If you value your sanity, Don't EVER use Choice Air

[chemmo]

OP, thrilled you are OK. I would have been every bit as anxious as you.

 

A bit off original post but following the posts of others the sad  thing is that I think all of us who fly regularly are no longer surprised when our flights are changed without our consultation. Choice Air is by no means the only culprit and the ‘blame each other’ between agents and airlines is simply pathetic.

 

Like most others we do a lot of hard work before booking flights to ensure everything runs smoothly. Great departure, easy connections, convenient arrival....Also, like most others, we will book well in advance and our choice of flight will be based on these factors rather than simply lowest fare.

 

Then comes the email with a flight change that turns your perfect flight into a marathon race between terminals or a layover longer than your flight.  No apology, no refund and when you phone to protest you either get the ‘nothing I can do’ response (when you know quite well they can) or worse still the sanctimonious agent who tries to make you feel you are complaining about nothing!

 

Changes used to be rare, now they are almost expected....

 

We prefer now where possible (prices being comparable)  to book direct with an airline. We will pay a bit more to do this. At least then there is no one they can blame.....apart from partner airlines, air traffic control, strikes....

 

Edited May 31, 2019 by chemmo

[Presto2]

9 hours ago, Highpeaklad said:

 

They are still using airlines with a change from the U.K.  We were booked on KLM changing in Amsterdam both ways. I was checking the price of our trip a few weeks later and they were offering Jet2 direct so I phoned up and they changed it for me. I haven’t got a usable code yet as I haven’t made my final payment so no booking seats yet. 

I periodically check the current price of the cruise and direct flights haven’t been offered since. 

 

I can't believe that they are sending people from Manchester via Amsterdam to get to Rome when there are so many direct flights from Manchester. Just ridiculous. Glad you managed to get a Jet2 flight. Not sure if you've used them before but they have always been pretty good when we have used them.

 

PS Did you have to pay for your flights when you booked? We booked about 12 months ago or more and had to pay for the flights up front. That is probably why we have a code we have been able to use.

Edited May 31, 2019 by Presto2

[waterbug123]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

 

I can't believe that they are sending people from Manchester via Amsterdam to get to Rome when there are so many direct flights from Manchester. Just ridiculous.

 

I can believe it.  They are in the business to make money, and flights with connections often cost less.  It's Econ 101, supply and demand.

[Highpeaklad]

50 minutes ago, waterbug123 said:

 

I can believe it.  They are in the business to make money, and flights with connections often cost less.  It's Econ 101, supply and demand.

 

Except they’re not cheaper. It costs more to have 2hr journey take 8. 

[Highpeaklad]

2 hours ago, Presto2 said:

 

I can't believe that they are sending people from Manchester via Amsterdam to get to Rome when there are so many direct flights from Manchester. Just ridiculous. Glad you managed to get a Jet2 flight. Not sure if you've used them before but they have always been pretty good when we have used them.

 

PS Did you have to pay for your flights when you booked? We booked about 12 months ago or more and had to pay for the flights up front. That is probably why we have a code we have been able to use.

 

No we didn’t have to pay as it came out of their allocation. The agent said the normal way is to do what you did where they effectively buy the flight on your behalf so need you to stump up straight away. 

[hiccups]

10 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

We had the same experience with using Choice Air in the past.  They kept changing our flight and booting us off the one we originally booked ... then, spent hours and hours getting it fixed only to be booted again.  We were traveling in a group and the last snafu is that they changed us all to a different flight except for me.   They put me on a completely different flight all by myself .. ugh!!   We had different departure times, connections, arrival times ... are you freakin' kidding me??  I had originally booked their Polaris service so it wasn't like they were moving my economy seats.  I think in all, I spent over 4 weekends fixing the mistakes they made and yes, nobody wanted to take responsibility ... Choice Air said it was United's fault, United said Choice Air made the change.   I was almost ready to cancel the whole thing ... it was so frustrating.  I finally got through to somebody with some authority at United and did a conference call with her and Choice Air, where they finally agreed to update their system so it didn't keep changing our flights.  Well, that did the trick but you know, I really needed a vacation before that was all over and done.  I booked with Choice Air as the air was covered under the insurance at no additional cost.  Well, like the OP ... the cost was my sanity and hours of frustration.  Thankfully, we had a wonderful cruise and actually had wonderful flights. 

Our flights are also United Polaris class--interesting you had the same problem!  I've decided if they change us again, I may switch to different route that is less likely to have changes.  They offered me that option on my last call but I wanted to check out the planes first because according to what I've read, Polaris seats can vary depending on the aircraft.

We've used Choice Air for all our international flights, but this is the first time we've had so much trouble.  The price savings have been very good, ranging from several hundred on economy flights to thousands on this trip. 

[JBare]

So, a number of points.  I prefer to use either Manchester or Birmingham airports if possible but sometimes it isn’t.

In the UK if you book flights through Celebrity they become part of a package holiday and the whole holiday is then ATOL protected, so that’s  worth a bit.

Sometimes the flights are a bit more expensive, in my experience the big carriers like BA and especially Emirates are roughly the same cost direct as through Celebrity with only marginal differences. You have to do the research yourself.  The low cost carriers like Jet2 and in the past Monarch may or may not be more expensive depending on when you book, they like to extract a bit more from Celebrity than when you book direct.

When a flight coincides with a cruise Celebrity will often block book a number of seats on that aircraft, if you book early enough you may get a good deal if you are part of this block booking. In this case you don’t have to pay up front for the tickets because they aren’t issued until final payment. The downside is you cant pre book seats until the individual tickets are allocated about 30 days before cruise.

If the block allocation is used up then Celebrity can still book the flight but it most likely will cost quite a bit more, and they obviously can only do this if seats are available on the flight, but you do get tickets straight away.

I’m sailing on the Edge later this year, flying from Birmingham to Rome, booking early through Celebrity the flights were £49 return (including luggage etc) as part of their block book, so I don’t get the tickets yet.

It is true that indirect flights are generally (but not always) cheaper than direct ones as anyone who has used Expedia or Kayak to research flights will know. Cheaper flights are often offered first as that is what many but not all people want.

It is not true that there are lots of direct flights from Manchester (or Birmingham) to Rome as simple research will reveal. Use Rome to Rio, Kayak or any other flight app or program to find out.. As far as I can tell there is only one direct flight a day from either Manchester or Birmingham and that is a Jet2 737. In the case of Birmingham that is not even every day.  A 737 is not a big aircraft and if full, alternatives will be by other carriers via Amsterdam Frankfurt or Zurich.

There are so many options when booking flights so personal research is most important.

[villauk]

26 minutes ago, JBare said:

There are so many options when booking flights so personal research is most important.

 

 

Definitely agree with this 😉.

[Presto2]

2 hours ago, JBare said:

So, a number of points.  I prefer to use either Manchester or Birmingham airports if possible but sometimes it isn’t.

In the UK if you book flights through Celebrity they become part of a package holiday and the whole holiday is then ATOL protected, so that’s  worth a bit.

Sometimes the flights are a bit more expensive, in my experience the big carriers like BA and especially Emirates are roughly the same cost direct as through Celebrity with only marginal differences. You have to do the research yourself.  The low cost carriers like Jet2 and in the past Monarch may or may not be more expensive depending on when you book, they like to extract a bit more from Celebrity than when you book direct.

When a flight coincides with a cruise Celebrity will often block book a number of seats on that aircraft, if you book early enough you may get a good deal if you are part of this block booking. In this case you don’t have to pay up front for the tickets because they aren’t issued until final payment. The downside is you cant pre book seats until the individual tickets are allocated about 30 days before cruise.

If the block allocation is used up then Celebrity can still book the flight but it most likely will cost quite a bit more, and they obviously can only do this if seats are available on the flight, but you do get tickets straight away.

 

I’m sailing on the Edge later this year, flying from Birmingham to Rome, booking early through Celebrity the flights were £49 return (including luggage etc) as part of their block book, so I don’t get the tickets yet.

 

It is true that indirect flights are generally (but not always) cheaper than direct ones as anyone who has used Expedia or Kayak to research flights will know. Cheaper flights are often offered first as that is what many but not all people want.

 

It is not true that there are lots of direct flights from Manchester (or Birmingham) to Rome as simple research will reveal. Use Rome to Rio, Kayak or any other flight app or program to find out.. As far as I can tell there is only one direct flight a day from either Manchester or Birmingham and that is a Jet2 737. In the case of Birmingham that is not even every day.  A 737 is not a big aircraft and if full, alternatives will be by other carriers via Amsterdam Frankfurt or Zurich.

 

There are so many options when booking flights so personal research is most important.

 

Hi, first of all flights from Manchester - perhaps I was thinking that there are loads of flights as I know that Jet2 go almost everyday of the week. In the past we have booked our own flights and transfers etc etc, but last year when we booked (I think it was April 2018) there as so much uncertainty about what would happen if Brexit happened (hysterical laughter) that we thought it safer to book the whole thing with Celebrity and it would be their problem to get us there :-)

 

Whatever, my original statement stands. Sending people from Manchester to Amsterdam to change for Rome is ridiculous and shows no real care for customers. Yes, I know it is all down to them wanting to make money, but at the end of the day they sell themselves as a premium cruise line and that, to me, is not premium service.

 

On a different note though, for the first time the price we paid Celebrity for our flights, transfers and hotel stay is loads cheaper than it would have been to do it ourselves. I'm beginning to think that they worked it out wrong ;-)

[sippican]

It does not apply to this case, but don’t ever, ever try to fly in China unless your boarding pass is an exact match to your passport/ visa.  Two travelers in our party were whisked away by security for an hour at Pudong airport. The rest of us were given no explanation. Upon their return, we learned one was missing the last letter of his middle name, and the other, missing “Jr.”! 

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, hiccups said:

Our flights are also United Polaris class--interesting you had the same problem!  I've decided if they change us again, I may switch to different route that is less likely to have changes.  They offered me that option on my last call but I wanted to check out the planes first because according to what I've read, Polaris seats can vary depending on the aircraft.

We've used Choice Air for all our international flights, but this is the first time we've had so much trouble.  The price savings have been very good, ranging from several hundred on economy flights to thousands on this trip. 

 

That's interesting!  We worked with a couple of absolute jerks down at the airline but finally got a wonderful supervisor that put us back on the flight we originally booked.  Part of the problem was that Choice Air wasn't updated when United kept switching us to different flights so when we got is resolved each time, Choice Air kept switching us back.  For not saving anything (as it was domestic) except the cost of the insurance, I would not do it again.  The plane, seats, etc ended up being amazing!!  We usually don't splurge on first class seats so it was important to us that we got what we paid for.  I doubt if I'll ever use Choice Air again unless it actually saves me a lot of money.  It just complicated everything!!  

[Pickels]

I said it before, and I'll say it again, (even though I'll get arguments on the subject), I always work directly with the cruise line, airlines, hotels, etc.  If there's a problem or issue, I feel I get better results when working directly with the company.  No middle man or third person.

[Cruise Raider]

8 hours ago, Pickels said:

I said it before, and I'll say it again, (even though I'll get arguments on the subject), I always work directly with the cruise line, airlines, hotels, etc.  If there's a problem or issue, I feel I get better results when working directly with the company.  No middle man or third person.

 

No arguments from me ... I think you make perfect sense.  

[chemmo]

11 hours ago, Pickels said:

I said it before, and I'll say it again, (even though I'll get arguments on the subject), I always work directly with the cruise line, airlines, hotels, etc.  If there's a problem or issue, I feel I get better results when working directly with the company.  No middle man or third person.

 

Agree...

 

We much prefer to book direct when there is not a significant price difference.

 

 

[Globehoppers]

Its not Choice Air's fault.  As with all these air booking across the cruise industry, the cruise line does not actually pay for the air reservation until required, usually 45 days out (or less).  Until then, airlines hold the reservation "open" as a courtesy hold and the airline may or may not contact you with changes in their scheduling.  Only after receiving payment does the airline consider it a firm reservation.  The only thing you can do is watch both the airline schedule and the Choice Air reservation closely for changes and immediately contact both.  Plus, be ware of minimum connection times at airports.  Once they changed us to a new flight with a 45 minute connection in ATL during the Summer thunderstorm season and we would have likely missed the connection at LAX to SYD.  Once even rebooked with a connection leaving 30 minutes before the first aircraft arrived.  People working reservations are not the highest paid or sharpest tool in the airline toolbox.

[hapster85]

Its not Choice Air's fault.  As with all these air booking across the cruise industry, the cruise line does not actually pay for the air reservation until required, usually 45 days out (or less).

ChoiceAir/Air2Sea didn't start doing delayed payment until this year, and it's still not available on all flights. Eligible flights are marked with a green star; ineligible flights have a red star. I haven't booked with them since the change, but prior to this year, payment was immediate, and a confirmation number was issued. I can only assume that is still the case with red star flights.

[cruising sister]

I have used choice air many times but after my last experience I will not. They have changed how they work and not for the better. Their customer service is awful. Communication of changes almost non existent and the prices are not always the best. We chose and  booked a flight that gave  us 2 hours in Atlanta before an international flight and several months later was changed to a different one that left us only 40 minutes. When I asked for my original flight back they said no as this was a legal change. Delta did not change us Choice air did.  I only noticed the change because I checked my reservation. 

[Globehoppers]

Granted, I have not used the RCCL (RCI/Celebrity/Azamara, etc) cruise air system for a while.  Have used Process Air which is essentially the same.  Little known fact:  payment to a cruise line air element is a payment to that cruise line, not the airline.  The cruise line will hold your money, earning interest, until they are required to pay the airline for the reservation.  It all comes down to poor customer support and greed on the part of the cruise line.  

[hapster85]

I have used choice air many times but after my last experience I will not. They have changed how they work and not for the better. Their customer service is awful. Communication of changes almost non existent and the prices are not always the best. We chose and  booked a flight that gave  us 2 hours in Atlanta before an international flight and several months later was changed to a different one that left us only 40 minutes. When I asked for my original flight back they said no as this was a legal change. Delta did not change us Choice air did.  I only noticed the change because I checked my reservation. 

Was that a recent situation where you didn't have to pay for flights immediately, and they were rolled into final payment? If so, I had wondered if things like that could become an issue. Were you given the option of paying now vs paying later?

[cruising sister]

I had paid for it but Choice Air has not paid Delta so it was not ticketed yet. It was very frustrating. Delta would not help me since it was a second party booking. What ended helping was Delta moved back the international flight about 2 months before our trip. If that had not happened we would have been running through the airport. 

[MarLieb]

On 5/31/2019 at 1:30 PM, Pickels said:

I said it before, and I'll say it again, (even though I'll get arguments on the subject), I always work directly with the cruise line, airlines, hotels, etc.  If there's a problem or issue, I feel I get better results when working directly with the company.  No middle man or third person.

I so agree with this.  It's so much easier to work with the vendor directly than go through a middle man.  We typically fly Delta and JetBlue.  We have an upcoming trip to Ecuador and the best flights were offered through Latam, which we have never flown.  I booked the flights online for myself, my husband and my son.  After purchasing, I noticed they issued tickets with the correct names for me and my husband, but for my son, they listed my name again and even listed my first and middle names twice.  It was so incredibly odd and would, of course, be hugely problematic as my son now didn't have a ticket.  I contacted the airline and had to send a copy of his passport to them to make the name change which they did as a "courtesy" to me, as they put it, which really ticked me off as it was a glitch on their end.  We now have different ticket numbers which is not ideal as I already know I'm going to have difficulty printing his boarding pass as, I assume, they won't let me print a boarding pass for a minor traveling on a separate ticket.  I guess I'm thankful it was rectified fairly quickly, but I'm already dreading our trip to the airport that day and I'm anticipating problems.  

[c-boy]

reading this makes me feel better about booking with Wheels Up .

[royalcruz]

I recently booked my first Choice Air flights. My middle name is not on the emailed confirmation, but I've confirmed twice by phone that it is on the air reservation. They say that is just the way it is on the email.

 

Also, a bit of information....

Choice Air flights are not covered by Celebrity Cruise Care insurance, but Choice Air has an emergency phone number and they told me they guarantee to get you to the ship at their expense, including overnight hotels if needed. 

[Cruise Raider]

37 minutes ago, royalcruz said:

I recently booked my first Choice Air flights. My middle name is not on the emailed confirmation, but I've confirmed twice by phone that it is on the air reservation. They say that is just the way it is on the email.

 

Also, a bit of information....

Choice Air flights are not covered by Celebrity Cruise Care insurance, but Choice Air has an emergency phone number and they told me they guarantee to get you to the ship at their expense, including overnight hotels if needed. 

 

Interesting ... I wonder if this was a recent change or maybe I just misunderstood.  I was specifically told that flights made through Choice Air are covered under Celebrity's cruise care insurance with the stipulation that the premium must be purchased prior to booking the air travel through Choice Air.  Now, I know this is 'my bad' as I didn't look it up in the policy ... I went by what they told me .... so, who knows what would really happen if I had had to cancel that cruise along with the airfare.  Thankfully, in my case, I didn't need to do so.  

I did, however, have nothing but issues with the flights as they were booked ... much like the OP.  They kept changing our flights and seats (we paid for first class and they put is in coach), had us changing planes 3 times when the flight I booked was non-stop.  Finally, I found a reasonable alternative flight with only one stop but they only moved 3 out of the 4 of us onto the new flight ... I was left to fly home by myself on the itinerary with 3 plane changes.  I spent countless hours on the phone and finally, I got us all on the same flight with the one stop, got our first class seats that we originally paid for back and with decent times and a reasonable layover.  It all worked out in the end but I was miserable having to spend hours on end (about 12 hrs in all) to get it all worked out.  I was so nervous they were going to change it again while we were on our cruise and it would be too late for me to do anything about it ... thankfully, they didn't.  

Anyway ... kind of off topic but the second half goes to the CA OP's woes.  

[39august]

Flights booked by Celebrity Air are insured by the Celebrity travel policy. I have used it for travel delay and cancellation.  I have spoken directly with Ion, the travel insurer,  concerning several questions I have had about specific coverages in the travel policy The guarantee by Choice Air/Celebrity Air to get you to your ship as noted above is correct and a separate matter.