. A few times on a cruise ship, the port fees have changed and they have credited our accounts or charged us a few dollars more on our account. Air taxes can be the same, but rarely change. Many years ago, there was an increase tax of a flight - I went to the airport and had to pay $5 extra or something. It was annoying. A long time ago, Vancouver airport had a tax that you had to pay at the airport. Now they include it in the flight costs. I wouldn't worry about this - it could change a tad but doubtful and if it does, it will be very minimal.

[pompeii]

I do have to say it is sort of annoying that error message, especially since I can go to the airline and see the flight changes but it took 3 days to show up on Princess.

 

The bold text you refer to, I think this is like port taxes. Air taxes can change beyond control and we are still responsible for them. Usually they are only a few dollars change. A few times on a cruise ship, the port fees have changed and they have credited our accounts or charged us a few dollars more on our account. Air taxes can be the same, but rarely change. Many years ago, there was an increase tax of a flight - I went to the airport and had to pay $5 extra or something. It was annoying. A long time ago, Vancouver airport had a tax that you had to pay at the airport. Now they include it in the flight costs. I wouldn't worry about this - it could change a tad but doubtful and if it does, it will be very minimal.

 

Maybe it's just worded badly and does only refer to air taxes. But the wording on the personalizer does say "all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment" which implies the fare itself could change unless paid in full. However, I choose to agree with you and rely on the more reassuring wording on the EZAir email that says the flexible fare will not change unless cancelled and rebooked. :D

[azbirdmom]

Maybe it's just worded badly and does only refer to air taxes. But the wording on the personalizer does say "all air prices are subject to change and not guaranteed until full payment" which implies the fare itself could change unless paid in full. However, I choose to agree with you and rely on the more reassuring wording on the EZAir email that says the flexible fare will not change unless cancelled and rebooked. :D

 

The more reassuring was on an air change notification I received from Princess via my TA this morning:

 

"Flexible Air rates are not subject to change prior to the receipt of final payment on the cruise and air booking. Flexible Air flights which are confirmed on a booking remain at the same rate, with the exception of a change in taxes or fees or a schedule change resulting in the cancellation or re-booking of flights.".

[Coral]

The more reassuring was on an air change notification I received from Princess via my TA this morning:

 

"Flexible Air rates are not subject to change prior to the receipt of final payment on the cruise and air booking. Flexible Air flights which are confirmed on a booking remain at the same rate, with the exception of a change in taxes or fees or a schedule change resulting in the cancellation or re-booking of flights.".

 

This is what my TA sent me also.

[Rittenburg]

After a lengthy discussion with Princess Air, it has finally accepted its responsibility and stepped up to do the right thing. As a recap for those who commented above, Princess buys bulk tickets on an airline, it then, as cruisers select that flight, reserves the flight for the cruiser, and gives the cruiser a confirmation code. However, even though the cruiser can then enter the airline website and select a seat, there is no confirmed reservation until Princess sends to the airline an airline ticket identification number.

 

In this instance, Air France changed flights, Princess then reserved an entire new flight, but in the interim the seats were lost. We asked to be placed back on our original flight, which Princess did, and Air France confirmed our seats. BUT, Princess never sent the ticket identification number to Air France. After a while, Air France sold the seats because Princess never confirmed the reservation by sending the required information. We only discovered this "misconnect" by contacting Air France to confirm times for our flight for our airport pick up. Had we just tried to get our boarding pass the day before our flight we would have had no flights to our destination.

 

In the end, as of today, Princess faced up to its error, put us on our original flight, and even upgraded our seats without being asked to do so. All is well that ends well.