Flight Ease concern

[Hlitner]

22 minutes ago, Cajuntraveler said:

I am considering using HAL Flight Ease for a cruise scheduled for August 2019.  I have questions that are not answered on HALs web site.  I have always made my own flight arrangements but HAL's rates look attractive for my August cruise.

 

If I am a member of the airline's frequent flyer program do I earn the usual miles for the flight booked through HAL?

I get free baggage through a credit card with a couple of airlines.  Do I still get the free baggage benefit if I book through HAL?

Can I make my own seat assignments? (HAL's web site says seat assignments are not guaranteed??)

What benefits, if any, am I giving up by booking through HAL vs directly with my favorite airline?

 

If I understand correctly, I can add a flight to my cruise reservation and not pay for it till I make the final payment for my cruise.  The fare is not guaranteed, but from what I have read on this feed, the price of the flight rarely increases.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Flight Ease!

Some of the answers (to your questions) depend on the particular airline and seat category.  With Business Class it is usually possible to get seat assignments...if not through Flightease then by dealing directly with the airline (online or on the phone).  With Economy it almost seems like the rules change day to day :(.

 

If you book air using the "Flexair" option then your ticket is not actually paid until about 45 days prior to your trip.  Up until that time you can change or cancel without penalty.  The fares are essentially guaranteed, but the associated taxes/fees can change right up until payment.    It is also possible that the fare will decrease although you might have to rebook on the Flightease system.

 

Hank

[drowelf]

1 hour ago, Cajuntraveler said:

I am considering using HAL Flight Ease for a cruise scheduled for August 2019.  I have questions that are not answered on HALs web site.  I have always made my own flight arrangements but HAL's rates look attractive for my August cruise.

 

If I am a member of the airline's frequent flyer program do I earn the usual miles for the flight booked through HAL?

I get free baggage through a credit card with a couple of airlines.  Do I still get the free baggage benefit if I book through HAL?

Can I make my own seat assignments? (HAL's web site says seat assignments are not guaranteed??)

What benefits, if any, am I giving up by booking through HAL vs directly with my favorite airline?

 

If I understand correctly, I can add a flight to my cruise reservation and not pay for it till I make the final payment for my cruise.  The fare is not guaranteed, but from what I have read on this feed, the price of the flight rarely increases.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Flight Ease!

Yes, you should earn your FF Miles when using Flight Ease. You need to check your reservation to insure that your FF number is properly attached. Now when I say should, it may depend on your FF program rules. For example, I'm a UA Flyer so I'll get my PQM (Miles) but the fare through HAL is considered a Bulk fare, so I don't get any PQD ($$) credit. That doesn't bother me as I've got Lifetime status at a level which gets me free baggage. Check with your FF program to be sure what their rules on bulk fares are. 

 

As for the CC free baggage, you may need to talk to HAL about how they actually pay the airline, as it may be considered a third party transaction, you're paying HAL $xxx for the flight/cruise, but HAL is paying the airline for your ticket. For mine, I don't have separate payments to HAL and the Airline on my CC, I only have a single payment to HAL. 

 

Once I have a reservation, I go to the airline website and confirm my seat selection via the Airline PNR.

 

Correct, make them now, pay at final payment. I've used Flight Ease 4 times now and never once has the fare increased. In fact I've even gone in and checked/changed my itinerary and gotten the fares to go down a few hundred $$ twice. 

[harryw]

Hi -

I have found this thread very helpful. A family member on our upcoming cruise

just booked June flights to Amsterdam through FlightEase. I’ll warn her about going into the HAL account later and pressing the wrong button.

   Just to clarify, she can book seats once she receives the airline number?

Will that be emailed to her right away?

How will she find out the final airfare price?

 

Harry

  

[Cajuntraveler]

Thank you drowelf and Hank for your assistance.  I just made the reservation thru Flight Ease and was able to enter my AA Frequent Flyer number, and was able to pick out seats. (I hope I maintain my  free baggage and priority boarding benefits.) To answer HarryW:

52 minutes ago, harryw said:

Hi -

I have found this thread very helpful. A family member on our upcoming cruise

just booked June flights to Amsterdam through FlightEase. I’ll warn her about going into the HAL account later and pressing the wrong button.

   Just to clarify, she can book seats once she receives the airline number?

Will that be emailed to her right away?

How will she find out the final airfare price?

 

Harry

  

,the airfare was quoted when I selected the flights that I wanted.  I picked seats before completing the reservation.  The disclosures advise that the price can change up till payment is made, but according to what I have read in this feed, that rarely occurs.  Because I had a $200 per person air credit through HAL's recent promotion, the Flight Ease price was much better than I could get through the airline. 

[cruises42]

If you book air through Flight Ease and then the price goes up when you check Flight Ease do you really get charged the increase?

[Tampa Girl]

We have AA FF miles.  If we book our flights through Flight Ease Flexi-fares and get a confirmation no., can we then go to the airline to get an upgrade to Business?  Or do we have to first pay for the ticket through HAL?

[RocketMan275]

My TA, who is often used by CC posters, said she has only seen price changes when the airline has cancelled a flight.  IOW, when you have to rebook.

FWIW, I booked a couple of days ago and have already received a change, the booked flight leaves/arrives about 30 minutes later (at 1730).  I did check flight ease and found a flight that arrives at 1630 and it was $75 PP cheaper.  I rebooked.  You do have to carefully read the website.  There are buttons that can cancel your booking. 

[Tampa Girl]

On 2/26/2019 at 5:57 PM, harryw said:

Hi -

I have found this thread very helpful. A family member on our upcoming cruise

just booked June flights to Amsterdam through FlightEase. I’ll warn her about going into the HAL account later and pressing the wrong button.

   Just to clarify, she can book seats once she receives the airline number?

Will that be emailed to her right away?

How will she find out the final airfare price?

 

Harry

  

 

Our cruise reservations were made through a TA.  I made Flexible Fare plans through FlightEase, but how do I check it on line to be sure that it is there?  Do I pretend I am beginning a new flight and then something pops up, notifying me that I already have reservations?

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Our cruise reservations were made through a TA.  I made Flexible Fare plans through FlightEase, but how do I check it on line to be sure that it is there?  Do I pretend I am beginning a new flight and then something pops up, notifying me that I already have reservations?

From the Holland home page:

Click Already Booked.

Click Manage My Booking.  

Login.

Your flight reservation will be under itinerary.

[Tampa Girl]

15 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

From the Holland home page:

Click Already Booked.

Click Manage My Booking.  

Login.

Your flight reservation will be under itinerary.

 

But it isn't.  I think that is because I have not booked the cruise through a PCC.  When I called Flight Ease, I was told that they could not assist me personally because I had not booked through HAL.  I could use Flight Ease, and she would tell me how to use it, but she could not give me personal assistance, such as finding other flights.  I was able to find the confirmation by clicking on "Find Flights", however. 

 

I did make a booking, not because the price was any better than I could get elsewhere, but because it was not payable until final payment of the cruise,and I can change or cancel up to 60 days before the cruise.

 

If we don't book directly with HAL, our account does not show other things as well, i.e. OBC's, etc.

[drowelf]

18 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Our cruise reservations were made through a TA.  I made Flexible Fare plans through FlightEase, but how do I check it on line to be sure that it is there?  Do I pretend I am beginning a new flight and then something pops up, notifying me that I already have reservations?

Your TA should also be getting an update to your reservation that will have your flight details. You can also see the reservation under FlightEase via the HAL Site. As a final check, once you get the reservation information, you can see the reservation number on the airline you will be flying. That will be a different number than your FlightEase number. With the actual airline reservation number, you can go to the airlines web site and do anything they will allow you with the flight, like view/change seat selection. 

[RocketMan275]

59 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

But it isn't.  I think that is because I have not booked the cruise through a PCC.  When I called Flight Ease, I was told that they could not assist me personally because I had not booked through HAL.  I could use Flight Ease, and she would tell me how to use it, but she could not give me personal assistance, such as finding other flights.  I was able to find the confirmation by clicking on "Find Flights", however. 

 

I did make a booking, not because the price was any better than I could get elsewhere, but because it was not payable until final payment of the cruise,and I can change or cancel up to 60 days before the cruise.

 

If we don't book directly with HAL, our account does not show other things as well, i.e. OBC's, etc.

You do not have to go through a PCC or book directly with the line to use Flight Ease.  I asked my TA if I had to go through her to book flights and she assured me that was not the case.   She is a high quantity producer.  I booked through my usual TA and I also booked my flights through the HAL website.  When Delta changed one of my flights, I was able to go back into Flight Ease and change my flights to match my desires.  I was also able to pick seats when I booked.  My reservations show up in my itinerary.

 

My TA offered to walk me through the process but it's so simple I did it without her aid.  She did offer a few suggestions like don't book a connection through ATL of less than 1 hr.  Don't book flights out of FLL before 1200 (yes, I know HAL allows that and also allows ATL connections of 40 minutes.)

 

i booked through flight ease because their price was the same as Delta and I could book a refundable flight for the price Delta wanted for a non-refundable flight.  I have until August to change/cancel/pay for the flight.  Pretty good deal.

 

Edited March 20, 2019 by RocketMan275

[AryMay]

Just be careful when you are checking on prices on the HAL website. I made the mistake of trying to check on flights from a different airport than where we had made our Flight Ease reservation to see if flights were any cheaper and our reservation was cancelled without me knowing it. 

 

Things eventually got straightened out with the help of a manager in the flight department who admitted it was a problem with how the website worked. This was last summer so hopefully they have corrected the glitch that caused the reservation to get cancelled.

[Tampa Girl]

44 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You do not have to go through a PCC or book directly with the line to use Flight Ease.  I asked my TA if I had to go through her to book flights and she assured me that was not the case.   She is a high quantity producer.  I booked through my usual TA and I also booked my flights through the HAL website.  When Delta changed one of my flights, I was able to go back into Flight Ease and change my flights to match my desires.  I was also able to pick seats when I booked.  My reservations show up in my itinerary.

 

My TA offered to walk me through the process but it's so simple I did it without her aid.  She did offer a few suggestions like don't book a connection through ATL of less than 1 hr.  Don't book flights out of FLL before 1200 (yes, I know HAL allows that and also allows ATL connections of 40 minutes.)

 

i booked through flight ease because their price was the same as Delta and I could book a refundable flight for the price Delta wanted for a non-refundable flight.  I have until August to change/cancel/pay for the flight.  Pretty good deal.

 

 

Although my AA flight is not shown in Manage My Bookings, I did find it on the AA website.  Same confirmation no., BTW.  One poster said that since she also booked through a TA, that info would be shown on the TA's computer, not on our account with HAL.  Since I was able to confirm that AA has the requested booking, I will deal directly with them hereafter.

 

As you pointed out, the beauty of Flight Ease is that the booking is refundable, changeable, cancellable, etc.  It was very easy to make the reservation, but not quite as easy as talking to a real person.  No surprise at that.  Now, I will confirm with AA that we can upgrade with FF miles.  Even if it is only to Premium  Economy, it will be worth it.

[RocketMan275]

19 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

Although my AA flight is not shown in Manage My Bookings, I did find it on the AA website.  Same confirmation no., BTW.  One poster said that since she also booked through a TA, that info would be shown on the TA's computer, not on our account with HAL.  Since I was able to confirm that AA has the requested booking, I will deal directly with them hereafter.

 

As you pointed out, the beauty of Flight Ease is that the booking is refundable, changeable, cancellable, etc.  It was very easy to make the reservation, but not quite as easy as talking to a real person.  No surprise at that.  Now, I will confirm with AA that we can upgrade with FF miles.  Even if it is only to Premium  Economy, it will be worth it.

Funny, my flight is shown in Manage My Booking but has yet to show up on Delta.  I have received a confirmation from my TA.

[qoap24]

2 hours ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

But it isn't.  I think that is because I have not booked the cruise through a PCC.  When I called Flight Ease, I was told that they could not assist me personally because I had not booked through HAL.  I could use Flight Ease, and she would tell me how to use it, but she could not give me personal assistance, such as finding other flights.  I was able to find the confirmation by clicking on "Find Flights", however. 

 

I did make a booking, not because the price was any better than I could get elsewhere, but because it was not payable until final payment of the cruise,and I can change or cancel up to 60 days before the cruise.

 

If we don't book directly with HAL, our account does not show other things as well, i.e. OBC's, etc.

We booked through a TA and was able to go to the HAL website and book our flights through Flight Ease. 

[Tampa Girl]

1 minute ago, qoap24 said:

We booked through a TA and was able to go to the HAL website and book our flights through Flight Ease. 

 

Yes, but that was not the problem.  I also booked through Flight Ease, but could not use the services of that office to change any flights or see if there were other flights available.  I had to take what was shown on the computer.  As a result I booked the MIA - MIA segment with Flight Ease, and will book the TPA - MIA -TPA segment directly with AA, using miles.  The other problem with using a TA is not being able to see the confirmation on Manage My Booking.  You have to get it from the TA or the airline.

[qoap24]

On 3/20/2019 at 10:13 AM, Tampa Girl said:

 

Yes, but that was not the problem.  I also booked through Flight Ease, but could not use the services of that office to change any flights or see if there were other flights available.  I had to take what was shown on the computer.  As a result I booked the MIA - MIA segment with Flight Ease, and will book the TPA - MIA -TPA segment directly with AA, using miles.  The other problem with using a TA is not being able to see the confirmation on Manage My Booking.  You have to get it from the TA or the airline.

Sorry I guess i misunderstood