EZ Air, not so easy? But the lesser of 2 evils?

[Steelers0854]

Hi all, just wanted to come and share my experience with you all.  We are leaving on June 6 for a 12 day Alaska cruise tour.  With everything going on we booked EZ Air, it was great to not have to pay until final payment and I believe we got a great price for our seats compared to booking directly with the airline.  In addition, we have an international component as well (returning home via Vancouver).  So all was well and good until about 4 weeks ago, then our return flight home was changed by the airline from 2pm departure to 6am, well that wont work!  We waited to see if Princess would catch it, but after a month they still weren’t even showing the change in their system.  So call 1, after a 2 hour hold, told the department I needed to speak to isn’t open on the weekends.  Oh and you have to call, wait on hold, get to 1 department and then they have to transfer you to another queue and then you wait there.  Ok.  Call 2, 2 hour hold later and got disconnected.  Call 3, 1 hour wait and this guy seemed to know what he was doing, said they needed about an hour to make the change and they would email me a new confirm.  Ok, never got an email but checked the airlines and they booked us on a flight leaving at 1:30pm, but to the wrong airport.  I mean ill give them credit they are atleast close (90 min apart) but still frustrating.  Call again today, only a 20 min wait until the first person.  She said she could fill out a form and submit it for them to work it and resolve it within the next 5 business days instead of transferring me to the 3+ hour queue for the department I needed.  Phew, lets hope this one works.

 

It can be easy to blame Princess for this, and say they are horrible, but honestly I am not sure I would have any better luck with the airlines right now.  Also, atleast this way they can literally book me on any airline, vs if I had booked on my own and they eliminated flight options to the point where nothing would work then I have to scramble last minute and that seems like a nightmare as well and I can only imagine a last minute ticket price right now.

 

So I wait until next week.  Ill post updates, but just wanted to share our experience.  Thankfully still a ways out from departure and also the only leg that is screwed up is the return one, and I mean I’m not sure I even want to come home from being in Alaska for 12 days, maybe I can find me a nice place on a lake……

[cruzin4us]

Here's what I found out when I had a Princess Air booking.    The booking is done thru an independent contractor (not Princess).   Princess is so short staffed that they had to sub out the work.    I had all kinds of issues that took me forever to resolve.   I finally booked on my own (Southwest Airlines = Free baggage) and I booked my hotel on my own as well.     I'm leaving June 9th for a 10 day Alaska voyage.   Southwest changed my flights too and so far I think I can make the 12:25 return flight.

 

[Steelers0854]

So after waiting more than a week there was no change to our flights.  So back calling again, hit the first agent and immediately asked to be transferred to the air booking department (I’m pretty sure thats the name, it could be air services department, but I cant remember exactly).  2.5 hours later and had a wonderful agent who, within minutes, resolved the issue and had confirmed new flights, in the correct cabin, and a confirmation email in my inbox along with the flights showing in the airline’s app.

 

All in all I am going to say this was a best case scenario given the times that we are in.  I feel that they are likely understaffed and airlines are killing them with constant schedule changes.  But true to their word they resolved my issue and I didn’t pay a penny more because of the change.  I have a feeling had i booked on my own we would have had to pay a great deal more as they had to change airlines to get us home since the original airline (American) changed their schedules so drastically that they could find flights for us.  

 

While it was frustrating to have to call 4-5 times (I honestly lost count) and wait on hold an average of 2-3 hours a time, its the world we live in currently.  In the end I got a very nice, helpful agent who immediately resolved my issue.

 

My advice for anyone that has a similar problem:

1) They open at 6am PST, call ASAP in the morning to reduce your wait time

2) When you get to the first person that answers the phone after selecting the EZ Air option, immediately ask to be transferred to the air booking department, these folks are just schedulers and have VERY limited capabilities.  

3) Do not let them “fill out the form” and submit it, bite the bullet and wait on hold.  The form gores into a queue and they are so backed up who knows when it will be worked.  By transferring and waiting you will get someone that actually processes those forms and has the power and authority to make any necessary changes.

 

Kuddos to the agent that helped me, I can only imagine how overworked and stressed they are with passengers very upset.  She was lovely, very helpful and knew exactly what she was doing.

 

I will definitely use EZ Air in the future when practical.  

[Lady Arwen]

So happy it all worked out for you!  Your patience was rewarded, but I don’t know if I could have managed it without giving up.  Kudos to you and Princess!

[jenf22]

On 4/25/2022 at 1:02 PM, Steelers0854 said:

My advice for anyone that has a similar problem:

1) They open at 6am PST, call ASAP in the morning to reduce your wait time

2) When you get to the first person that answers the phone after selecting the EZ Air option, immediately ask to be transferred to the air booking department, these folks are just schedulers and have VERY limited capabilities.  

3) Do not let them “fill out the form” and submit it, bite the bullet and wait on hold.  The form gores into a queue and they are so backed up who knows when it will be worked.  By transferring and waiting you will get someone that actually processes those forms and has the power and authority to make any necessary changes.

Thanks so much for the help.  My problem was my EZ Air flight that I booked on the phone with EZ Air never showed up in the United system.  I was pretty sure this was a problem, but I kept checking daily hoping it would get resolved.  I tried your steps this week.

 

Attempt #1 - I called at 6:30am PST (that's when I get to work).  Got through to someone after about 10 minutes.  When I asked for the air booking department she said that was her.  She was very uninterested in helping me.  She kept telling me it was fine and Delta just didn't have the information because they were working on my flight.  I kept having to tell her "United" and I was 99% sure she was wrong.  Decided to just say 'thanks' and give up.

 

Attempt #2 - Again I called at 6:30 and got through after about 10  minutes.  This time the woman was super nice and agreed it sounded wrong.  She typed up a bunch of notes to be sent over to a supervisor who had to approve the phone transfer to the air booking department.  Initially the supervisor said to give it more time.  I pushed back and the nice agent eventually got the supervisor to agree to transfer me.  Crazy process.  I now was on hold for 2 hours and 40 minutes before someone picked up.  This guy was again super helpful.  He checked and confirmed it did not show up with United.  He put me on hold to contact the United Help Desk.  Thankfully this was just a couple of minutes.  He comes back to say United said the reservation was double booked by an "agency" so they cancelled the reservation.  I HAD NO FLIGHT!  I checked every day on Princess and I had a flight, 3 seats together, I could pull up the seat map, and it looked great.  But no, I actually had nothing booked.  The agent wouldn't discuss the whole double booking scenario.  Princess was the ONLY "agency" to touch my booking.  He just kept saying "that's what they told me".  Anyway, he booked us 3 tickets and honored the price I had paid (it was several hundred more now).  There were no longer 3 Economy seats together though.  He also did early ticketing because he was nervous about things changing on us (PIF is 6 May, so it's not that early).  I hung up with him 3 hours and 48 minutes after I dialed the Princess number.  I was able to log into United and see the flights.  I ended up paying $72 for 3 seats together in the "premium" section.  No extra leg room, but a better location (or so they claim, we're in row 47).  This is a direct London to Denver flight so we wanted to sit together and I have stressed enough about this.

 

Bottom line - if you can't see your reservation on the airline's website using your confirmation number, Princess may have messed up your flight.  I should have called earlier.  There are only 5 non-premium seats left on the flight.  I don't know what would have happened if I had waited a couple more weeks.  So thanks again for this thread which prompted me to actually call and get this resolved.

[pamwigs]

Over the years numerous passengers have had nightmare stories. EZAir stinks. So you don't have to pay for your flight until 45 days out.  Then waiting only 45 days out,  it is always going to be an inflated fare. Not worth the hassel and their fares are not that great.

How is it a vaca if you have so many flight changes?

No Thanks

Edited April 28, 2022 by pamwigs
Additional info

[MixerDave]

2 hours ago, pamwigs said:

Over the years numerous passengers have had nightmare stories. EZAir stinks. So you don't have to pay for your flight until 45 days out.  Then waiting only 45 days out,  it is always going to be an inflated fare. Not worth the hassel and their fares are not that great.

How is it a vaca if you have so many flight changes?

No Thanks

I disagree with your "inflated fare"  I am booked thru EZAir - R/T Miami - London Non stop for a July cruise - total fare thru Princess is $297.22 for 2.  Booking direct is $2298.34.  Does not sound inflated.  And no, the EZAir rate is not a typo.

[Steelers0854]

6 hours ago, pamwigs said:

Over the years numerous passengers have had nightmare stories. EZAir stinks. So you don't have to pay for your flight until 45 days out.  Then waiting only 45 days out,  it is always going to be an inflated fare. Not worth the hassel and their fares are not that great.

How is it a vaca if you have so many flight changes?

No Thanks

 

You kind of missed a lot of the points, as I and MixerDave have pointed out.  I didn’t choose to rebook airfare after the 45 day mark before our trip, and Princess didn’t mess with my booking, the airline literally changed their schedule and cancelled entire flights.  The point here is price protection, my trip would have easily cost us an extra $1,500 had I not booked through Princess and had to change airlines and rebook on my own.  The airline doesn’t care its going to cost me more, they would happily refund what I originally paid and I am left to my own devices.  But with EZAir I didn’t pay a penny more.  Now was it a hassle?  Absolutely. Should it have been? Definitely not.  But either way I would have been on hold with someone to cancel and rebook flights and would have been out of pocket even more money.  Also when I booked I found the EZAir prices to be a couple hundred dollars less than booking direct with the airlines.  Also would like to point out we have an international leg, I probably would not use EZAir for domestic, but there are so many moving parts when flying internationally I think its worth it if the cost makes sense. 

[dreaminofcruisin]

OK all...help me out here.

I'm booked for a cruise 106 days out. Delta changed the flights in March and cancelled my connection on the return. They rebooked me on a new connection, but tell me I will miss the flight so I need to rebook it. 

Following the advice of others, especially @Steelers0854, I called this morning to try and get them to fix it---because of course on Princess they don't even have an indication that the connection was cancelled. (By the way, the time thing is a good hint...got to a person in 5 minutes.) The person I talked to absolutely refused to connect me to "air booking" because I am 106 days out. She also claimed they don't protect the price unless it's been ticketed. She offered to 'help me', but basically she would just be doing what I could do online.

I am really frustrated because of course, a new flight will be $600 more (Business Class). As I am typing this, I think I already have my answer...think I'll throw in the towel and rebook myself for more because my outbound flight is almost full and if I wait, who knows what I will end up with. 😔 (I fly out of MSP...so pretty much Delta is all that I have as reasonable options and they are very limited.)

I think my only other option is to call back and I am not sure that will change anything.

Just for the heck of it....thought I'd take a breath and throw it out there and see if anyone has any other thoughts.... ?

I 'get' Princess is busy and the airlines are changing flights right and left, but it seems if they sell a product, they shouldn't put me off just because I'm not flying in the next 45 days---I just don't 'roll' that way....

I've used EZ Air many times in the past and been very happy...just not post-pandemic.

Any thoughts?

[Steelers0854]

7 hours ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

OK all...help me out here.

I'm booked for a cruise 106 days out. Delta changed the flights in March and cancelled my connection on the return. They rebooked me on a new connection, but tell me I will miss the flight so I need to rebook it. 

Following the advice of others, especially @Steelers0854, I called this morning to try and get them to fix it---because of course on Princess they don't even have an indication that the connection was cancelled. (By the way, the time thing is a good hint...got to a person in 5 minutes.) The person I talked to absolutely refused to connect me to "air booking" because I am 106 days out. She also claimed they don't protect the price unless it's been ticketed. She offered to 'help me', but basically she would just be doing what I could do online.

I am really frustrated because of course, a new flight will be $600 more (Business Class). As I am typing this, I think I already have my answer...think I'll throw in the towel and rebook myself for more because my outbound flight is almost full and if I wait, who knows what I will end up with. 😔 (I fly out of MSP...so pretty much Delta is all that I have as reasonable options and they are very limited.)

I think my only other option is to call back and I am not sure that will change anything.

Just for the heck of it....thought I'd take a breath and throw it out there and see if anyone has any other thoughts.... ?

I 'get' Princess is busy and the airlines are changing flights right and left, but it seems if they sell a product, they shouldn't put me off just because I'm not flying in the next 45 days---I just don't 'roll' that way....

I've used EZ Air many times in the past and been very happy...just not post-pandemic.

Any thoughts?

 

Have you tried to go in and rebook using the portal in Cruise Personalizer?  We were too close in to do it but your re far enough out I think you can use the Princess site to rebook?

[ProfMHC]

You can rebook even after ticketing. Just expect a charge to do so.

Edited April 30, 2022 by ProfMHC
Misspelled

[hapster85]

On 4/29/2022 at 9:28 AM, dreaminofcruisin said:

OK all...help me out here.

I'm booked for a cruise 106 days out. Delta changed the flights in March and cancelled my connection on the return. They rebooked me on a new connection, but tell me I will miss the flight so I need to rebook it. 

Following the advice of others, especially @Steelers0854, I called this morning to try and get them to fix it---because of course on Princess they don't even have an indication that the connection was cancelled. (By the way, the time thing is a good hint...got to a person in 5 minutes.) The person I talked to absolutely refused to connect me to "air booking" because I am 106 days out. She also claimed they don't protect the price unless it's been ticketed. She offered to 'help me', but basically she would just be doing what I could do online.

I am really frustrated because of course, a new flight will be $600 more (Business Class). As I am typing this, I think I already have my answer...think I'll throw in the towel and rebook myself for more because my outbound flight is almost full and if I wait, who knows what I will end up with. 😔 (I fly out of MSP...so pretty much Delta is all that I have as reasonable options and they are very limited.)

I think my only other option is to call back and I am not sure that will change anything.

Just for the heck of it....thought I'd take a breath and throw it out there and see if anyone has any other thoughts.... ?

I 'get' Princess is busy and the airlines are changing flights right and left, but it seems if they sell a product, they shouldn't put me off just because I'm not flying in the next 45 days---I just don't 'roll' that way....

I've used EZ Air many times in the past and been very happy...just not post-pandemic.

Any thoughts?

I don't know if you've gotten this resolved, but as far out as you were (are), I wouldn't do anything. It took EZAir 3 months to get us rebooked after American cancelled our return flight and put us on one that was much too early. The rep you talked was absolutely wrong about no price protection until ticketed. Anyway, I would just leave it alone and let them sort it out. I'll be there first to admit I got impatient with the whole process, too. But they did sort it. Had I tried doing so on my own, it would have cost us a lot more.