Biz Class Airfare

[bohaiboy]

Long time SilverSea sailor but looking at an interesting itin on O.  I see references to premium economy upgrades but never to business class.  Does O offer that option?

[LHT28]

Rarely

 

I just book my own

[mauibabes]

Yes but lots of frequent O travelers say it is better to book your own Bus Class, be it cash or points or whatever. The feeling is the Oceania contract prices are too costly.  Have your TA get the numbers and then you go shopping to see where your break even is.  
we have flown Premium Economy with O many times and it fits our needs and our budget as We have no Frequent Flier miles to use for Bus or First Class at this time. 
just enjoy your cruise.

Ciao, Mauibabes

[khuselid]

44 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

Yes but lots of frequent O travelers say it is better to book your own Bus Class, be it cash or points or whatever. The feeling is the Oceania contract prices are too costly.  Have your TA get the numbers and then you go shopping to see where your break even is.  
we have flown Premium Economy with O many times and it fits our needs and our budget as We have no Frequent Flier miles to use for Bus or First Class at this time. 
just enjoy your cruise.

Ciao, Mauibabes

I agree. We actually have gotten a deal on bizclass with O, especially in the last two years when airfares have been nuts. Just do your homework, compare and contrast, and yes count in the money you already paid for econ air IF they haven't refunded it!!

[Flatbush Flyer]

As I’ve said many times, do NOT use O bizclass. There’s no credit for the coach tix that are part of the fare base needed to get an upgrade quote. In essence, you’re paying for two tix per person (the total of which is not that good for O Contract flights which are seldom non-stop and often have inconvenient connections). And, if you choose deviation, you then have to pay fare differences from what they proposed as well as the deviation fee (unless you have higher O Club status).

 

Take the air credit and DIY bizclass.

[khuselid]

17 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

As I’ve said many times, do NOT use O bizclass. There’s no credit for the coach tix that are part of the fare base needed to get an upgrade quote. In essence, you’re paying for two tix per person (the total of which is not that good for O Contract flights which are seldom non-stop and often have inconvenient connections). And, if you choose deviation, you then have to pay fare differences from what they proposed as well as the deviation fee (unless you have higher O Club status).

 

Take the air credit and DIY bizclass.

Well Flatbush, it seems you don't believe our experience. We did get a credit back fro the coach tix. I am pretty good a shopping, but appreciate your concern. 

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, khuselid said:

 We did get a credit back fro the coach tix. I am pretty good a shopping, but appreciate your concern. 

When I did the request  a few years ago  They quoted  a bit more $ more than I could DIY  but no credit  given for their econ air

 So you must have gotten a good deal  which  worked for you

 

In our case  it was just easier to do it ourselves  & skip the deviation fee on top of the BIZ fare

 

 People should ask O then see what works best  for them

[pinotlover]

Well a different twist. As pointed out by Khuselid; some here, including FF may be out of date. Recently got an email from one of my private tour Roll Call participates  that they (1) took the O air credit, then later; (2) requested Biz Class air fare from O and got a highly competitive price offer.

 

Sounds like that perhaps it’s now a process. I believe that O Air is now actually NCL Air, as is Regent’s. Regent provides Biz Class to all Concierge passengers and above. NCL Air is accustomed to working Biz Class deals.

 

I must admit I haven’t pursued this option  in the past, but may well in the future. I have a cruise booked on Vista next June. I continually read of multiple new ships being delayed delivery because of ship yard staffing and supply chain issues. Perhaps transferring flight risks to Oceania for that cruise, if the Airfare is prudent, may be a reasonable alternative.

[osandomir]

17 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Well a different twist. As pointed out by Khuselid; some here, including FF may be out of date. Recently got an email from one of my private tour Roll Call participates  that they (1) took the O air credit, then later; (2) requested Biz Class air fare from O and got a highly competitive price offer.

 

Sounds like that perhaps it’s now a process. I believe that O Air is now actually NCL Air, as is Regent’s. Regent provides Biz Class to all Concierge passengers and above. NCL Air is accustomed to working Biz Class deals.

 

It’ll be great if this becomes a norm for O Biz Class Air. I believe a lot of people, us included, will be taking advantage of it. It became more and more difficult to find Biz class tickets even while using FF miles. Air consolidators can provide very competitive price. Also, it’ll bring an additional revenue to Oceania as well which is great too.

[khuselid]

31 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Well a different twist. As pointed out by Khuselid; some here, including FF may be out of date. Recently got an email from one of my private tour Roll Call participates  that they (1) took the O air credit, then later; (2) requested Biz Class air fare from O and got a highly competitive price offer.

 

Sounds like that perhaps it’s now a process. I believe that O Air is now actually NCL Air, as is Regent’s. Regent provides Biz Class to all Concierge passengers and above. NCL Air is accustomed to working Biz Class deals.

 

I must admit I haven’t pursued this option  in the past, but may well in the future. I have a cruise booked on Vista next June. I continually read of multiple new ships being delayed delivery because of ship yard staffing and supply chain issues. Perhaps transferring flight risks to Oceania for that cruise, if the Airfare is prudent, may be a reasonable alternative.

It helps to have a great TA!! 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

33 minutes ago, khuselid said:

It helps to have a great TA!! 

 

Well - you learn something new everyday. if coach credit is now given with a bizclass upgrade, it may be worth a look-see.

Of course, there will remain the issue of deviation costs (even if that fee is comped). Hopefully someone will post here who has deviated with a better routing (e.g., non-stop) and preferred airline that is not an O contractor.

 

That said, the other question is the fare classes used by O and how they affect FF points and or lifetime miles etc. 

 

It will be interesting....

[khuselid]

12 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Well - you learn something new everyday. if coach credit is now given with a bizclass upgrade, it may be worth a look-see.

Of course, there will remain the issue of deviation costs (even if that fee is comped). Hopefully someone will post here who has deviated with a better routing (e.g., non-stop) and preferred airline that is not an O contractor.

 

That said, the other question is the fare classes used by O and how they affect FF points and or lifetime miles etc. 

 

It will be interesting....

We will be flying direct form London to Seattle in September on Delta, maybe not a preferred airline, but fine for us. We connect to PDX from Seattle and that is a Biz class short hop as well. We are happy.

[Flatbush Flyer]

12 minutes ago, khuselid said:

We will be flying direct form London to Seattle in September on Delta, maybe not a preferred airline, but fine for us. We connect to PDX from Seattle and that is a Biz class short hop as well. We are happy.

How does PDX figure in this? Is London to Seattle non-stop? What about the return to London?

[khuselid]

7 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

How does PDX figure in this? Is London to Seattle non-stop? What about the return to London?

We only bought one way via Oceania, since our cruise starts in Iceland. Maybe that allows a better price through O? Yes, London to Seattle is non-stop which is awesome!! We would not have done it through O if their were crazy connections. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

19 minutes ago, khuselid said:

We only bought one way via Oceania, since our cruise starts in Iceland. Maybe that allows a better price through O? Yes, London to Seattle is non-stop which is awesome!! We would not have done it through O if their were crazy connections. 

Again- where does PDX fit into this?

[ORV]

44 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Again- where does PDX fit into this?

It appears that is their home airport. 

[khuselid]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Again- where does PDX fit into this?

I live in Portland?

[pinotlover]

3 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Well - you learn something new everyday. if coach credit is now given with a bizclass upgrade, it may be worth a look-see.

Of course, there will remain the issue of deviation costs (even if that fee is comped). Hopefully someone will post here who has deviated with a better routing (e.g., non-stop) and preferred airline that is not an O contractor.

 

That said, the other question is the fare classes used by O and how they affect FF points and or lifetime miles etc. 

 

It will be interesting....

You completely missed the issue. A credit for O Air is received. No O Air. 
 

Then, they request pricing for Biz Class. There is no deviation because there is no contact for Air. Blank slate.  At that point it’s all apples to apples with whom ever.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

You completely missed the issue. A credit for O Air is received. No O Air. 
 

Then, they request pricing for Biz Class. There is no deviation because there is no contact for Air. Blank slate.  At that point it’s all apples to apples with whom ever.

Then things really have changed. It used to be (at least, pre NCLH?) that you could not get a bizclass quote unless you had already paid a fare with whatever air was included. (See post #7 by LHT28 above and a quick CC search will turn up numerous similar comments).

Since we DIY air for a variety of reasons, I haven’t kept up with these reported air changes. Maybe Jan can weigh in on this with a definitive comment regarding the O air policy.

[bohaiboy]

So here is how it is done on SilverSea.  They offer free economy on what they call Door-To-Door.  For instance we are booked on a Athens to Rome cruise in April.  If we chose to book our own air, they would reduce the cruise price by $900 per person and the air is fully on you.  If you decide to take their biz class upgrade, it is an additional $2400 for two people or $1200 pp.  Plus you are still paying the $900 included in original quote.  That still gets me from San Antonio to Athens and return from Rome for around $2100 pp.  Great deal.  Only caveat is Biz is only guaranteed on the transatlantic pportion.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, bohaiboy said:

So here is how it is done on SilverSea.  They offer free economy on what they call Door-To-Door.  For instance we are booked on a Athens to Rome cruise in April.  If we chose to book our own air, they would reduce the cruise price by $900 per person and the air is fully on you.  If you decide to take their biz class upgrade, it is an additional $2400 for two people or $1200 pp.  Plus you are still paying the $900 included in original quote.  That still gets me from San Antonio to Athens and return from Rome for around $2100 pp.  Great deal.  Only caveat is Biz is only guaranteed on the transatlantic pportion.

Pretty much the same for Oceania except the price is higher for BIZ 😉

 

[the more ports the better]

Honestly, it is a mystery!  I cannot think of a single reason why NCL does not have the same program and purchasing power as RCCL.  I can see that CCL would have more buying power as they have so many lines and ships but RCCL is not a huge company compared to NCL.

 

I believe that a very large percentage of their clientele would purchase business air through O if they had decent rates.  Certainly if I were flying to somewhere like Singapore or Australia and I could purchase discounted business air, it would factor into the sailing I choose, ie O or Regent vs Seabourn or Silver Seas.

 

I understand that some would choose O regardless but business air is certainly a factor for many with all other things being equal.

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, the more ports the better said:

I understand that some would choose O regardless but business air is certainly a factor for many with all other things being equal.

The problem with cruise line bizclass (or even coach) air vs DIY is that, most often, “all things are NOT equal.” Their bizclass prices are based on their contracted airlines flying mostly connecting routes at often inconvenient times (e.g., very short layovers). What appears to be a great cruise air deal may quickly unravel when you want to deviate from their offered itinerary to your Plan A. 
Add to this the fact that, in these very uncertain air travel times, not booking DIY has more negatives than positives. Sure, you may be fine with any savings you get with “cruise air” (despite the absence of your Plan A). But, if the “poop hits the fan” with airline issues like delays/cancellations/rebooking (so common these days), you’re stuck with needing to contact your “middleman” while DIYers are on the phone with the airline directly. This is particularly important if you have high FF status with your preferred carrier, have a dedicated call number and understand “how to’s” for options like “ticket assignment” (which can save your whole vacation).  

[pinotlover]

9 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

The problem with cruise line bizclass (or even coach) air vs DIY is that, most often, “all things are NOT equal.” Their bizclass prices are based on their contracted airlines flying mostly connecting routes at often inconvenient times (e.g., very short layovers). What appears to be a great cruise air deal may quickly unravel when you want to deviate from their offered itinerary to your Plan A. 
Add to this the fact that, in these very uncertain air travel times, not booking DIY has more negatives than positives. Sure, you may be fine with any savings you get with “cruise air” (despite the absence of your Plan A). But, if the “poop hits the fan” with airline issues like delays/cancellations/rebooking (so common these days), you’re stuck with needing to contact your “middleman” while DIYers are on the phone with the airline directly. This is particularly important if you have high FF status with your preferred carrier, have a dedicated call number and understand “how to’s” for options like “ticket assignment” (which can save your whole vacation).  

This is mostly correct, just the beginning is off base. For simplicity and without a 23 step explanation, think of these bulk rate discount tickets the same as Frequent Flyer seats. The availability of seats on a plane for ff awards or bulk rate tickets is fixed by the airlines for any routing. Having available seats and having available ff or bulk rate seats are two different issues.
 

This means there are X number of seats available on that non stop ORD-FCO ( for example) flight. Like ff mileage seats, they are first come. What do think happens when Princess, Carnival, and O all have ships going out of Rome? Those nice non stops go quickly. Add to that if one chooses to not pay the deviation fee and book at 270 days out, and wait until O books at 45-75 days out, you get whatever is leftover and available on whichever planes and routing O can piece together. 
 

 

[ORV]

39 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Add to that if one chooses to not pay the deviation fee and book at 270 days out,

Can you refresh my memory on how this works. Seems I remember something about having to also be paid in full before booking. Or is that to be ticketed?