Talk to me about Air2Sea Airflights

[artvlay]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I just checked a couple of flights with and without booking number and you get the exact same choices and prices.

 

Biker, who thinks the Air2Sea reps are sometimes just as incompetent as the RCI ones.

Incompetent and condescending!

[mac_tlc]

8 hours ago, Another_Critic said:

Another wonderful Royal IT "feature" ...

 

I booked refundable tickets.  Of course once you book, you can no longer check flights/prices using the reservation number.  OK, there's the 2nd tab that let's you check the same thing.  I checked using the 2nd tab and saw a lower price.  I called Air2Sea and informed them of the lower price and asked for a price adjustment. 

 

Air2Sea rep:  Where did you see the lower price?

Me:  On Air2Sea (Choiceair.com)

Air2Sea rep:  Oh, without the reservation number, those prices are just an estimate.

Me:  Huh?

Air2Sea:  Give me 2 minutes to check the price.

Air2Sea:  The current price is much higher than what you paid.

Me: But I'm seeing a lower price on choiceair.com

Air2Sea: You can't go by that.

 

1) If the 2nd tab is inaccurate, why have the option?

2) How can you monitor price changes if the website is unreliable?

This is the second time recently that I have read that someone sees a price that the reps can’t. I’ll reiterate what I have found in the last month or so:

I used to get to the air reservation options through the travel agent site, there was a tab for Choice Air. Lately, it says “Flight Finder”. No big deal, looks like a slightly friendlier first page. I checked fights Newark-Barcelona, business class, come up with $3 -$5k pp. not attractive.

 

I then go directly to choiceair.com, and I see many airlines and options at $1300pp, with or without a reservation number. 
 

I bet the reps are coming in through something similar to the Flight Finder interface. I have no idea why they are different, but I don’t think they should be. Don’t know how long this discrepancy will exist, but I have read where folks were able to get the flights shown at choiceair.com, but not by calling.

 

mac_tlc
 

  

[HicksRA]

When I booked flights on Air2Sea on 12/23, I don’t recall if the agent offered an option to pay now or not, he just said that the total would be due on final payment date. I then told him I wanted to pay now so I would be able to pick seats and he agreed you can’t pick seats until the fare was paid. He tried to talk me out of it with a lot of vague reasons. When I insisted, he took the cc information. 

[Sunny AZ Girl]

4 hours ago, HicksRA said:

When I booked flights on Air2Sea on 12/23, I don’t recall if the agent offered an option to pay now or not, he just said that the total would be due on final payment date. I then told him I wanted to pay now so I would be able to pick seats and he agreed you can’t pick seats until the fare was paid. He tried to talk me out of it with a lot of vague reasons. When I insisted, he took the cc information. 

If you pay in full so that you can pick your seats are you still able to cancel the flights without penalty if you have to cancel the cruise (cruise booked as refundable)?

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

If you pay in full so that you can pick your seats are you still able to cancel the flights without penalty if you have to cancel the cruise (cruise booked as refundable)?

 

Check with Air2Sea before purchase.  Refundability of fares varies and is independent of cruise fare refundability.

[HicksRA]

16 minutes ago, Sunny AZ Girl said:

If you pay in full so that you can pick your seats are you still able to cancel the flights without penalty if you have to cancel the cruise (cruise booked as refundable)?

In this instance, it was refundable with a fee ($200 pp). Not sure If it’s always the same. 

[Jimbo]

16 hours ago, HicksRA said:

In this instance, it was refundable with a fee ($200 pp). Not sure If it’s always the same. 

Really, $200 per person, not $100 per person ?

[HicksRA]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Really, $200 per person, not $100 per person ?

Yes. $200 pp cancellation fee. 

[Jimbo]

4 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

Yes. $200 pp cancellation fee. 

Forgot to ask, what airline was that? Do you know if Airline charged that or Air2Sea ?

[HicksRA]

Just now, Jimbo said:

Forgot to ask, what airline was that? Do you know if Airline charged that or Air2Sea ?

American Airlines. I assume it is the airline not A2S but not 100% sure. 

[Another_Critic]

I called Air2Sea (for the 3rd time in the past week) a few minutes ago asking about a reprice since the "non-reservation" tab is showing a price $100 less than my booking.

 

The rep checked and quoted a price $330 higher than my booking.  I mentioned that I saw the price on choiceair.  Once again, the rep says that price is not accurate ("it's not live").  🙄

Edited January 4, 2020 by Another_Critic

[Tee & Chilli]

I also have had multiple debates on air price drops. If the rep puts in your reservation number, they might not see a lower fare. I think this is the silliness I was told.

[vacationlover_mn]

We made a mistake last time we booked air 2 sea...  we got a great price, but didn’t realize that they had booked us on the super cheap delta flights where you don’t get your seat assignment until the day of the flight, and we both ended up with middle seats, rows apart.  If we ever do this again, we will make sure that we don’t get this type of seats again!

[artvlay]

12 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

We made a mistake last time we booked air 2 sea...  we got a great price, but didn’t realize that they had booked us on the super cheap delta flights where you don’t get your seat assignment until the day of the flight, and we both ended up with middle seats, rows apart.  If we ever do this again, we will make sure that we don’t get this type of seats again!

That is a horrible situation. So how does one protect themselves from it happening to them? What was the fare called?

Thanks for the headsup.

[artvlay]

When I look on the ChoiceAir site I find that the airlines are listed but it then says operated by a different airline.

Example:  Its listed as a Delta Flight but then it says it is operated by Air France. Are there any potential problems in this with selecting seats, cancellations, etc? Is it better to book with an airline  that also says "operated by"?

[Clarea]

6 minutes ago, artvlay said:

That is a horrible situation. So how does one protect themselves from it happening to them? What was the fare called?

Thanks for the headsup.

 

I use the Air2Sea website to choose flights, but actually book by calling.  This way I can make sure I'm buying the fare that has the ability to choose seats.

[artvlay]

13 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I use the Air2Sea website to choose flights, but actually book by calling.  This way I can make sure I'm buying the fare that has the ability to choose seats.

I agree with calling them, but quite often the person on the other end of the phone is guessing when you ask specific questions. IE; can I select the specific seats.

Edited January 4, 2020 by artvlay

[vacationlover_mn]

1 hour ago, artvlay said:

That is a horrible situation. So how does one protect themselves from it happening to them? What was the fare called?

Thanks for the headsup.

On Delta, the cheapy fare is called Basic.  It was relatively new at the time, and we didn’t even know it existed 😞. You want to book at least Main. 

Edited January 4, 2020 by vacationlover_mn

[Another_Critic]

3 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

I also have had multiple debates on air price drops. If the rep puts in your reservation number, they might not see a lower fare. I think this is the silliness I was told.

 

Did they see the lower price without the reservation number?  And were you able to get a price adjustment?

[Tee & Chilli]

No they did not see the lower price. I had to call back 2 or 3 times. Some reps say online fares are estimates. Some say  online fares fluctuate until booked, etc etc. So frustrating but I was finally able to get the adjustment. 

[Another_Critic]

12 minutes ago, Tee & Chilli said:

No they did not see the lower price. I had to call back 2 or 3 times. Some reps say online fares are estimates. Some say  online fares fluctuate until booked, etc etc. So frustrating but I was finally able to get the adjustment. 

 

Sorry to bother you again, but how did you end up getting the adjustment if they didn't see the lower price?  

[waterbug123]

On 12/30/2019 at 8:26 AM, lr657 said:

The economy flights on Air2Sea were  much less than they were on the Delta site, but the Comfort+ seats were actually a lot more. Worked out well for us and we saved about $1600.

 

On 12/30/2019 at 5:47 PM, lr657 said:

That's exactly what we do. We've found that on the flights we've booked recently, it has cost less to book economy with Air2Sea  and upgrade through the airline website then it is to book the higher category through Air2Sea.

 

Probably this is because the Air2Sea site doesn't have a clear way to distinguish between Comfort+/Economy+ (extra legroom) fares and true, premium economy fares.  So when you try to price Comfort+ or similar, you are quoted a premium economy price, for an extra legroom seat, even though the airline in question may not even offer PE on that flight. 

 

On 1/1/2020 at 8:39 AM, Jimbo said:

Wonder how this statement works, if anyone tried it and got back the 110%

 

What happens if I find a cheaper fare somewhere else?

Confirmed ChoiceAir® reservations are backed by our "Low Fare Guarantee." We are confident that our fares are the lowest available however, if you are able to find a lower fare on any website for the same flights, class of service etc. we will provide you with an onboard credit worth 110% of the fare difference. Additional restrictions may apply please visit the brand website for complete details regarding the Low Fare Guarantee.

 

Good luck.  Many people see a "coach" fare that is lower and assume it's the same, but there can be up to a dozen different fare codes for "coach."  The differences have to do with rules and restrictions for things like cancellation, flight changes, routings, Saturday stayovers and a host of other things, and it can be difficult to see all of the fine print when you book.  If you find a lower price I would just about guarantee that it won't be the exact same fare code, so I wouldn't count on getting that 110%. I've never heard of anyone being successful with it.

 

On 1/4/2020 at 12:27 AM, Another_Critic said:

I called Air2Sea (for the 3rd time in the past week) a few minutes ago asking about a reprice since the "non-reservation" tab is showing a price $100 less than my booking.

 

The rep checked and quoted a price $330 higher than my booking.  I mentioned that I saw the price on choiceair.  Once again, the rep says that price is not accurate ("it's not live").  🙄

 

That's a common problem with 3rd party websites.  They don't refresh often enough, so you can easily be looking at pricing information that isn't live.

 

On 1/4/2020 at 7:54 AM, artvlay said:

When I look on the ChoiceAir site I find that the airlines are listed but it then says operated by a different airline.

Example:  Its listed as a Delta Flight but then it says it is operated by Air France. Are there any potential problems in this with selecting seats, cancellations, etc? Is it better to book with an airline  that also says "operated by"?

 

Potential problems?  Yes.  Any time you are on a code share flight (you have a flight number from one airline but the flight is operated by another airline) you are typically subject to the rules of the operating airline for things like seat selection, checked bags, etc.  And European airlines may have different policies about when you can select seats.  For many of them, no one in economy can select a seat on intra-European flights (the European equivalent of domestic flights) until 24 hours pre-flight.  As to whether it's "better" to book with the operating carrier or the marketing carrier, it depends on how you define "best," what the exact routing is, etc.

 

On 1/4/2020 at 8:50 AM, vacationlover_mn said:

On Delta, the cheapy fare is called Basic.  It was relatively new at the time, and we didn’t even know it existed 😞. You want to book at least Main. 

 

I know this sounds nitpicky, but to be crystal clear, the cheapy fare is called "Basic Economy" and the other one you mention is called "Main Cabin."  These are actual "brands" of different fare categories on Delta, just like "Comfort Plus" is their brand for extra legroom coach seats, "Premium Select" is their brand for premium economy, and "Delta One" is their brand for business class.