ChoiceAir nightmare

[lovecruzin]

So, glad this got resolved....but what is the advantage of using Choice Air? We are veteran cruisers and either make the reservations ourselves or use a travel agent we have a close personal relationship with. Never any problems at all. I have never investigated Choice Air, so I plead ignorance. Is it less expensive? Some kind of guarantee that I don't know about?

 

We will use choiceair for the first time for an upcoming transatlatic cruise to fly to BCN. We can fly biz class from the SF area for less than $1800 pp vs booking thru the airline which for the same flights is well over $6k pp. They supposedly help you out if you have delays or miss a connection and they “guarantee” you will get to the ship. I dont think the fares they offer domestically are necessarily a good deal but I usually check just to compare..

[SharonK]

So, glad this got resolved....but what is the advantage of using Choice Air? We are veteran cruisers and either make the reservations ourselves or use a travel agent we have a close personal relationship with. Never any problems at all. I have never investigated Choice Air, so I plead ignorance. Is it less expensive? Some kind of guarantee that I don't know about?

This will be our first time using ChoiceAir and we decided to book with them because of less expensive fares for international flight. I assumed there would be some customer service too! In the end someone from ChoiceAir did make everything work out and I’m grateful for that person. From reading all of the responses to my original post I’ve learned that everything depends on who you talk to and what day it is!

[cangelmd]

People on this forum seem to like Choice Air for international and open jaw or one way flights as they offer good cheap prices on these routes. It is pretty clear that the guarantee to get you to the ship no matter does not necessarily include rebooking on another airline to get you to port before the ship leaves. More on the order of "we will get you to catch up to the ship without you paying for a new ticket to catch up". Sounds to me as if the Choice Air is no substitute for flying in a day early, especially if you are flying from a place or at a time where delays are likely (say Canada, Midwest or Northeast in the winter?). Checking on the Cruise Air forum, lower down on these boards is also instructive about Choice Air and other options for long haul air.

 

 

The folks on the Cruise Air forum are really hard core, and were quite dismissive of what I thought was a pretty good deal - one way to London on Delta Economy Plus for 40K miles plus $5. Yes it is not Business Class, but it is also not plain Economy, and $5!

 

 

 

I sound like a shill for Delta, but we almost exclusively fly on Delta because of where we live and FF miles from an Amex CC. We live where we can never count on a flight taking off on time, almost any round trip for us involves 4 flights, so that I would estimate that 2/3rds of the time that we fly there is at least one delayed flight out of the 4. Because of this I always try to allow a certain amount of time for connections, and I have been through ATL so many times, that I know what that time has to be down to the minute. Even given that, we always drive - 5 hours - to ATL for an international flight. We never take a chance on those. The flight to London I mentioned above is a one way -we may actually rent a car and drive to ATL, that is cheaper and more reliable for us than taking a flight.

[waterbug123]

what is the advantage of using Choice Air? ....Is it less expensive? Some kind of guarantee that I don't know about?

 

For international flights, many find Choice Air to be able to offer cheaper deals, though that isn't always the case. The flip side of that is that CA sells all kinds of tickets, including some tickets that may have more restrictions than a regular ticket purchased from the airline. If all goes well on flight day, you'd likely never know the difference, but in the case of delays/cancellations, some will find they are way down on the list to get reaccommodated, can't get rerouted so have to wait for a flight on the exact same itinerary or whatever. Also, the discounted tickets may or may not get you all or part of the airline miles you would normally earn. Many of these details will be unavailable to you, or you may be given inaccurate information from a CA rep who really doesn't know the difference. Can save a lot of money, so evaluate your priorities.

 

As far as a guarantee, they don't truly "guarantee" anything. They will however, do whatever they can, within reason, to get you to the ship, and if they can't, they'll do whatever they can, again within reason, to get your caught up to the ship at another port as soon as possible. If you book through the airline, they too will put you on a later flight or sometimes a partner airline to get you where you're going, but that usually won't include rerouting you (without a change fee) to a different port.

 

 

They supposedly help you out if you have delays or miss a connection and they “guarantee” you will get to the ship. I dont think the fares they offer domestically are necessarily a good deal but I usually check just to compare..

 

Correct, most find their domestic fares are nothing better than what you can get directly through the airline.

 

See above regarding "guarantees."

 

Some people have reported wonderful customer service from Choice Air; others have reported awful service, including not even being able to get in touch with them on a weekend day for instance. It is highly recommended to fly in at least a day early, regardless of how you book your air. That seems to be the best insurance against flight delays and cancellations.

[OCA REP]

With DELTA, flights( times, equipment size etc) are changed constantly.. you have to keep watching as they do not always tell you promptly.

 

You have a large number of posts on here, so you probably travel a good deal. If that is the case, you should be aware that DL is not alone in these types of changes. ALL airlines are guilty of this, but I am happy to see that this has been resolved and things look good now for the OP.

[jagoffee]

You have a large number of posts on here, so you probably travel a good deal. If that is the case, you should be aware that DL is not alone in these types of changes. ALL airlines are guilty of this, but I am happy to see that this has been resolved and things look good now for the OP.

 

I agree many airlines make these kind of changes. AA adversely affected my October return from Sydney last week. (The SFO to ORD portion). However they did send me an e mail announcing the change. I just cancelled and made other arrangements.

 

I agree that DL is not unique in this regard.

[Bruin Steve]

I have been undergoing a similar experience. Maybe a little different response...in some ways.

 

 

 

I used Choice Air to book my flights for my Hong Kong to Singapore cruise over Christmas/New Year's...Booked way back in February and was delighted to get nonstop flights in both directions...LAX to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific, Singapore to LAX nonstop 11:00 am on disembarkation day on United. Suddenly, yesterday, United CANCELED the nonstop, putting us onto a 10:00 am flight to SFO with a 1:25 layover and plane change before heading down to LAX.

 

 

I was upset for three reasons: 1) 10:00 am was clearly earlier than we wanted to try to get off the ship and make it to the airport for check-in and 2) We had paid MORE for this flight because it was nonstop. When we booked, we had several cheaper one-stop options on other airlines at varying hours, some more convenient than 11:00 am. 3) 1:25 may be a bit short for deplaning ion SFO, retrieving luggage, going through customs and making it to the next flight.

 

 

 

I first called United because, after all, it was their fault. Unfortunately, they no longer have ANY nonstops. And all available departure times are either 1:00 am or the differently inconvenient 10:20 pm. United, directly, offered me three choices: 1) keep the 10:00 am flight, 2) Change to a 10:40 flight via SFO or 3) Cancel and receive a full refund.

 

 

#3 was obviously off the table as we need to get home from Singapore...and other CURRENT fares on all airlines are far in excess of what we paid back in February through Choice Air. #2 is not great since we would have to kill 12-15 hours in Singapore while holding our luggage, then get back home in the wee hours of the morning.

 

 

So, we are still on that 10:00 am flight. Since we overnight in Singapore, we should be able to get off the ship VERY early, skipping breakfast and taxi to the airport. If we miss the LAX connection, United has additional later flights SFO to LAX and it should be their problem to put us on one. Of course, I am still just a bit upset that, had we known they'd do this, we could have booked a different airline through Choice Air back in February, saved money and had a later departure time.

 

 

So, next, I called Choice Air. They said they could change our flights--but only on United since it was already ticketed--offering me the same 10:00 am or 10:20 pm choice...Or they could move me to another airline--but only at the current higher prices!

 

 

But, what is one to do? Not book early and wait for schedules to settle? Do that and we would have had higher fares. Seems you have to book something reasonable, then take your chances. The airlines mess with schedules all the time. Last summer, Air Berlin moved our LAX to Rome flight so that we would have had an ungodly 19 hour layover (we were finally able to reroute it through Berlin rather than Dusseldorf and get into Rome several hours earlier--though we were stuck with our Airport Hilton Garden Inn non-refundable reservation that we made expecting a late arrival) and they changed our return flight so that the Dusseldorf to LAX connection left two hours BEFORE we were to arrive in Dusseldorf! And they never told us...I only found out since I constantly check. Our only fix for that was to move the flight to the next day causing us to stay two nights at the Rome Airport Hilton Garden Inn on the way out (same non-refundable issue). For anyone who has never been, the Hilton Garden Inn is convenient to NOTHING but the airport...

 

 

This seems to be the constant airline bait-and-switch...Choice Air really has little they can do. You don't either. Airlines suck.

[waterbug123]

But, what is one to do? Not book early and wait for schedules to settle? Do that and we would have had higher fares. Seems you have to book something reasonable, then take your chances.

 

 

two nights at the Rome Airport Hilton Garden Inn on the way out (same non-refundable issue). For anyone who has never been, the Hilton Garden Inn is convenient to NOTHING but the airport...

 

This seems to be the constant airline bait-and-switch...Choice Air really has little they can do. You don't either. Airlines suck.

 

It sounds like your options for rebooking were so limited because you had booked through Choice Air. Whatever discount tickets they purchased for you likely had restrictions that prevent you from being rerouted on another airline with better flight times so you got stuck with what United was offering. Had you booked directly through United it's quite possible they could have reaccommodated you on a partner airline.

 

As for the airport Hilton in Rome, while it's only near the airport, you can take the Leonardo Express train from the airport to Rome Termini for sightseeing in the city. It's only about a 30 min ride and it's cheap.

[Bruin Steve]

It sounds like your options for rebooking were so limited because you had booked through Choice Air. Whatever discount tickets they purchased for you likely had restrictions that prevent you from being rerouted on another airline with better flight times so you got stuck with what United was offering. Had you booked directly through United it's quite possible they could have reaccommodated you on a partner airline.

 

As for the airport Hilton in Rome, while it's only near the airport, you can take the Leonardo Express train from the airport to Rome Termini for sightseeing in the city. It's only about a 30 min ride and it's cheap.

 

I actually spoke with United twice and Choice Air once and, unfortunately, there was really little either could do...and it would not have mattered much even had we booked on United directly. The fare Choice Air got us was actually a "refundable" fare--which would have had some benefits had we canceled the cruise. But, intending on taking the cruise, the problem would still exist that other choices are not United's partners and fares are currently much higher than when we booked...otherwise it would be easy to cancel and choose another airline.

 

As to the Rome Airport Hilton Garden Inn, it'd really not all that convenient to the airport either--there's a long shuttle ride...And, if you were taking the train, you'd be dealing with train schedules as well...It is FAR more convenient and pleasant to stay in the heart of the city...We've often stayed at the Residenza Farnese--right near the Campo di Fiore and a very short couple of blocks to the Piazza Navona...and it is nice to be able to just leave the hotel and walk into the heart of everything...and return on your own schedule. I would only recommend staying at these airport hotels if you have a late flight in or an early flight out--what we originally had before the airline started messing with the schedule...

 

As to the Leonardo Express, we found it is neither the least expensive nor the most convenient option. There are bus lines that pick up right in front of the terminal that will drop you at a more convenient location in Rome that cost a lot less and run very frequent schedules. We used that to spend some time in the city between our two awkward nights at the airport...Other than that, having visited Rome so often, we really weren't trying to spend time in Rome...We built most of the pre- and post-cruise visits for that trip around stays in Orvieto and Tivoli...

[waterbug123]

The fare Choice Air got us was actually a "refundable" fare--which would have had some benefits had we canceled the cruise.

 

As to the Rome Airport Hilton Garden Inn, it'd really not all that convenient to the airport either--there's a long shuttle ride...And, if you were taking the train, you'd be dealing with train schedules as well...It is FAR more convenient and pleasant to stay in the heart of the city.

 

As to the Leonardo Express, we found it is neither the least expensive nor the most convenient option.

 

Refundable by CA or refundable by United? There's a difference, and truly refundable airline fares are usually very pricey; most folks book CA for bargains, not pricey refundable fares.

 

I agree about staying in the heart of Rome, but it sounded like you were stuck with your airport Hilton reservation; just letting you know, in case you didn't, that at least you could still get into the city pretty easily.

 

In my experience, the Leonardo Express runs pretty frequently; I've never found waiting for it to be an issue. And while a bus may be cheaper, the LE is still cheaper than hiring a private car. Others may not be aware of it and so may find the information useful.

[cltnccruisers]

We haven't used CA yet but plan to for a Sept, 2019, Charlotte to Amsterdam, Barcelona to Charlotte trip. I did a dummy check using 2018 dates and the savings were significant, even for direct flights. In this scenario our reservation number was useless but I am of the impression that once we are within the actual window then using the reservation number may simplify the search on CA. Can anyone confirm that?

[woody14h]

Unfortunately, Choice Air owns the ticket. They are responsible for making the change. 48 - 72 hours is stupid though.

 

Delta is required to change your ticket at no cost as long as there are tickets in your fare buckets remaining. They changed the flights. Also, EU261 will apply if you miss your connection due to an issue with the EU to Atlanta flight.

 

I recommend: Look for flights that will work for you. Then, call Choice Air back and say you want those flights. Have 2 or 3 backup choices. If they won't change it, say you want a 3 way call with Choice Air and Delta. They are responsible for making sure your flights work out and don't cost you more since you depended on the schedule that was released and ticketed already.

 

I totally agreed with this. Choice Air does have nice prices but are lax in service. Doing the above will go a long way. My experiences have been good and not so good. But prices are the good. Especially one way to and from Europe.

[cltnccruisers]

I totally agreed with this. Choice Air does have nice prices but are lax in service. Doing the above will go a long way. My experiences have been good and not so good. But prices are the good. Especially one way to and from Europe.

 

After being in IT for 40 years I do everything in my power to avoid calling a helpdesk. You almost always have to escalate at least to L2 to have any success. That's what sounds like happened with the OPs problem.

[mtnlvr53]

We have booked airfare on both our Celebrity Cruise with ChoiceAir. In both cases there was an error made by Choice Air in the booking. One was a very complicated problem on our return flight that resulted in me walking between Alaskan Air and United for over an hour while they tried to figure out what the problem was. ChoiceAir did nothing: turns out when we finally got it figured out, they had keyed the reservation into the system incorrectly resulting in my husband being a "ghost passenger". He didn't have seats or a real reservation even though we had a confirmation # with both our names on it. This time, they incorrectly keyed our flight class on KLM as "no free bag" even though the prices were the same ( and to me, invisible, until I started looking closely and saw that we didn't get our free bag on the KLM trip plan.) This time, they did get involved and got the class changed to what it was supposed to be: with the free checked bag. If I had not looked at the flight and prices before booking with ChoiceAir I wouldn't have known they were the same price and that we should have gotten free bags. If I hadn't been "on it" and checked this on my own we would have been paying $320 in checked bag fees. Needless to say I am not impressed with Choice Air.

[Algebralovr]

We don’t use CA flying within the US, no reason to. We did use them a few years back, on a Venice to Istanbul cruise. Since it was one way, and we needed flights from the US to Venice and from Istanbul back to the US, it made sense. Plus, if there had been any changes to the itinerary, CA/Celebrity was supposed to fix the issues. Not just pay a $200 change fee.

 

We had originally planned on being on Millennium last February. Would have booked with CA again in case the itinerary changed.

[BosoxI]

I don’t understand why Delta would not help you. It was their change not yours.. I would call and ask to speak with a supervisor. You booked thru a third party but payment went to Delta. They are responsible to rebook you.

 

The contract is with Choice Air, not Delta. When I deal with any contractor, I do not address problems with a subcontractor, nor do I expect the sub to deal directly with me. That's the prime contractor's role.

 

My problem with Delta is not their fault. It's the lousy weather we so often encounter going through Atlanta. We are accustomed to rain, snow, wind, ice and sleet. We go through there frequently and always expect the worst and are pleasantly surprised when the weather is good, as it was just two days ago.

Edited July 12, 2018 by BosoxI

[Bruin Steve]

My situation just got a bit stranger. I spent over four hours on the phone yesterday between United and Choice Air...to little avail...

 

First, United had agreed to a minor change a couple of days ago--moving my 10:00 am connecting flight at SFO to the 11:00 am flight...then told me they couldn't make the change...Choice Air had to...So, I called Choice Air and they changed it... But, on the United website, it then showed I had TWO reservations on the SIN-SFO flight--with different seat assignments AND reservations on BOTH SFO-LAX legs...The next day, the new reservations disappeared, leaving me back on the shorter connection time.

 

So, I called back and went through the whole thing again...and, again, the double reservations showed up...but I finally got United to fix that...

 

Then, I decided to check again if there were any other options...and, lo and behold, Choice Air, Kayak and AA.com all showed an option back and forth with the same nonstop flight LAX to HKG...and with a better-timed one stop at 12:55 pm from Singapore, connecting in HGK to LAX...So, no issue about leaving the ship early...or having to go through customs in a short window at SFO...and the price of the complete trip was $31 pp LOWER than what we had paid!

 

I called Choice Air to ask if the change could be made...Simple, right? Not so fast...

After Choice Air had me on the phone, with a lot of hold time, for close to two hours, they finally told me they could make that change IF I paid something like $500+ per person! The logic? The flight LAX-HKG and the flight from SIN-LAX were ticketed separately...so, though the first leg wasn't changing, they'd have to cancel just the SIN-LAX and I would get a refund of that portion...and have to pay the one-way fare on that leg--which was significantly higher than the two-way fare...

 

I said, what if we cancelled the whole thing and just re-booked it at the new lower fare? Sure...but, since we'd have to cancel BOTH tickets...and the first leg wasn't changed, that leg would incur a penalty of $150 pp. IOW, I could switch to those flights IF I paid an additional $300...(remember, I originally paid about $500 more because I was getting a nonstop). So, wait a second...I am being penalized because United cancelled my nonstop flight, forcing the change...and I am the one who has to pay to straighten out the mess?

 

According to Choice Air, all they could do...I then asked to speak to a supervisor...was told none were available...Called back to Celebrity directly, got a supervisor there...and he transferred me to a supervisor at Choice Air...who was no help either...

 

So, I called United. Maybe they would be willing to change us to the flights via HKG (though a longshot since it was on Cathay Pacific/AA, not on United...but worth a try, no?).

 

The United agent asked me to "hang in there another two weeks to two months"...that, though she couldn't make any guarantees, United may re-institute that SIN to LAX flight...What?!? So, I asked, if they did, would they automatically put me back on it? No...I'd have to keep checking and call them back and try to get it changed...Seriously?

 

So...I just wrote a long, desperate email to the CEO and the President of United Air Lines....We'll see if I MAYBE get a response...

I'll probably sit down today and compose one to Celebrity as well...

[SharonK]

My situation just got a bit stranger. I spent over four hours on the phone yesterday between United and Choice Air...to little avail...

 

First, United had agreed to a minor change a couple of days ago--moving my 10:00 am connecting flight at SFO to the 11:00 am flight...then told me they couldn't make the change...Choice Air had to...So, I called Choice Air and they changed it... But, on the United website, it then showed I had TWO reservations on the SIN-SFO flight--with different seat assignments AND reservations on BOTH SFO-LAX legs...The next day, the new reservations disappeared, leaving me back on the shorter connection time.

 

So, I called back and went through the whole thing again...and, again, the double reservations showed up...but I finally got United to fix that...

 

Then, I decided to check again if there were any other options...and, lo and behold, Choice Air, Kayak and AA.com all showed an option back and forth with the same nonstop flight LAX to HKG...and with a better-timed one stop at 12:55 pm from Singapore, connecting in HGK to LAX...So, no issue about leaving the ship early...or having to go through customs in a short window at SFO...and the price of the complete trip was $31 pp LOWER than what we had paid!

 

I called Choice Air to ask if the change could be made...Simple, right? Not so fast...

After Choice Air had me on the phone, with a lot of hold time, for close to two hours, they finally told me they could make that change IF I paid something like $500+ per person! The logic? The flight LAX-HKG and the flight from SIN-LAX were ticketed separately...so, though the first leg wasn't changing, they'd have to cancel just the SIN-LAX and I would get a refund of that portion...and have to pay the one-way fare on that leg--which was significantly higher than the two-way fare...

 

I said, what if we cancelled the whole thing and just re-booked it at the new lower fare? Sure...but, since we'd have to cancel BOTH tickets...and the first leg wasn't changed, that leg would incur a penalty of $150 pp. IOW, I could switch to those flights IF I paid an additional $300...(remember, I originally paid about $500 more because I was getting a nonstop). So, wait a second...I am being penalized because United cancelled my nonstop flight, forcing the change...and I am the one who has to pay to straighten out the mess?

 

According to Choice Air, all they could do...I then asked to speak to a supervisor...was told none were available...Called back to Celebrity directly, got a supervisor there...and he transferred me to a supervisor at Choice Air...who was no help either...

 

So, I called United. Maybe they would be willing to change us to the flights via HKG (though a longshot since it was on Cathay Pacific/AA, not on United...but worth a try, no?).

 

The United agent asked me to "hang in there another two weeks to two months"...that, though she couldn't make any guarantees, United may re-institute that SIN to LAX flight...What?!? So, I asked, if they did, would they automatically put me back on it? No...I'd have to keep checking and call them back and try to get it changed...Seriously?

 

So...I just wrote a long, desperate email to the CEO and the President of United Air Lines....We'll see if I MAYBE get a response...

I'll probably sit down today and compose one to Celebrity as well...

different destinations but same ole BS. Good luck! I feel your pain and frustration!

[waterbug123]

We did use them a few years back, on a Venice to Istanbul cruise. Since it was one way, and we needed flights from the US to Venice and from Istanbul back to the US, it made sense.

 

You can book that same type itinerary directly through the airline. When you go to an airline website to book a ticket, you will usually see options for one way, round trip, and multi city. The multi city option is what you're looking for. You can then specify the city pairs for each portion of your trip. I'm often surprised at how many people are unaware of this option. :)

[jkgourmet]

You can book that same type itinerary directly through the airline. When you go to an airline website to book a ticket, you will usually see options for one way, round trip, and multi city. The multi city option is what you're looking for. You can then specify the city pairs for each portion of your trip. I'm often surprised at how many people are unaware of this option. :)

 

Umm, I'm pretty sure that most people on here are aware of this option. :rolleyes:

 

When it comes to OW or multi-city fares, Choice Air typically had cheaper flights, though Not necessarily better flight schedules.

 

I've sometimes found that their prices for ST international flights are less expensive, too. Domestic flights? Never.

 

ETA: my comments apply to flying from the USA. I've no idea about any other origin.

 

all that said, it takes a significant amount of money to make me choose Choice Air instead of booking directly with the airline. Same goes for Expedia, Orbitz, etc. If something screws up, I do not want to deal with an intermediary - a "booking agent". My experience is that the airline will take care of me far easier AND better. (And our frequent flyer status is quite minimal).

[Shanker1]

I had a similar problem with delta changing their schedule. Delta was ready to make my requested changes until the notified that the ticket had to be changed by Choice Of course Choice wanted to charge me me a fee for

schedule change. After several frustrating calls back and forth with Delta and Choice A Choice supervisor told me they needed a OSI code added to my Delta reservation code and Choice can change to flights with no additional cost Called Delta and they said no problem we can do that. Flights and destination were changed easy peasy. Only took a couple of hours of aggravation which I do not need.

 

Joe

[mtnlvr53]

I wish there was a like button :) Both of the above comments mirror the problems I had with Choice Air. They really need to get their act together or Celebrity needs to find a new vendor....

[waterbug123]

Umm, I'm pretty sure that most people on here are aware of this option. :rolleyes:

 

 

Save your eye roll. You'd be surprised at how many people are not aware of the multi-city booking option. I can't tell you how many times I've read in one forum or another where someone said something like, "we are cruising from Rome to Venice so I had to book a one way fare to Rome and a separate one way fare home from Venice." Then when someone mentions multi-city options they reply with "I had no idea you could do that."