Flights by Princess - good or bad.

[ISABELLA]

We will be flying to Rome and coming back from Barcelona. And were considering getting (prem economy  or Business) flights through Princess. Please share your good or bad experiences doing it. Any suggestions or tips for booking flights are greatly appreciated. 

[DCThunder]

I always check the prices offered through EZAir for international flights, but also check the fares posted by the airlines themselves.  Sometimes EZAir has good prices, sometimes not as much. 

 

You can't use any airline or credit card points to pay for EZAir fights, although you don't have to pay for them until final payment for the cruise.

 

EZAir routings can sometimes be convoluted with multiple stops.  You also have to be careful with connection times, as they sometimes propose short times to make the next flight.

 

Oveall, I'm positive on EZAir, but you can find all sorts of horror stories around these boards.  Do your homework before booking anything.

[Esprit]

We are doing the same airports from and to Gatwick this August but in cattle class!

 

We have only ever used Princess booked flights and are obviously happy to do so.

[pmCruiser]

You may find lower prices if you book yourself, but with EZAir you always have the option (up to 45 days before your cruise and assuming that you book with the Flexible Fare option) to rebook, at a lower price, with no penalty.  I’ve done this on several occasions saving several hundred dollars.

[CruiseCrabs]

We have had two awful experiences with EZ Air (both international) and vowed to never go through it again. Nonstop flights are less of a challenge but flights with connections have been a saga of having to track multiple itinerary changes that were not airline itinerary changes, seat assignments that made no sense, and changes in connecting cities that severely increased the potential for travel delays due to weather. EZ Air was great many years ago but we simply won’t chance it anymore.

[goofy2010]

We had a good experience with EZ Air for our cruise last year.  The flights were much cheaper than booking directly.  We lucked out and never had any schedule changes before the trip.  We would use them again if the price was right.

[memoak]

We prefer to book our own flights to avoid layovers. Princess once sent my mother from Acapulco to San Francisco via Miami with 2 layovers. Not for me

[LACruiser88]

When we fly internationally, we have been using EZair to book our Business Class seats.  EZair has been anywhere from 30% to 50% cheaper than any other source, including directly via the airlines.  We have never had any issues with cancellations.  We try to fly non-stop.  If not possible, we will do one connection and always allow for at least 3 hours between flights.  Our "home" airport is LAX, so we usually have many available flights/airlines.  

 

For domestic flights, we always book thru the airline or Amex.  

[beg3yrs]

5 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

... flights with connections have been a saga of having to track multiple itinerary changes that were not airline itinerary changes, ...

Could you be more specific here? If the changes weren't airline itinerary changes, whose were they? AFAIK, EzAir doesn't make itinerary changes unless the airline makes a change that causes you to miss your cruise. Otherwise they're pretty much hands off. Even then, if the airline makes an unacceptable change, most of us have to call to get things fixed.

[PescadoAmarillo]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

We prefer to book our own flights to avoid layovers. Princess once sent my mother from Acapulco to San Francisco via Miami with 2 layovers. Not for me

Are you saying that the routing changed after you (she) booked the flight?

[CruiseCrabs]

1 minute ago, beg3yrs said:

Could you be more specific here? If the changes weren't airline itinerary changes, whose were they? AFAIK, EzAir doesn't make itinerary changes unless the airline makes a change that causes you to miss your cruise. Otherwise they're pretty much hands off. Even then, if the airline makes an unacceptable change, most of us have to call to get things fixed.

 

EZ Air was the problem as the original flight continued to exist in the “real world” of the airline. Our reservations were moved to a different itinerary and we could not restore them with EZ Air and the airline couldn’t move the booking because of the fare type. I am abundantly aware of airlines function. I also know how contract flight bookers work. I simply will not gamble on EZ Air for connecting flights or international flights and, honestly, they haven’t been competitive for short nonstops.

[dreaminofcruisin]

We have found that especially when booking International flights, it is best to book them as soon as they become available. I think often the selection of flights (non-stop etc is better). Always pick Flexible flights and you can watch and Change them if the flight prices go down. You could also book them and cancel them later if you find a better price on an airline website. The first couple of years coming out of the pandemic, it seems Princess had lots of issues with EZ Air and actually getting the tickets purchased in a timely manner. However, it does seem to have improved. We have Vancouver/Alaska flights booked for this summer which already have been ticketed!

Edited February 1 by dreaminofcruisin

[DCThunder]

3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

When we fly internationally, we have been using EZair to book our Business Class seats.  EZair has been anywhere from 30% to 50% cheaper than any other source, including directly via the airlines.  We have never had any issues with cancellations.  We try to fly non-stop.  If not possible, we will do one connection and always allow for at least 3 hours between flights.  Our "home" airport is LAX, so we usually have many available flights/airlines.  

 

For domestic flights, we always book thru the airline or Amex.  

While I agree with you generally (especially the point about domestic flights) I was trying to find the lowest cost business class seat from Sydney to LAX.  I ended up booking Fiji Airways (with a stop in Fiji) for about 40% less than the best SYD>LAX flight I could find through EZAir.  I also considered flights through Seoul on Asiana or booking on Qantas directly, as all those options were less than EZAir.  When I looked at flights all the way home to Charlotte, the EZAir flights had crazy routings.

 

Unfortunately, although Charlotte is an American Airlines hub, it doesn't have the same flight options as you have in LAX

[texswamper]

I'm in the thick of it right now with my TA because United changed our return flight from Seattle to Houston when we disembark the Discovery in July.  They changed the fight to 11 am and most people say it's a huge risk to try making that.  So, our best option now is to change to the 11 am flight on Sunday morning and stay one more night in Seattle.  We have used EZ several times pre shut down and never had any issues but now I'm seeing what others are talking about.  I know it has nothing to do with Princess but due to the airlines.  Definitely challenging but I appreciate not having to pay for tickets so far out.  Pros and cons like everything I guess.  

[jagoffee]

8 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

We will be flying to Rome and coming back from Barcelona. And were considering getting (prem economy  or Business) flights through Princess. Please share your good or bad experiences doing it. Any suggestions or tips for booking flights are greatly appreciated. 

Since most airlines are very flexible and allowing flight changes without fees and flight credits, I only use cruise company flights when it is significantly less expensive.  I keep checking until the point where I can no longer change the Cruise Line flights without an additional fee.

 

Make sure you do not just check two one way fares, especially on international flights.  Check the multi city fares.  I notice the most significant savings with T.A. or T.P. flights  and cruises.  One way International flights is where EZ air usually offers a very significant savings.  
I also try to fly a on a Oneworld airlines (preferred AA and non stop or one stop only)..

 

But I also do not believe that EZ Air or other cruise lines, change from your selected flights to save money.  I believe those changes are initially driven from a change that the airline makes.  Working with a third party (EZ air) adds a level of complexity that may add to confusion.

 

if I book directly with AA and they make a significant change (hours or cancel), they book me on another flight that their system thinks is better.  If I do not like the change, I find a flight that I like better, call AA, and they change my flight without any additional cost.

 

If you give us your Cruise ship/date and your originating city, we can show you an example.

 

Good luck.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Here is a flight I’ve been watching for a while.  The first pic below is EZ Air pricing; the second is the same flight booked direct through United. EZ Air is about half the price of booking direct.

[texswamper]

47 minutes ago, texswamper said:

I'm in the thick of it right now with my TA because United changed our return flight from Seattle to Houston when we disembark the Discovery in July.  They changed the fight to 11 am and most people say it's a huge risk to try making that.  So, our best option now is to change to the 11 am flight on Sunday morning and stay one more night in Seattle.  We have used EZ several times pre shut down and never had any issues but now I'm seeing what others are talking about.  I know it has nothing to do with Princess but due to the airlines.  Definitely challenging but I appreciate not having to pay for tickets so far out.  Pros and cons like everything I guess.  

Update:  Didn't pan out so looks like we will have to be one of the first off the ship and pray it all works out because it was going to be a $1373 fee to cancel and $2880 pp to change flight. (first class seats) So, I will think a bit longer in the future about using EZ Air because you do lose much control.

 

[texswamper]

1 minute ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Here is a flight I’ve been watching for a while.  The first pic below is EZ Air pricing; the second is the same flight booked direct through United. EZ Air is about half the price of booking direct.

Exactly why we choose EZ air and face the music of challenges if there are changes I suppose. 

[LACruiser88]

19 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Here is a flight I’ve been watching for a while.  The first pic below is EZ Air pricing; the second is the same flight booked direct through United. EZ Air is about half the price of booking direct.

We are booked on the same United flight on April 2nd, LAX > Sydney.  We booked our BC seats via EZair at a huge discount.  Boarding the Majestic on April 10th, are you on this sailing?

[PescadoAmarillo]

21 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We are booked on the same United flight on April 2nd, LAX > Sydney.  We booked our BC seats via EZair at a huge discount.  Boarding the Majestic on April 10th, are you on this sailing?

I’m not sure. We still haven’t booked it, but I’ve been lurking on the Roll Call. I keep checking airfare thinking that if it suddenly skyrockets, I can finally dismiss the possibility of being on the ship but airfare has been really reasonable. DH would be flying from FLL through Houston and Auckland but I would probably go on the United flight from LAX.
 

ETA I have actually booked the hotel in Sydney but it is refundable. 

Edited February 1 by PescadoAmarillo

[LACruiser88]

Just now, PescadoAmarillo said:

I’m not sure. We still haven’t booked it, but I’ve been lurking on the Roll Call. 

We will be on for the full 33 days to Seattle.  The more, the merrier!  🤪

[eaflorida]

My wife and I had a very enjoyable Antarctic cruise on the Sapphire Princess that ended on January 4th this year. The best 1 way rate we got from EZ Air was $800 each give or take on Delta to fly home to Florida from Buenos Aires. If we tried booking this on the Delta website, we would have been paying close to $1,700 per person. So yes, it all worked out great for us and saved us a ton of money. 

 

And the other thing to consider is that with the recent issues of the Sun Princess canceling its 1st sailing on February 8th, people without travel insurance and people that booked private airfare to get to Europe got screwed in that they only got $200 per person from Princess to book a future Sun Princess cruise. But the people that booked their airfare through EZ Air were covered and their flights were automatically changed to the new cruise dates they selected. Same thing on some of these world cruise segments that were scheduled to sail out of Dubai in the very near future. All Red Sea cruises have been changed and that cruise you were looking to catch in Dubai is now departing from Johanasberg South Africa. If you had EZ Air, they will re-route your airfare to the new departure city. 

 

So there are benefits to using EZ Air. But the other point I suggest is simply dont spend thousands of dollars on a cruise and airfare costs WITHOUT getting cruise insurance. 

 

Anyway, I have only used EZ air on a couple of cruises and have been 100% happy with how things have turned out so far. Honestly, I may not have been able to afford to cruise internationally without some of their amazing rates. And being able to reserve the airline of your choice is another huge positive.

[beg3yrs]

2 hours ago, CruiseCrabs said:

 

EZ Air was the problem as the original flight continued to exist in the “real world” of the airline. Our reservations were moved to a different itinerary and we could not restore them with EZ Air and the airline couldn’t move the booking because of the fare type. I am abundantly aware of airlines function. I also know how contract flight bookers work. I simply will not gamble on EZ Air for connecting flights or international flights and, honestly, they haven’t been competitive for short nonstops.

Thanks for the clarification. I don't think I've ever heard of this happening in that way. An itinerary change when the original flight wasn't canceled. Wow, that's interesting news for a lot of us. Something to keep in mind.

Personally we've found that even though we've had good luck with international EZ Air flights in the past, looking at the trade-offs, we've been tending to book award tickets instead.

[LACruiser88]

For our upcoming one-way LAX>Singapore BC flight in October, on Singapore Airline, we beat EZair by $800 and the airline by $600, by booking via the Amex International Flight Program.  And, we were able to apply points towards the booking.

 

We check and double-check thru a number of vendors before booking the best fare.

[Thrak]

Two very different experiences with EZ Air.

 

1. Looked everywhere for flights from Sacramento, CA to Heathrow. (Was trying to book Virgin Atlantic.) Every booking site I tried was the same as the airline: More than $5,000 per person. Booked the exact same flights via EZ Air for $500 per person. It was actually less than 10% of the cost I could find anywhere else.

 

2. Booked Sacramento to Seattle to Fairbanks. EZ Air changed my flights so they went from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Minneappolis/St Paul to Fairbanks. The reason for the change: The first segment - Sacramento to Seattle - was leaving 10 minutes earlier. Idiotic to say the least. Nope, nope, nope. It took me a bit of time on the phone but I got the original flights back. Leaving 10 minutes earlier was not a problem.