I must be an idiot, because after having a nightmare experience with Flights by Celebrity...

[waterbug123]

On 10/14/2023 at 3:28 PM, Stockjock said:

Could be that it's not formally ticketed, but you do have a reservation and booking number/locator code.  With that locator code, you can add the booking to your airline website profile, and purchase upgraded seats or make changes within the same fare class (if seats are included).  A cancellation is not normal or expected.

Exactly what I said- you have a reservation.  But having a reservation and actually being ticketed are two entirely different things.

[Stockjock]

10 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

Exactly what I said- you have a reservation.  But having a reservation and actually being ticketed are two entirely different things.

Yes, but again, if there was no problem with the reservation:

1. It would show up as valid on AA when I enter the locator code.

2. I would not show as cancelled.

3. I would not have gotten a schedule change notification from FBC.

So...they screwed it up, again.  And they haven't further contacted me or made any adjustments since last week.

[Lastdance]

My DH and I booked with FBC for next year going to Oahu, returning via Vancouver.  First class/business for the two of us was barely 3,000.  Now I read that United is changing their boarding policy for economy with window seats boarding first, the, middle with aisle last.  At least we do not have to worry about not finding a place for our carry-on luggage!

Edited October 18, 2023 by Lastdance

[Stockjock]

1 minute ago, Lastdance said:

My DH and I booked with FBC for next year going to Oahu, returning via Vancouver.  First class/business for the two of us was barely 3,000.  Now I read that United is changing their boarding policy for economy with window seats boarding first.  At least we do not have to worry about not finding a place for our carry-on luggage!

Seems like a good price for business class.

I suspect the new United policy of window seats first will be unpopular, as couples won't be able to board together.  Not only is that irritating, but my GF, who does window seats, is about 5'1" and maybe 115 pounds.  I am 6' an about 200 pounds.  So I can easily lift my bag, and hers into the overhead compartment.  But if she has to board alone, she's going to have difficulty reaching the overhead bins due to her height, plus strength is an issue.  I could see this causing someone to injure their back.  

This policy would make me less inclined to choose United. 

[Stockjock]

Update on Round 2 issues with Flights by Celebrity.

The issues from the prior cruise are long and I won't recap them.  But as mentioned, I decided to try FBC again, despite many problems.

1. Found flights I liked and booked them.

2. Received no confirmation, even though flights showed as valid and associated with my cruise booking.

3. Watched the price go up $800, 8-10 hours later on AA's website.

3. Received an AA locator code.  Tried to associate that with my American Airlines account, but the booking showed as cancelled.

4. Received a notification from FBC that there had a been a change in the reservation and they'd get back to me.

5. They didn't get back to me, so I called them today.

FBC: Hello Mr. Stockjock, I show that your reservations are in good order.  Everything is fine.  We are showing the flights that you booked are valid.

Me: (Explaining why I don't believe him, in a polite way).

FBC: Puts me on hold for a while.  Confirms that the flights are not valid.  Tells me that American has cancelled the flights and they are no longer available for rebooking.

Me: I tell FBC that I can see on AA's website that not only are the same flights available, but the price has gone down slightly.

FBC: Puts me on hold again.  Comes back and says that they can ask if AA can reinstate my flights, but I may have to pay the entire amount upfront.

Me: I told him that didn't make sense, as there was a "pay later" option and that was what I picked.  It also didn't make sense that the flights were cancelled and no longer available, yet he could somehow ask them to reinstate them.

FBC: Tried to put me into different, inferior flights.  Said he could not find my flights anymore.

Me: I asked him to cancel the reservation.  I put a reservation on 24 hour hold with AA directly, but I still wouldn't mind doing it on FBC because I can cancel until May with no penalty.  If I book direct with AA, not only do I have to pay in full now, but if I cancel, the only option might be a flight credit that's good for a year and then expires worthless if I don't use it.  I could potentially lose thousands.

So that's where we are.  More sketchiness from FBC (even though they are very polite).  Flights cancelled and I'll start from scratch.  I might even bite the bullet & pay for the thing, but again, I'd rather book something with no cash outlay for now.  Sometimes things change, and I try hard to avoid large cancellation penalties.  For example, around March or so, the GF's brother in law died unexpectedly in his 50s and we had to cancel an upcoming Princess cruise.  But because I had booked everything as refundable, we did not suffer any financial losses or have to pay penalties.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

After FBC cancelled the reservation, went back into the website and the flights that he said weren't available, were available at the same price.  Booked the identical flights for a 2nd time.  We'll see how it goes this time.

[mahdnc]

How much time in total do you estimate that you have spent with FBC for this particular sailing?

[Stockjock]

26 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

How much time in total do you estimate that you have spent with FBC for this particular sailing?

Total time spent w/FBC on the last trip was over 24 hours.  This time, the first call was about 45 minutes.

I'm on my 2nd call with FBC as I write this.  The problem is that the AA locator code shows as valid, but it also says that the reservation is on hold for 24 hours and will be cancelled by tomorrow unless it's paid for.  Called FBC, as I think AA will cancel it, and I wasn't sure why I'm getting this message, since FBC stated I'd have until May 2024 to pay for it.  He wasn't sure either, said I shouldn't be getting that error message, and put me on hold again.  They're now having "someone else" look at the reservations.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Stockjock

[Texed]

We have used FBC for 6 or 7 flights.  We have never had a problem. 

[Stockjock]

6 minutes ago, Texed said:

We have used FBC for 6 or 7 flights.  We have never had a problem. 

I wish I could say the same.  This is the 2nd time I've used them, and problems all over again.  Currently on hold w/FBC, 50 minutes and counting.  They asked for a screenshot of the cancellation warning I'm getting from AA and they're trying to figure out what's going on.

"Funny" thing is that I gave them a 2nd try, in part, in the hopes that the first situation was an aberration and I'd have a much better experience this time.  But we're not off to a good start.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Stockjock

[ijscheer]

1 hour ago, Stockjock said:

Seems like a good price for business class.

I suspect the new United policy of window seats first will be unpopular, as couples won't be able to board together.  Not only is that irritating, but my GF, who does window seats, is about 5'1" and maybe 115 pounds.  I am 6' an about 200 pounds.  So I can easily lift my bag, and hers into the overhead compartment.  But if she has to board alone, she's going to have difficulty reaching the overhead bins due to her height, plus strength is an issue.  I could see this causing someone to injure their back.  

This policy would make me less inclined to choose United. 

Assuming you are sitting window/middle, here are two possibilities:

1- Switch Boarding passes, so you board first (with one bag).  Then you are there when she comes aboard (with second bag).

2- Let her board, but leave the bag in the row - not in the aisle - since no one else will come into the row. Then when you come, you lift both bags.

[Stockjock]

Was on the line w/FBC for another hour.  They said American is requiring full payment by Nov. 15th.  I sent him the screenshot showing it would be cancelled by tomorrow if not paid in full (October 18th).

But...

One of the supposed advantages of FBC is the option for *no* payment until the final payment for the cruise is due.  He has no idea why they're requiring payment in full, particularly since they have an "agreement" with the airlines that the customer doesn't have to pay until final payment, which in my case is May 2024.  He also doesn't know why AA tells me it will be cancelled tomorrow, but AA tells them it will be cancelled Nov. 15.

Again, a confusing mess.

Edited October 18, 2023 by Stockjock

[Stockjock]

20 hours ago, Stockjock said:

Update on Round 2 issues with Flights by Celebrity.

The issues from the prior cruise are long and I won't recap them.  But as mentioned, I decided to try FBC again, despite many problems.

1. Found flights I liked and booked them.

2. Received no confirmation, even though flights showed as valid and associated with my cruise booking.

3. Watched the price go up $800, 8-10 hours later on AA's website.

3. Received an AA locator code.  Tried to associate that with my American Airlines account, but the booking showed as cancelled.

4. Received a notification from FBC that there had a been a change in the reservation and they'd get back to me.

5. They didn't get back to me, so I called them today.

FBC: Hello Mr. Stockjock, I show that your reservations are in good order.  Everything is fine.  We are showing the flights that you booked are valid.

Me: (Explaining why I don't believe him, in a polite way).

FBC: Puts me on hold for a while.  Confirms that the flights are not valid.  Tells me that American has cancelled the flights and they are no longer available for rebooking.

Me: I tell FBC that I can see on AA's website that not only are the same flights available, but the price has gone down slightly.

FBC: Puts me on hold again.  Comes back and says that they can ask if AA can reinstate my flights, but I may have to pay the entire amount upfront.

Me: I told him that didn't make sense, as there was a "pay later" option and that was what I picked.  It also didn't make sense that the flights were cancelled and no longer available, yet he could somehow ask them to reinstate them.

FBC: Tried to put me into different, inferior flights.  Said he could not find my flights anymore.

Me: I asked him to cancel the reservation.  I put a reservation on 24 hour hold with AA directly, but I still wouldn't mind doing it on FBC because I can cancel until May with no penalty.  If I book direct with AA, not only do I have to pay in full now, but if I cancel, the only option might be a flight credit that's good for a year and then expires worthless if I don't use it.  I could potentially lose thousands.

Just to recap the past (see above).

Now today...

Remember, I've now booked the same flights twice, as they cancelled the first booking in about 10-12 hours and couldn't rebook as the flights said to be no longer available.  Since they couldn't resolve the problem, I cancelled the whole deal and then rebooked the exact same flights (that were allegedly unavailable).  I confirmed w/American that they were valid flights, so yes they were available.

6. Last night, I logged into American's website and saw that my roundtrip (multi-city) flight was now one-way outbound only.

7. Received a notification this morning from FBC as to a schedule change.

8. Visited American Airlines's site and saw that both flights were still available for booking.

9. Called FBC.  Was told my flights were cancelled.  Asked why, he didn't know.  He asked if I cancelled it and I told him no.  I asked him why, prior to cancellation, they told me I had until November 15 to pay in full when I had selected pay at final payment, he didn't know that either.

10. After about 35 minutes on the phone.  He said the flights were cancelled and asked what I wanted to do.  He said I could either allow him to send messages to American and everyone on God's green earth to try to reinstate the flights, or just cancel their reservation for a 2nd time, since they had cancelled the flight booked for a 2nd time (after only a day).  I told him to just cancel the entire deal as it might be simpler to start fresh for a 3rd time.  This time, 35 minutes on the phone was spent, so faster than usual.

11. Now we begin Round 3 of what should be a simple task of booking a flight to Europe and a return flight.  But of course, it's actually not so simple.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Stockjock

[scidee]

We booked with FBC  Sept 23 for our cruise Feb 11, 2024.  At the time of booking the flights we had to pay for the flights.  We were told Southwest requires payment upfront and that final crise payment doesn't work for Southwest.  Two days later Southwest had a sale and our flights were half price.  I called FBC to make adjustments.  NO WAY they said since the flights were paid for.  I called Southwest 5 minutes later the adjustments were made and I have credit for our next trip.  Thank You FBC.

We have used them 8 or 9 times with no problems and they were a great help when we missed a sailing due to flight delays.

[Stockjock]

26 minutes ago, scidee said:

We booked with FBC  Sept 23 for our cruise Feb 11, 2024.  At the time of booking the flights we had to pay for the flights.  We were told Southwest requires payment upfront and that final crise payment doesn't work for Southwest.  Two days later Southwest had a sale and our flights were half price.  I called FBC to make adjustments.  NO WAY they said since the flights were paid for.  I called Southwest 5 minutes later the adjustments were made and I have credit for our next trip.  Thank You FBC.

We have used them 8 or 9 times with no problems and they were a great help when we missed a sailing due to flight delays.

I just found out about a new feature that I wasn’t familiar with on my TripIt Pro.  Yesterday, it sent me a message that the price had dropped on Southwest Airlines flights, and they said if I called and provided the booking number, I would probably get a partial refund. So I did that, and Southwest credited me over $100. Again, I had no idea that was one of the features of the software application. Apparently they track the pricing and message you if the price drops. 

Edited October 19, 2023 by Stockjock

[waterbug123]

On 10/18/2023 at 1:10 AM, Stockjock said:

Yes, but again, if there was no problem with the reservation:

1. It would show up as valid on AA when I enter the locator code.

2. I would not show as cancelled.

3. I would not have gotten a schedule change notification from FBC.

So...they screwed it up, again.  And they haven't further contacted me or made any adjustments since last week.

I'm just guessing here, but perhaps AA has, for some reason either intended or not, not made that particular flight available to FBC per the terms of their booking agreement with AA.