Price Difference Between EZ Air and Booking Directly

[lolane1]

I just checked our flights between JFK to Lax on Delta.  EZ air is charging $1492 and Delta is charging $1355 for the same flights.  EZ air touts that their prices are often lower than public prices.  I guess not in this case. Both have the same parameters, Main Cabin, and seat selection.  So does EZair charge more because of their Late Arrival Protection and other benefits?  I am already covered with excellent insurance that has a very large missed connection allowance. Going to Hawaii and 5 sea days before first port.  Anyone have any thoughts?  I am thinking I should book directly with Delta.  If there is a problem, getting help from Princess could be an excruciating long wait on the phone. Oh, I am also flying to LAX a day earlier than the cruise. 

[Paula_MacFan]

2 hours ago, lolane1 said:

I just checked our flights between JFK to Lax on Delta.  EZ air is charging $1492 and Delta is charging $1355 for the same flights.  EZ air touts that their prices are often lower than public prices.  I guess not in this case. Both have the same parameters, Main Cabin, and seat selection.  So does EZair charge more because of their Late Arrival Protection and other benefits?  I am already covered with excellent insurance that has a very large missed connection allowance. Going to Hawaii and 5 sea days before first port.  Anyone have any thoughts?  I am thinking I should book directly with Delta.  If there is a problem, getting help from Princess could be an excruciating long wait on the phone. Oh, I am also flying to LAX a day earlier than the cruise. 

 

It's been my experience that EZ Air is cheaper than independently-booked flights, but it probably depends on the specific itinerary and demand.  You didn't say when you're flying, but one of the big attractions of EZ Air for us is the ability to change flights with no fee up until 45 days prior to your cruise.  You also don't have to put down any money using EZ Air, while if you book independently yourself then you pay immediately.  I usually book EZ Air the day flights open up for our cruises (typically 330 days from the end of your cruise) and get something locked in.  Then I check prices every day and rebook if/when fares reduce.  I've had great success with this method many times in the past, but now with post-pandemic demand for flights on the rise, decreases in fares may be less common.  

 

On a side note unrelated to your EZ Air question -- we just did a Hawaii cruise in January and had a great time.  We are longtime Princess cruisers but chose to do NCL's Pride of America instead of Princess due to the great itinerary NCL offers -- every day in a Hawaii port vs all those sea days to and from the West coast.  I'm sure you'll have a great time too -- just some food for thought if you're not into a lot of sea days 🙂 

[Mud_Shark]

Sometimes EZ air is cheaper, but I have found more often that they are a little higher than travel websites.

 

[waltd]

I've found EZ Air cheaper on long haul out of the country flights.   Domestic flights not so much. No money out of your pocket for the flights till final payment.

[PacnGoNow]

2 hours ago, lolane1 said:

I just checked our flights between JFK to Lax on Delta.  EZ air is charging $1492 and Delta is charging $1355 for the same flights.  EZ air touts that their prices are often lower than public prices.  I guess not in this case. Both have the same parameters, Main Cabin, and seat selection.  So does EZair charge more because of their Late Arrival Protection and other benefits?  I am already covered with excellent insurance that has a very large missed connection allowance. Going to Hawaii and 5 sea days before first port.  Anyone have any thoughts?  I am thinking I should book directly with Delta.  If there is a problem, getting help from Princess could be an excruciating long wait on the phone. Oh, I am also flying to LAX a day earlier than the cruise. 

Domestic travel is usually not a bargain on EZAir.  However, their contracts with international travel is great.  
We usually do EZAir for International travel and direct with the airlines for domestic.

But, always check it for your own itinerary.  
 

 

 

[Kay S]

I have found it will vary.  It pays to look at all options.  EZAir was a problem after the shut down.  It took months to get the refund after the cruise was cancelled.  (Your real problem will be the LAX traffic! 😁)

[DHP1]

We always booked through EZAir and check daily to see if the price drops and if it does, we cancel our previous booking and rebook at the lower rate. 

[Yowman]

Booking EZAir also protects you in case of things like:

 

- late arrival at disembarkation port

- change in disembarkation port

- missed connections en route to embarkation

 

My transatlantic flights in business class with EZAir this coming September are far cheaper than I could book them for myself.

 

Last week I found a $400 drop in fares and a reduction in connections from 2 to 1 on the inbound (homeward) trip.  Rebooked as soon as In saw it.  Can't do that with non-refundable fares without paying a change fee if booked through airlines.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Yowman

[d9704011]

Does anybody have any recent experience using EZAir for round trip flights from Canada to Sydney, Australia?

[Yowman]

Another thing I have found with EZAir international is that not all classes of service are offered to EZAir on a given flight.  Seems like the airlines offer cheapish (consolidator) fares to EZAir on flights they don't expect to otherwise sell out.

[cdngrl]

I usually book EZair because I like Princess to take care of me from beginning to end. However my November flight roundtrip Rome is $500 more with EZair. Exact same flight.

[lolane1]

2 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

 

On a side note unrelated to your EZ Air question -- we just did a Hawaii cruise in January and had a great time.  We are longtime Princess cruisers but chose to do NCL's Pride of America instead of Princess due to the great itinerary NCL offers -- every day in a Hawaii port vs all those sea days to and from the West coast.  I'm sure you'll have a great time too -- just some food for thought if you're not into a lot of sea days 🙂 

 Thank you.  Really was looking for lots of days at sea to just relax on the balcony and not move.  Leaving in August and final payment due in a couple of weeks.  Just booked it on the fly, pardon the pun. My biggest fear was having a huge storm which happened in August on my last cruise to Greece before the pandemic A friend of mine was going with me but we were on different planes.  We were both on the tarmac at the same time.  I took off after almost a 3 hour wait, and she never made it off.  She canceled the cruise because it was too long of a period of time where she could catch up to the cruise and they offered her too many different flights all over the place to get her to a port where she could fly into.  I had a great time by myself, btw.  

[lolane1]

1 hour ago, Yowman said:

Booking EZAir also protects you in case of things like:

 

- late arrival at disembarkation port

- change in disembarkation port

- missed connections en route to embarkation

 

My transatlantic flights in business class with EZAir this coming September are far cheaper than I could book them for myself.

 

Last week I found a $400 drop in fares and a reduction in connections from 2 to 1 on the inbound (homeward) trip.  Rebooked as soon as In saw it.  Can't do that with non-refundable fares without paying a change fee if booked through airlines.

 

 

 I hear you.  I always book EZ air but never really checked price differences, and I usually am travelling over to Europe.  This was a first for me.  I just spoke with my daughter who said she has a Delta Credit card, and if she charges it with her card, we will get both carry on and 1st checked bag free.  So, all in all, I think I will be cancelling EZ air. Payment is due in a few weeks; cruise is early August.  It's all a gamble.  Thank you for responding.

[Prost Seattle]

You can frequently save more money if you book a vacation package from the airlines.  A vacation package can be just a flight and a rental car or one hotel night.  Look into it as the fare you can get from the package is cheaper than anything you can get individually.

 

My example:  in 2021 we got 3 RT FC tickets from SEA-HNL and 10 days of rental car (that made a package as we had a condo) for less than the lowest priced RT FC tickets.  

[John99]

@Prost Seattle        I used my AMX card since 2008 with no problems.  Just add your membership number(s) to your air booking.  Very easy to do.  Your bags will be free.  John

[lolane1]

9 minutes ago, John99 said:

@Prost Seattle        I used my AMX card since 2008 with no problems.  Just add your membership number(s) to your air booking.  Very easy to do.  Your bags will be free.  John

That;s interesting and an option.  Thanks, John99

[lolane1]

1 hour ago, Prost Seattle said:

You can frequently save more money if you book a vacation package from the airlines.  A vacation package can be just a flight and a rental car or one hotel night.  Look into it as the fare you can get from the package is cheaper than anything you can get individually.

 

My example:  in 2021 we got 3 RT FC tickets from SEA-HNL and 10 days of rental car (that made a package as we had a condo) for less than the lowest priced RT FC tickets.  

Didn't realize you could do that.  For now, too many arrangements have already been made but will definitely keep this in mind for future cruises. Good suggestion.

[Cruise till you drop]

We always book direct with the airline as

 

1) we’ve always found it cheaper, as well as getting to pick the best options

2) we always arrive the day before the cruise just in case

[gottagocit]

More times than not we have found easy air to be cheaper. Pay attention to the class seats you’re getting prices for.  Easy air rarely quotes prices for “basic economy” but airline sites almost always do quite that rate first then offer “economy” for additional cost which is usually higher than EA in my experiences. Basic economy will not include seat choice, carryon or checked bags where as economy will give you the first two and a checked bag for most overseas travel. 
Also keep in mind EA flights fall under your princes protection cancel for any reason insurance that you can purchase for your voyage.  Since almost all economy tickets are non refundable that could be huge if you have to cancel. 

[caribill]

As mentioned by others, using EZAir for international travel gives the biggest $$$ savings when compared to what the airlines charge, especially when doing air in one direction.

 

For domestic flights, EZAir is usually no better than airline pricing.

 

A flexible EZAir flight booking can be cancelled with no penalty up unto 45 days before the first flight or the cruise starts, whichever comes first. If Princess cancels the cruise, you will get your EZAir $$$ refunded, but if booked with an airline, you will be subject to airline rules which usually require using any credit (less any feea) within a year of when the booking was made. Since bookings with an airline can be made up to 330 days in advance, you might actually have very little time left to use that airline credit. And your alternate use of that airline credit might be for a destination that the airline (or partners) does not fly to.

 

And as mentioned in another post above, if your ship is late in reaching the disembarkation port, Princess will take care of rebooking EZAir flights and there will be no additional cost to you. If booked directly with the airline, you will be responsible to dealing with any needed rebooking and any additional costs.

 

By the way, EZAir does not require flying in on the day of embarkation or out on the day of disembarkation. You can usually select flight days two weeks or more before/after the cruise. And, also, you do not have to fly home from the disembarkation city. For example, you could disembark in Southampton and fly home from Paris.

 

EZAir flights do not cover all of an airline's flights, so you might find better scheduling or routing if booking directly with the airline.

 

And not all airlines are available with EZAir. Southwest may be available, but not with flexible fares.

[lolane1]

9 hours ago, gottagocit said:

Also keep in mind EA flights fall under your princes protection cancel for any reason insurance that you can purchase for your voyage.  Since almost all economy tickets are non refundable that could be huge if you have to cancel. 

I don’t know when it happened but New York now does not allow you to purchase cancel for any reason insurance.

[lolane1]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

As mentioned by others, using EZAir for international travel gives the biggest $$$ savings when compared to what the airlines charge, especially when doing air in one direction.

 

For domestic flights, EZAir is usually no better than airline pricing.

 

A flexible EZAir flight booking can be cancelled with no penalty up unto 45 days before the first flight or the cruise starts, whichever comes first. If Princess cancels the cruise, you will get your EZAir $$$ refunded, but if booked with an airline, you will be subject to airline rules which usually require using any credit (less any feea) within a year of when the booking was made. Since bookings with an airline can be made up to 330 days in advance, you might actually have very little time left to use that airline credit. And your alternate use of that airline credit might be for a destination that the airline (or partners) does not fly to.

 

And as mentioned in another post above, if your ship is late in reaching the disembarkation port, Princess will take care of rebooking EZAir flights and there will be no additional cost to you. If booked directly with the airline, you will be responsible to dealing with any needed rebooking and any additional costs.

 

By the way, EZAir does not require flying in on the day of embarkation or out on the day of disembarkation. You can usually select flight days two weeks or more before/after the cruise. And, also, you do not have to fly home from the disembarkation city. For example, you could disembark in Southampton and fly home from Paris.

 

EZAir flights do not cover all of an airline's flights, so you might find better scheduling or routing if booking directly with the airline.

 

And not all airlines are available with EZAir. Southwest may be available, but not with flexible fares.

Thanks for all that information. I never thought about disembarkation flights  if the ship is delayed. Good to know.  Southwest?  I have a bit of concern there after that big debacle in December and now I believe they’re under investigation for unfair and deceptive practices.  But then again, most airlines have had their issues lately with pilot shortages and flight cancellations.

[LACruiser88]

When flying out of the U.S. we always fly Business Class.  We have not found any fares that beat EZ Air fares.  And the difference in fares is usually at least $1,000 pp+.  We have saved LOTS of $ using EZ Air!

[caribill]

3 hours ago, lolane1 said:

I don’t know when it happened but New York now does not allow you to purchase cancel for any reason insurance.

 

Under New York law, CFAR benefits in the travel context do not technically qualify as insurance because the cancellation of a trip “for any reason” does not depend on the occurrence of fortuitous event

 

https://www.dfs.ny.gov/industry_guidance/circular_letters/cl2020_04

[DHP1]

17 hours ago, d9704011 said:

Does anybody have any recent experience using EZAir for round trip flights from Canada to Sydney, Australia?

We have last October on Air Canada. We rebook at least 3 times and got the cheapest flight. Non stop flight from Vancouver to Sydney. Long flight however, it goes by fast. We fly from Toronto - Vancouver - Sydney and return. 
As soon as you booked, go to Air Canada website and select your free seats. If you need to rebook at a cheaper rate, cancel the pervious airfare first and select your new airfare. You will also need to select your seats over again through Air Canada website. 

Edited April 22, 2023 by DHP1