EZ Air - Dates

[High C's]

We are waiting on pins and needles to book our flights for NEXT August (yes, plenty of time I know 🙂 ).We are now at 324 days from sailing.  

 

Just curious what everyone's experience has been when booking.  Is their estimate of "330" days usually the case?  I know airlines are now offering flights for our dates, so I want to ensure we get the best possible options. We have only used EZ Air once, and our flights were available earlier than the 330 day guideline.

 

TIA 🙂 

[Doug R.]

2 minutes ago, High C's said:

We are waiting on pins and needles to book our flights for NEXT August (yes, plenty of time I know 🙂 ).We are now at 324 days from sailing.  

 

Just curious what everyone's experience has been when booking.  Is their estimate of "330" days usually the case?  I know airlines are now offering flights for our dates, so I want to ensure we get the best possible options. We have only used EZ Air once, and our flights were available earlier than the 330 day guideline.

 

TIA 🙂 

On our upcoming cruise I checked EZAir daily until flights were available. I believe it was 320 days or so before sailing. I booked them then and there and got a great price, less than what the airline or several of the major booking sites had for the same flights. The EZAir fares were flexible fares, which mean that they can be changed up to 45 days prior without penalty if the fare drops. So far I have seen a fare for the same flights $7 cheaper, not worth the effort and the chance of losing our good seats.

[High C's]

1 minute ago, Doug R. said:

On our upcoming cruise I checked EZAir daily until flights were available. I believe it was 320 days or so before sailing. I booked them then and there and got a great price, less than what the airline or several of the major booking sites had for the same flights. The EZAir fares were flexible fares, which mean that they can be changed up to 45 days prior without penalty if the fare drops. So far I have seen a fare for the same flights $7 cheaper, not worth the effort and the chance of losing our good seats.

Thanks Doug.  Hopefully our flights will become available this coming week.  

[cherylandtk]

330 days from the END of the cruise.

[High C's]

15 minutes ago, cherylandtk said:

330 days from the END of the cruise.

Oh really?  Damn!  LOL  

 

As I said, we have only used EZAir once, and I guess we fluked out with how early the flights were available.  I will have to tap down my impatience 😉 

[john_galt]

Be aware that airlines often change things multiple times in that 330 day window. I booked with American in January for December flights to/from FLL. So far, they've changed the flight number, departure time, and arrival time for the outbound flight and the aircraft type, seat assignments, departure time, and arrival time on the inbound flight. I managed to move back to my regular seats when they changed the aircraft from Boeing 738 to Airbus A321 but they did not send me a change notification email. I discovered the switch on my own. 

[azbirdmom]

My experience is that flights appear on EZAir 5 to 10 days after the round trip flights appear on an airlines website.  So this tends to be 320 to 325 days prior to the end date of the cruise.  And the costs and / or flight parameters will change quite a bit after booking so check frequently and rebook if it is more advantageous to you.

[High C's]

7 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

My experience is that flights appear on EZAir 5 to 10 days after the round trip flights appear on an airlines website.  So this tends to be 320 to 325 days prior to the end date of the cruise.  And the costs and / or flight parameters will change quite a bit after booking so check frequently and rebook if it is more advantageous to you.

The one and only time we used EZAir, I was very nervous about checking new prices, as I was afraid it would automatically cancel what I had already booked.  

[Steelers36]

6 minutes ago, High C's said:

The one and only time we used EZAir, I was very nervous about checking new prices, as I was afraid it would automatically cancel what I had already booked.  

You can use the CHANGE FLIGHTS link to shop for new flights or the pricing on what you have already booked.  Nothing is going to change for just shopping and not making a booking.

 

1 hour ago, High C's said:

We are waiting on pins and needles to book our flights for NEXT August (yes, plenty of time I know 🙂 ).We are now at 324 days from sailing.  

 

Just curious what everyone's experience has been when booking.  Is their estimate of "330" days usually the case?  I know airlines are now offering flights for our dates, so I want to ensure we get the best possible options. We have only used EZ Air once, and our flights were available earlier than the 330 day guideline.

 

TIA 🙂 

Not sure why the anxiety as very few airlines seats are sold at the open date - usually FF's cashing in points for the few available seats.  Anyway, if you call Princess and ask, they can tell you what date EZ-Air bookings will open for your voyage.  I have done that and my calendar is marked to check EZ-Air then.  I may check a day prior just in case, but I also agree that Princess opens up air booking based on the end of the cruise as they want people to be able to book round trip tickets.  In our case, I may have to wait an extra couple of days as we intend to stay in the arrival city for extended time post-cruise (will have to see what happens when booking first open).

 

Edited October 5, 2019 by steelers36

[High C's]

10 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

You can use the CHANGE FLIGHTS link to shop for new flights or the pricing on what you have already booked.  Nothing is going to change for just shopping and not making a booking.

 

Not sure why the anxiety as very few airlines seats are sold at the open date - usually FF's cashing in points for the few available seats.  Anyway, if you call Princess and ask, they can tell you what date EZ-Air bookings will open for your voyage.  I have done that and my calendar is marked to check EZ-Air then.  I may check a day prior just in case, but I also agree that Princess opens up air booking based on the end of the cruise as they want people to be able to book round trip tickets.  In our case, I may have to wait an extra couple of days as we intend to stay in the arrival city for extended time post-cruise (will have to see what happens when booking first open).

 

Thank you.  And you mistake my "anxiety" for pure excitement to book another part of the trip.  As I stated, I fully realize there is plenty of time.  I was just asking what others experienced in terms of when flights actually became available.  🙂 

[Steelers36]

2 minutes ago, High C's said:

Thank you.  And you mistake my "anxiety" for pure excitement to book another part of the trip.  As I stated, I fully realize there is plenty of time.  I was just asking what others experienced in terms of when flights actually became available.  🙂 

Gotcha.  (A "next door neighbor" to the east).

[High C's]

Just now, steelers36 said:

Gotcha.  (A "next door neighbor" to the east).

🙂 🙂 🙂 

[RotaryMike]

One warning, we've used ezair to FLL a few times, always went well, prices always better than thru the airline, great to be able to book flights and seats without paying until final payment due date,  BUT:

  in June we booked a 15 night Hawaii out of LAX for Feb 2020, and booked AA non-stop cross-country flights to/from LA.  Just to check on possible price changes i went on the AA website last week to see current fares but couldn't find either the outbound or return flights.  It turns out that AA has dropped the flights from their schedule due to low bookings.  I looked at my cruise personalizer on Princess site, and saw that our flights had NOT changed - printed it out, called  princess and when they looked up my booking # they told me that, oh yes, AA had re-routed us - thru Chicago.  i said sorry, we never fly thru northern cities in the winter.  I had already gone online looking for other non-stops but would have had to get to New York or Boston, so i re-booked AA thru DFW.  we had gotten no notice from princess or AA of the flight changes.

  Of course, if your booked flights are discontinued , princess will not be held to getting you to the port city at the fares you originally booked since the change was not their doing.

  Just an FYI to check regularly so that you don't get a surprise as your trip gets close.

Mike in CT  

[Steelers36]

I booked with EZ-Air a little while back for YYZ-FLL return.  Elected DL for the southbound (ATL layover) and AC non-stop for the return.  Did not select AA (via CLT), even though had a southern connection.  I found when going back to check on flights that AA was always with changes or cancelled/replaced flights and routings.  Could happen to any I suppose, but DL has not made any changes at all.  Their offerings seemed more stable.  FWIW, this was booking in July timeframe for NOV flights.

[beg3yrs]

2 hours ago, RotaryMike said:

....

  Of course, if your booked flights are discontinued , princess will not be held to getting you to the port city at the fares you originally booked since the change was not their doing.

  Just an FYI to check regularly so that you don't get a surprise as your trip gets close.

Mike in CT  

 

That's not been our experience. Had a flight completely discontinued by American Airlines and the EZ Air folks redid the whole itinerary and honored the original price.

[CATGUY7]

May be luck of the draw, but I find if I book the first day flights are offered, prices are lower and often increase.  Of course, booking with EZ Air gives me the freedom to monitor and rebook with price decreases.  I do take the chance that fights may change, but I try to stay on top of any changes as I monitor for price adjustments often.  

[Brian1713]

34 minutes ago, CATGUY7 said:

May be luck of the draw, but I find if I book the first day flights are offered, prices are lower and often increase.  Of course, booking with EZ Air gives me the freedom to monitor and rebook with price decreases.  I do take the chance that fights may change, but I try to stay on top of any changes as I monitor for price adjustments often.  

I agree , it always seems to be the lowest price when they first open up the bookings. The only time I saw a major drop in price was when we flew to Rome. The drawback to booking that far out is most airlines will tweak their schedules to fill the planes . Especially Delta......

[polmcs]

Most US airlines release their schedules 330-331 days out, but some foreign carriers such as BA, JAL, Cathay Pacific, etc. release their schedules 360+ days out.

 

I find that American Airlines usually only initially releases the most expensive fare buckets during the first few days, but will eventually release the lower fare buckets shortly afterwards. The only time I usually book 330 days out is if I’m on a mileage ticket and if I don’t book the award seats, someone else will. That said, it’s been a few years now since I’ve managed to find award availability on aa.com for my required dates/destination. 😞

[Arizona cruisers]

8 hours ago, High C's said:

We are waiting on pins and needles to book our flights for NEXT August (yes, plenty of time I know 🙂 ).We are now at 324 days from sailing.  

 

Just curious what everyone's experience has been when booking.  Is their estimate of "330" days usually the case?  I know airlines are now offering flights for our dates, so I want to ensure we get the best possible options. We have only used EZ Air once, and our flights were available earlier than the 330 day guideline.

 

TIA 🙂 

Hi Jackie...we are on pins & needles with you!!  I hope that this image will load - found on Princess website "approximately" 300 days prior.  The airlines are 330 and Princess is 300.  So I may be booking EZ Air for this Sky cruise while on the Sky!

[High C's]

1 hour ago, Arizona cruisers said:

Hi Jackie...we are on pins & needles with you!!  I hope that this image will load - found on Princess website "approximately" 300 days prior.  The airlines are 330 and Princess is 300.  So I may be booking EZ Air for this Sky cruise while on the Sky!

Hey Judy 🙂  Yeah, I'm just anxious.  And I don't have the trip before this like you do to distract me!  Poor planning on my part for sure! LOL  If they are not available until you board your cruise, I will definitely shoot you an email ASAP.   And as was pointed out earlier, its 330 days (or so) from the END of the cruise.  In my haste, I totally missed that piece of info!  

[Astro Flyer]

18 minutes ago, High C's said:

And I don't have the trip before this like you do to distract me!  Poor planning on my part for sure! LOL

 

Jackie you had the opportunity to join all of us on the Sky next month...we’re all going to a Winemakers Dinner together.

 

Hope your Flexible EZair experience will be as positive as all of ours have been including as low as $171 for LAX/FCO.

 

Judy might need to get an unlimited internet package to book her flights. ☺️

Edited October 5, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[High C's]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Jackie you had the opportunity to join all of us on the Sky next month...we’re all going to a Winemakers Dinner together.

 

Hope your Flexible EZair experience will be as positive as all of ours have been including as low as $171 for LAX/FCO.

 

Judy might need to get an unlimited internet package to book her flights. ☺️

LOL - you're absolutely correct, Frank.  And if you think I'm pouty now, wait until you are all actually on the cruise!  Ha ha.  We SO wish we didn't have to cancel on you all. 

[Astro Flyer]

1 minute ago, High C's said:

LOL - you're absolutely correct, Frank.  And if you think I'm pouty now, wait until you are all actually on the cruise!  Ha ha.  We SO wish we didn't have to cancel on you all. 

 

We’ll miss seeing both of you again. 🙁

[Arizona cruisers]

Ditto...we will all miss you on this cruise and so sad you had to cancel!  We will raise a glass to you during the winemakers dinner!!  I actually WILL have the unlimited internet as I work each day so that we can continue to cruise!!!!  So Jackie, I would love to hear from you via email any time.  I can pass messages to Frank, Kathy, anyone lol!  We are actually going to book the one-way to Copenhagen using EZ Air and will probably use points on Southwest for return.