Flights by Celebrity says you're getting Business Class, but it books Economy!

[MisterBill99]

I booked flights last night for my cruise out of Buenos Aires in 2/22. I got Business Class tickets on a DL codeshare for $1800, which seemed like a great price. I happened to check on the DL website today to see if I could get seat assignments when I noticed that it had me in Economy for the return flight. I called Celebrity and sure enough that was how it was booked. Fortunately it had no charges due or change fees until final payment so I cancelled the whole thing and tried again on my own.

 

When doing so, I watched more carefully and took screenshots. I booked it correctly, clicking on the Business Class box for the return flight where it told me that the fare was $0 more than the originally quoted price. Only when I got to the final page did it show that I was booked in Economy, although at the top of the box for that flight it showed Business. MAJOR bug on Celebrity's part. Had I not checked on Delta's site, it might have been some time before I noticed that I had Economy booked on the return flight, potentially even the day of the flight.

 

Obviously I knew that Celebrity's regular site was terrible but now I know that the Flights by Celebrity is even worse. And they don't show you the booking class in the email confirmation that they send you, and it isn't listed in your cruise booking (my TA sent me a new one with the flight pricing added).  And you can't get back into the Flights site to view your booking, you need to call and speak to someone.

 

BTW if I click on the Economy price for the return flight, it changes the outgoing flight to Economy as well.

 

Buyer beware.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by MisterBill99

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

I booked flights last night for my cruise out of Buenos Aires in 2/22. I got Business Class tickets on a DL codeshare for $1800, which seemed like a great price. I happened to check on the DL website today to see if I could get seat assignments when I noticed that it had me in Economy for the return flight. I called Celebrity and sure enough that was how it was booked. Fortunately it had no charges due or change fees until final payment so I cancelled the whole thing and tried again on my own.

 

When doing so, I watched more carefully and took screenshots. I booked it correctly, clicking on the Business Class box for the return flight where it told me that the fare was $0 more than the originally quoted price. Only when I got to the final page did it show that I was booked in Economy, although at the top of the box for that flight it showed Business. MAJOR bug on Celebrity's part. Had I not checked on Delta's site, it might have been some time before I noticed that I had Economy booked on the return flight, potentially even the day of the flight.

 

Obviously I knew that Celebrity's regular site was terrible but now I know that the Flights by Celebrity is even worse. And they don't show you the booking class in the email confirmation that they send you, and it isn't listed in your cruise booking (my TA sent me a new one with the flight pricing added).  And you can't get back into the Flights site to view your booking, you need to call and speak to someone.

 

Buyer beware.

 

You basically just said this exact same thing, moments ago,  on the original Flights By Celebrity thread.  No need to start another.

[DSJ28]

This is alarming!!! Thanks for sharing - this sort of mix up would drive me more than a little crazy.  

[MisterBill99]

7 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

You basically just said this exact same thing, moments ago,  on the original Flights By Celebrity thread.  No need to start another.

 

I did not. I posted it in my roll call thread. And this issue complete with screenshots is worthy of its own post.

Edited April 28, 2021 by MisterBill99

[jelayne]

I never book flights on line at Flights b Celebrity.  They don’t show all the options, air fares change quickly and  Flights By Celebrity on line  not always the latest minute by minute change. We finds the flights we would like and then call flights by Celebrity to get their pricing.  I find there are fewer unexpected surprises when I talk to a person, can ask questions and get confirmation before committing.  
I’m glad you caught this before it was too late.

[MisterBill99]

15 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I never book flights on line at Flights b Celebrity.  They don’t show all the options, air fares change quickly and  Flights By Celebrity on line  not always the latest minute by minute change. We finds the flights we would like and then call flights by Celebrity to get their pricing.  I find there are fewer unexpected surprises when I talk to a person, can ask questions and get confirmation before committing.  
I’m glad you caught this before it was too late.

 

What you're saying is counter-intuitive, online booking should be more reliable and timely than speaking to a person. But hey, it's Celebrity we're talking about.

 

I mean really, I clicked on  the box for Business Class fare and got Economy.

Edited April 29, 2021 by MisterBill99

[Host Jazzbeau]

I agree with @jelayne – there are some things where I [pretty tech-savvy, even supervised the IT department in a former life] prefer to call and deal with a real person, so that I can drill down on my questions in a way that websites don't allow.  Had to do this recently with Oceania in booking shore excursions, and DW had to do so with our pharmacy provider in order to delay (but not cancel) a prescription.  Humans, even those named 'Al' are still smarter than AI...

[jelayne]

It may be counter-intuitive and if looking direct at the airline websites you are correct.  But IME when looking a any 3rd party booking site (hotels, air, resorts, etc) there are times when the pricing differs.  Sometimes it is because the 3rd party has negotiated lower prices, sometimes because their website doesn’t update as frequently as  the actual provider.  I have booked on various airlines using miles, checked I wanted BC and taking  a close look at each segment of the flight showed that not all legs were in BC. 

[MisterBill99]

1 minute ago, jelayne said:

 I have booked on various airlines using miles, checked I wanted BC and taking  a close look at each segment of the flight showed that not all legs were in BC. 

 

I understand that there may be cases where the entire booking may not be in the requested class. I found that when looking on other booking sites. But this is a non-stop flight. It's either business class or it's economy class.

[jelayne]

1 minute ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

I understand that there may be cases where the entire booking may not be in the requested class. I found that when looking on other booking sites. But this is a non-stop flight. It's either business class or it's economy class.

Apparently it wasn’t.  Glad you got it changed.

[chemmo]

Thanks for the heads up. Owing to mobility issues for long flights I really need business (the ability to stretch out my legs). It would be a major issue to me if the wrong seats had been booked, not noticed and then were unable to be changed.

 

We have often found when crossing the pond that internal connecting ‘business’ seats are often not much better spaced or that much more comfortable than economy and use seat guru and YouTube to decide. Older craft in Europe often call the front five rows business and simply blank the central seat so you are paying for a business seat but sit in the same seat as economy but board first and get a free drink! 

 

We seem to need to do more and more homework to ensure we get the exact flights (and seat quality) we want. We also usually prefer to book directly with the airline, much easier to make a change if anything goes wrong with your planning. We did book some Air France tickets through an agent (not Celebrity)  a few years ago and then Air France went on strike. The agent only offered limited choices (long stop overs, additional stops) although there were much better options available...Fortunately Air France did step in and agreed to ‘take over’ our booking.  Left us thinking that ‘best price’ flights may not necessarily give you the security you want.

 

Next long haul flight we may look at booking through Celebrity given the present situation. We will definitely follow the advice given here. Choose our preferred option(s) first and then phone to price and then definitely check the details!

 

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by chemmo

[mahdnc]

13 hours ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

What you're saying is counter-intuitive, online booking should be more reliable and timely than speaking to a person. But hey, it's Celebrity we're talking about.

 

I mean really, I clicked on  the box for Business Class fare and got Economy.

 

I have used Flights by Celebrity (Choice Air back then) once and my experience was similar to @jelayne when I was booking international flights for our Solstice cruise out of Sydney.  In my case what was published on their website was not as good of a deal as what I was hearing when I talked to them on the phone.

[FlyerTalker]

8 hours ago, chemmo said:

We have often found when crossing the pond that internal connecting ‘business’ seats are often not much better spaced or that much more comfortable than economy and use seat guru and YouTube to decide. Older craft in Europe often call the front five rows business and simply blank the central seat so you are paying for a business seat but sit in the same seat as economy but board first and get a free drink!

 

Not just "older aircraft".  The principle fits for virtually all single-aisle aircraft for "intra-Europe" flights, along with those to nearby points in Africa and minor Mid-East destinations.  There is usually a bit more pitch, but nothing major - and definitely not lie-flat intercontinental seats.  One thing to note -- if the route is being served by a twin-aisle aircraft, it is far more likely to have the intercontinental style of business class seats.  So aircraft type rather than age is the determining factor.

 

8 hours ago, chemmo said:

Left us thinking that ‘best price’ flights may not necessarily give you the security you want.

 

"Best price" rarely gives you the "security" you may be hoping for.  The fare rules involved are the key, so be sure to find out just what you are, and are not, buying.

[39august]

I have been very pleased with Celebrity Air, but I always call, never book on the web site. Those folks are very pleasant and happy to give you several options if you desire.  

[gfkcruiser]

16 hours ago, jelayne said:

I never book flights on line at Flights b Celebrity.  They don’t show all the options, air fares change quickly and  Flights By Celebrity on line  not always the latest minute by minute change. We finds the flights we would like and then call flights by Celebrity to get their pricing.  I find there are fewer unexpected surprises when I talk to a person, can ask questions and get confirmation before committing.  
I’m glad you caught this before it was too late.

I do the same thing. 

[Ashland]

16 hours ago, jelayne said:

I never book flights on line at Flights b Celebrity.  They don’t show all the options, air fares change quickly and  Flights By Celebrity on line  not always the latest minute by minute change. We finds the flights we would like and then call flights by Celebrity to get their pricing.  I find there are fewer unexpected surprises when I talk to a person, can ask questions and get confirmation before committing.  
I’m glad you caught this before it was too late.

I agree...I also check the carrier website and know exactly what flight, times and first/business class seats I want. Then an easy call to FBC to confirm and book it directly with X usually the helpful friendly reps that happen to be in Guatemala.... no problems. And have even called back for repricing.

[FastandFurious]

It’s always an adventure of some sort. Booked through Celebrity Air for our 6/5 St. Marteen cruise on an American Airbus 319 out of MIA. Fine so I go to American website and no such flight. I do see 2 flights on a 737-8. I panic and call back. We are on a Charter flight arranged by Celebrity. No problem. But in talking to CA they indicated that some folks would be flying on Swift Air. I had not heard of them. They are based at MIA. MIA is an American hub so I’m confident that if there is a mechanical they can get us up and out.

[FlyerTalker]

Swift is a charter operator.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IAero_Airways

[George C]

I double checked mine right after celebrity booked them and I definitely have the first class.

[Covepointcruiser]

Hope you noticed your are not actually on Delta but on an Argentine Airline.   Their Buisness or First Class may not be what you are expecting.

[FlyerTalker]

16 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Hope you noticed your are not actually on Delta but on an Argentine Airline.   Their Buisness or First Class may not be what you are expecting.

 

First off, the seats are not lie-flat, but are rather old-style angled seats that aren't fully level.  Cabin layout is 2-2-2, so a third of the seats don't have full aisle access.  Which means another third will have to deal with a seatmate crawling over you to get to the aisle.  Inflight service is reported to be mediocre, and operational performance is not top notch.

 

 

Personally, from JFK, I'd rather take a connecting flight to MIA and then fly AA down to EZE.  Or even a connection through SCL or LIM on LATAM.

[MisterBill99]

37 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

Inflight service is reported to be mediocre, and operational performance is not top notch.

 

Personally, from JFK, I'd rather take a connecting flight to MIA and then fly AA down to EZE.  Or even a connection through SCL or LIM on LATAM.

 

Yes, I knew that it was a DL codeshare and service wasn't going to be great, but for $1800 it seemed to be worthwhile (plus I did find a post from 2019 that said it wasn't bad). I'm able to fly non-stop JFK-EZE on AA  and I will do that in Premium Economy for $1200. No need to connect in MIA.

Edited April 29, 2021 by MisterBill99