"Flights by Celebrity"

[Ex-Airbalancer]

5 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I don't blame you. I used them for a Western Europe TA in April 2023 then my sister and I decided to each have our own cabins next to each other.  This created a new booking and trying to transfer her flight to the new booking wasn't easy but finally got it done.  I hate to call them incompetent but .....  simple procedure?  You would think so. 

I wouldnt just blame FBC , 

Air Transat cancelled our direct flight from Barcelona to Toronto in May 

and put us on a flight to Montreal , but doesn’t have us on the connection flight to Toronto 

CIBC Travel has spend a couple hour trying to get it straight out , they said now call by December 20th if we haven’t heard back 

all carriers are screwed up at the moment 🙄😁

[drakes2]

7 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I wouldnt just blame FBC , 

Air Transat cancelled our direct flight from Barcelona to Toronto in May 

and put us on a flight to Montreal , but doesn’t have us on the connection flight to Toronto 

CIBC Travel has spend a couple hour trying to get it straight out , they said now call by December 20th if we haven’t heard back 

all carriers are screwed up at the moment 🙄😁

The West Jet flight from YYZ to FLL was there and has been ticketed but the return which is an  AA flight  with a connection  will not be for another couple of months. It was just her booking that needed to move over.  Then they cancelled her shore excursion in Paris but I was able to have it reinstated.  That's what happens when there is no human intervention. 

[STLCRUISIN]

On 12/2/2022 at 11:11 PM, jagoffee said:

What happens when you try to select seats on an AA operated flight?

In the past I could always access seats and assign/change them either on the AA app or going to the AA website. Now I can't assign seats for an upcoming cruise, so I called FBC and they were able to assign seats. Once you have seats they will be reflected in AA....still can't change them yourself until after your booking is ticketed.

[Lastdance]

I just went ahead and booked two one-way tickets from FCO to RNO on United.  The biz class tickets were over 8,500 for two, but I could book the new premium way less than half that price.  Then, I was asked if I wanted to upgrade to biz class for 2,400 for two people.  I said no.  The next day, the cost to upgrade was 1,400.  What a game the airlines are playing.  Not a bad price for biz class at all.  Personally, I do not want to wait for FBC to allow seat assignments; the seats are never to my liking and all the good ones are gone for international travel.  I am not that picky with my flights inside the states.

[HoneyDad]

Went ahead and cancelled FBC and booked through Chase Travel and picked our seats in preimum economy. Happy New Years!

[jagoffee]

4 hours ago, HoneyDad said:

Went ahead and cancelled FBC and booked through Chase Travel and picked our seats in preimum economy. Happy New Years!

Good for you.
 

 Did you stay with Air Canada?

How much more did it cost?

why didn’t you just book your flight directly with the airlines?

 

 

Given  the very liberal change and cancellation policies of airlines (for air credit) there is little risk not using FBC.  Even better IMO.

 

Happy New Year.

[HoneyDad]

19 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Good for you.
 

 Did you stay with Air Canada?

How much more did it cost?

why didn’t you just book your flight directly with the airlines?

 

 

Given  the very liberal change and cancellation policies of airlines (for air credit) there is little risk not using FBC.  Even better IMO.

 

Happy New Year.

Switched to American. Liked not flying to Canada first. The tickets were about $3100 for two round trip, about $200 less than Air Canada. I booked through Chase Travel using Chase Sapphire points and money.

 

FBC made it easy to cancel too.

 

Happy New Year!

Edited December 28, 2022 by HoneyDad
typo

[jagoffee]

4 hours ago, HoneyDad said:

Switched to American. Liked not flying to Canada first. The tickets were about $3100 for two round trip, about $200 less than Air Canada. I booked through Chase Travel using Chase Sapphire points and money.

 

FBC made it easy to cancel too.

 

Happy New Year!

Perfect.  I hope the airlines do not return to their previously practice of change fees.  A lot easy to make changes now.  

[WinterCruiseLover]

Any hints on the best number and time to call FBC?  I'm hoping to avoid hours on hold.

 

[39august]

I called Monday morning about 8:30 CST and was answered immediately.

[mahdnc]

On 12/27/2022 at 11:44 AM, jagoffee said:

Good for you.
 

 Did you stay with Air Canada?

How much more did it cost?

why didn’t you just book your flight directly with the airlines?

 

Although I have not done it, booking your air through Chase with your Sapphire (aka Ultimate Reward) points gives you the best of two worlds. To you, the tickets are "free" if you are redeeming points.  However to the airlines they are purchased tickets and you are able to earn frequent flyer miles on the flights.  That would be one reason not to book directly with the airlines.

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, WinterCruiseLover said:

Any hints on the best number and time to call FBC?  I'm hoping to avoid hours on hold.

 

I called yesterday at 10:00am CST and waited less than a minutes to get a live person. I saw a drop in business class fares for our September Apex cruise from Amsterdam and the FBC rep changed our flights and saved us over $500pp from what we booked back in November. The changes were done with no change fees and is something that booking directly with the airlines cannot be done once you book. The whole phone call took less than 10 minutes. Also the other FBC advantage is we are booked with 2 airlines, on Unted flying to AMS and coming home from Athens on American with only one stop each way. We got to choose our itinerary and seats .

[intr3pid]

On 1/25/2023 at 10:49 AM, mahdnc said:

 

Although I have not done it, booking your air through Chase with your Sapphire (aka Ultimate Reward) points gives you the best of two worlds. To you, the tickets are "free" if you are redeeming points.  However to the airlines they are purchased tickets and you are able to earn frequent flyer miles on the flights.  That would be one reason not to book directly with the airlines.

The maximum travel value you can get out of Ultimate Rewards is 1.5 cents per point.  That's just a fraction of what you can get out of airline miles.  We have redeemed airline miles for more than 12 cents per mile in many instances. 

 

We have also yet to pay more than economy prices for our business class seats.  This is generally possible only if you build status with your main airline and then book directly.

[Jim_Iain]

On 12/1/2022 at 11:54 AM, intr3pid said:

This is the best approach.  Since air ticketing has gone online, booking your flights directly through the airlines give you the most control.  More importantly, long distance discretionary flights should really be booked in a premium class using miles - or in a way that helps your status with the airline. And that's best done direct.

 

I agree.   I also found over time that if you book with an Agent whether it be FBC or the many websites, If you need to change a flight the airline won't do it and ask you to call your agent.     This happened to me recently when the airline changed a flight and put me on a flight with a 6 hour connection.    FBC had to put in a request with the airline for my preferred connection and had to wait 48 hours to get a confirmation.