New restrictions on easyair?

[startedwithamouse]

49 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

EZ Air is lower as princess are acting as the consolidator, just like any travel agent. Travel agents pay way less for the flight than they charge the consumer as they add a mark up fee. They pay net rates, as do princess. 

But consumers pay more if they're buying directly from the airline. 

 

Maybe airlines are closing the loophole with so many tickets discounted to Princess outside of the 5 day window before/following a cruise?  

 

I don't think Princess is to blame here, looks like the airlines?

 

Every airline is looking for profits. Just look at SWA toying around with baggage fees and assigned seating.

[startedwithamouse]

20 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

An example of lower International Business Class fares on EZair was on our recent Sydney to Seattle cruise on the Majestic.

 

We flew non-stop LAX to Sydney.  The lowest fare that we could find, outside of EZair, for the one-way flight was $7,900 pp on Quantas.  Through EZair we paid $4,200 pp via United Airlines.  A huge savings! 

 

We booked our flight home from Seattle directly via American Airlines.

Thanks for the example. 

[LACruiser88]

40 minutes ago, kiwimum said:

Flying from SAN to SGP with Singapore Air. EZAir when we booked on opening day was $7500 for 2 in BC.   Today looking at the same flights on Singapore Air website is $14590.   Flying in 5 days prior.  

This October we are flying non-stop LAX to Singapore in Business Class, on Singapore Airlines.  This is the first time in a long while where we were able to beat EZair pricing.  Btw, we are flying in a week prior to our cruise.

 

We booked via Amex and beat EZair by $800 pp.  Before booking air or hotels we always check numerous sources and try to find the best prices.

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 03:32 AM by LACruiser88

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, startedwithamouse said:

Other passengers paying for even higher cost tickets to balance?

This is how airlines turn a profit.  They divided the seats into fare buckets.  When one fare bucket sells out, they will no longer sell seats at that price.  They also stagger the release of fare buckets so they can have sales.  If a passenger books last minute, they pay more, which is why airlines love business travelers because they usually always book last minute.

 

58 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

Maybe airlines are closing the loophole with so many tickets discounted to Princess outside of the 5 day window before/following a cruise?  

Not following the logic.  The number of cruise passengers is finite, and having said that, not all use EZAir.  As a simple example:  If on a sailing, 10 passengers opt for EZAir to London, 2 passengers fly a week before the cruise, and 8 fly the day before the cruise, the total seats allocated to EZAir is still 10.

[shellbeachjim]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

This October we are flying non-stop LAX to Singapore in Business Class, on Singapore Airlines.  This is the first time in a long while where we were able to beat EZair pricing.  Btw, we are flying in a week prior to our cruise.

 

We booked via Amex and beat EZair by $800 pp.  Before booking air or hotels we always check numerous sources and try to find the best prices.

We’ve done this flight a couple of time on United from SFO.. 17 1/2 hours in the air. It’s a very long flight, but it’s also one flight and done! Our hotel of choice in Singapore is the Fullerton, but I’m sure you’ve finagled a good deal for yourselves elsewhere. 😺

[LACruiser88]

7 hours ago, shellbeachjim said:

! Our hotel of choice in Singapore is the Fullerton, but I’m sure you’ve finagled a good deal for yourselves elsewhere. 😺

You know us well, my friend!  We are staying at the Four Seasons...

[JimmyVWine]

18 hours ago, SCX22 said:

Not following the logic.  The number of cruise passengers is finite, and having said that, not all use EZAir.  As a simple example:  If on a sailing, 10 passengers opt for EZAir to London, 2 passengers fly a week before the cruise, and 8 fly the day before the cruise, the total seats allocated to EZAir is still 10.

I think you are following the logic.  You just aren't using big enough numbers.  Imagine flying into a port where three ships are departing on a Saturday.  Two hold 4,000 passengers and one holds 2,000.  The ship that holds 2,000 sells its cruises so that they "include coach class airfare".  In reality, the airfare isn't "free".  The airlines are providing the cruise line discounted airfare much the way EZ Air works.  It's just done in the background.  The other two ships are owned by cruise lines that provide a discounted airfare service just like EZ Air.  Not everyone uses it.  But many do.  In that example, you have 10,000 people heading for a single port for departures on a single day. (Of course, not everyone flies into the port.)  If all of the 1,500 guests from the one cruise line, and 20% of the 8,000 from the other cruise lines try to use the discounted airfare services, that is 3,100 people all flying on discounted tickets.  A typical aircraft holds around 200-230 people.   That's the equivalent of 15 full airplane's worth of people all on discounted tickets.  And that's just for Saturday.  Rinse and repeat for Sunday. 

 

19 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

I don't think Princess is to blame here, looks like the airlines?

At some point the airlines are going to cry "uncle" and tell the cruise lines: "We'll make 200 discount tickets available per day.  But not 2,000."  

Edited Tuesday at 10:04 PM by JimmyVWine

[SCX22]

4 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I think you are following the logic.  You just aren't using big enough numbers.  Imagine flying into a port where three ships are departing on a Saturday.  Two hold 4,000 passengers and one holds 2,000.  The ship that holds 2,000 sells its cruises so that they "include coach class airfare".  In reality, the airfare isn't "free".  The airlines are providing the cruise line discounted airfare much the way EZ Air works.  It's just done in the background.  The other two ships are owned by cruise lines that provide a discounted airfare service just like EZ Air.  Not everyone uses it.  But many do.  In that example, you have 10,000 people heading for a single port for departures on a single day. (Of course, not everyone flies into the port.)  If all of the 1,500 guests from the one cruise line, and 20% of the 8,000 from the other cruise lines try to use the discounted airfare services, that is 3,100 people all flying on discounted tickets.  A typical aircraft holds around 200-230 people.   That's the equivalent of 15 full airplane's worth of people all on discounted tickets.  And that's just for Saturday.  Rinse and repeat for Sunday. 

 

This disregards the fare bucket concept.  Not everyone that books EZAir is getting a steep discount.  Many aren't privy to checking airfares religiously.  Once the fares in a particular bucket are sold out, the fares aren't available anymore nor are the fares in cheap buckets released at the same time.  In my experience, the sweet spot for booking the lowest international economy airfare through EZAir during non-summer months is between the 60 to 70 day before the flight mark.  The fact that the airlines open up these fare buckets to EZAir at this time shows that there is still seat inventory available.  Empty seats don't make the airline money.

 

For example, I booked SFO to SYD and YVR to SFO on United for $648 through EZAir, 55 days before my transpacific cruise this past April.  The exact same flights were $1105 through EZAir when I booked the cruise at the 80 day mark, but I reserved the air anyways to ensure seats.  I was really thankful for the ability to refare without penalty though EZAir and I ended up with a fat refund.

 

I doubt we'll ever know the true reason for the change unless corporate spills the beans.

[startedwithamouse]

55 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I think you are following the logic.  You just aren't using big enough numbers.  Imagine flying into a port where three ships are departing on a Saturday.  Two hold 4,000 passengers and one holds 2,000.  The ship that holds 2,000 sells its cruises so that they "include coach class airfare".  In reality, the airfare isn't "free".  The airlines are providing the cruise line discounted airfare much the way EZ Air works.  It's just done in the background.  The other two ships are owned by cruise lines that provide a discounted airfare service just like EZ Air.  Not everyone uses it.  But many do.  In that example, you have 10,000 people heading for a single port for departures on a single day. (Of course, not everyone flies into the port.)  If all of the 1,500 guests from the one cruise line, and 20% of the 8,000 from the other cruise lines try to use the discounted airfare services, that is 3,100 people all flying on discounted tickets.  A typical aircraft holds around 200-230 people.   That's the equivalent of 15 full airplane's worth of people all on discounted tickets.  And that's just for Saturday.  Rinse and repeat for Sunday. 

 

At some point the airlines are going to cry "uncle" and tell the cruise lines: "We'll make 200 discount tickets available per day.  But not 2,000."  

Yes, and airlines are in the business of making money.

 

The cruisers saving hundreds, or thousands of dollars on airfare equates to the airlines losing that money. 

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

I think you are following the logic.  You just aren't using big enough numbers.  Imagine flying into a port where three ships are departing on a Saturday.  Two hold 4,000 passengers and one holds 2,000.  The ship that holds 2,000 sells its cruises so that they "include coach class airfare".  In reality, the airfare isn't "free".  The airlines are providing the cruise line discounted airfare much the way EZ Air works.  It's just done in the background.  The other two ships are owned by cruise lines that provide a discounted airfare service just like EZ Air.  Not everyone uses it.  But many do.  In that example, you have 10,000 people heading for a single port for departures on a single day. (Of course, not everyone flies into the port.)  If all of the 1,500 guests from the one cruise line, and 20% of the 8,000 from the other cruise lines try to use the discounted airfare services, that is 3,100 people all flying on discounted tickets.  A typical aircraft holds around 200-230 people.   That's the equivalent of 15 full airplane's worth of people all on discounted tickets.  And that's just for Saturday.  Rinse and repeat for Sunday. 

 

An example of why I don't follow the logic.  If you look at the prices for identical itineraries (exact same dates and exact same flights), booking directly with BA is cheaper ($1323.70) than booking through EZAir ($3105.80 / 2 = $1552.90).  In this case, I would book direct with British Airways; no discount for EZAir.  You're basically paying for the protections by booking through EZAir.  In this case, following your logic, the airline is undercutting themselves.

[cr8tiv1]

I, on the other hand, have been watching my EZAir business class fare since I booked it 330 days out (when first available).  My fare NEVER dropped.  It is currently almost $1500 more with less than 45 days out.  Direct fare each way was the cost I paid for EZ Air round trip.

 

Same with the fare I got for Japan.  It was more expensive for me to fly from Honolulu to Japan than from LAX to Japan. And EZ Air was cheaper than direct booking.

 

I know that EZ Air has its issues.  Been through a few mishaps.  But for the savings, flexibility, and convenience, I'll use EZ Air for international travel.  

 

As far as the "bucket" theory, yes, even airlines have this policy.  x number of cheap seats.  I have rarely seen any fire sales lately.  Last minute fares can really dig into the pocket book.

[Astro Flyer]

2 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Same with the fare I got for Japan.  It was more expensive for me to fly from Honolulu to Japan than from LAX to Japan. And EZ Air was cheaper than direct booking.

 

I know that EZ Air has its issues.  Been through a few mishaps.  But for the savings, flexibility, and convenience, I'll use EZ Air for international travel. 

I checked Maui to Brisbane…it’s 50% more for Premium Economy, 4 flights & takes 50% longer than a one-stop from LAX via Auckland. And OGG/BNE is Economy to LAX and from Auckland with only LAX/AKL in PE…I’ll fly LAX/AKL/BNE with both flights in PE for a much lower airfare. Booking through EZair it’s 20% lower than booking directly (LAX/AKL/BNE) which lacks all of the Flexible EZair benefits to make changes…that’s an EZ decision for me. 😉

 

Edited Wednesday at 03:31 AM by Astro Flyer

[JimmyVWine]

13 hours ago, SCX22 said:

An example of why I don't follow the logic.  If you look at the prices for identical itineraries (exact same dates and exact same flights), booking directly with BA is cheaper ($1323.70) than booking through EZAir ($3105.80 / 2 = $1552.90). 

Not that difficult to figure out. EZAir is capacity controlled and when the limit of discount fares is reached for a particular flight, the discount disappears.

[john1970]

The advantage of booking with Princess was how easy it was to book air with them and how flexible it was.

 

I'm looking at booking Australia next year. If I am flying from London it's about a 24 hour one stop trip. It's also a 10 hour time difference. I need to arrive about a week before to fully enjoy my cruise as I will be used to the time zone and ready to enjoy the rest of the trip.

 

This new policy means that I would look at other cruise lines and if I stick with Princess would book with a travel agent who can package that all for me. I can't see how it really makes any difference to Princess whether I arrive 7 or  days before. All I can think is that is an admin thing to standardise their reservations process. 

 

It probably won't make much difference for domestic US passengers but for people taking really big trips it is a disincentive to book with Princess. It will also in Europe and the UK drive direct business away from them and to travel agents. 

 

[SCX22]

19 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Not that difficult to figure out. EZAir is capacity controlled and when the limit of discount fares is reached for a particular flight, the discount disappears.

 

So by having all passengers arrive within 5 days of their cruise, instead of spreading out cruise passenger arrivals, the Carnival brands using the same consolidator is manipulating the market forcing the airfares to spike because of supply and demand.  There are fewer discounted seats if a period is set as 5 days before the cruise rather than anytime before the cruise.  If, for example, airlines only want to release only 5 discount seats per day, there would only be 25 discounted seats if the period is defined as 5 days, but the number of discounted seats would increase if arrival was permitted at anytime (at 10 days before the cruise, there would be 50, etc.). 

[JAT0303]

I've been following this thread but haven't seen whether anyone has called Princess EZ Air staff to confirm whether the 5 day restriction is a new policy or not.  

 

Has anyone called and tried to reserve flights outside of the 5 day window or asked about the change?

[Astro Flyer]

10 minutes ago, JAT0303 said:

I've been following this thread but haven't seen whether anyone has called Princess EZ Air staff to confirm whether the 5 day restriction is a new policy or not.  

 

Has anyone called and tried to reserve flights outside of the 5 day window or asked about the change?

The few times I had EZair questions, the call center rep put me on hold to communicate with EZair for an answer & I could not directly talk to EZair. And with most of their call center reps now being offshore & inexperienced they sometimes will guess when they don’t know answers.

 

Edited Wednesday at 06:13 PM by Astro Flyer

[maggie777]

23 minutes ago, JAT0303 said:

I've been following this thread but haven't seen whether anyone has called Princess EZ Air staff to confirm whether the 5 day restriction is a new policy or not.  

 

Has anyone called and tried to reserve flights outside of the 5 day window or asked about the change?

We had recently booked a one way return from Europe beyond the 5 day limit post cruise.Although we were concerned that Princess would not honour the flight booking we have received , in writing, that the flight will be secure and paid for in a timely fashion.

[john1970]

Could it have been just an IT glitch? I just looked at a cruise from Sydney leaving 08 March. It let me get an air quote leaving London February 25th. 

[gottagocit]

4 hours ago, john1970 said:

Could it have been just an IT glitch? I just looked at a cruise from Sydney leaving 08 March. It let me get an air quote leaving London February 25th. 

Which specific voyage are you looking at?  I just checked 4 voyages to South American and Europe and none are showing flight available more then. 5 days prior or before the voyage. 

[john1970]

1 minute ago, gottagocit said:

Which specific voyage are you looking at?  I just checked 4 voyages to South American and Europe and none are showing flight available more then. 5 days prior or before the voyage. 

It was the Crown on March 8 2025.The air calendar goes back to February 16th. Do you think it's country or cruise specific I'm using the UK website

[gottagocit]

5 minutes ago, john1970 said:

It was the Crown on March 8 2025.The air calendar goes back to February 16th. Do you think it's country or cruise specific I'm using the UK website

I suppose it’s possible since I’m checking that one here now in the USA and it’s only giving us a 5 day window to purchase flights. 
Or it could be the system used there haven’t yet been undated with the new limits. Just a guess.  If I was booking a cruise there now and it was important to fly in earlier than 5 days or stay more after, I would not waste time and book the flights asap to avoid a possible disappointment if it changes there as well.  

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, gottagocit said:

I suppose it’s possible since I’m checking that one here now in the USA and it’s only giving us a 5 day window to purchase flights. 
Or it could be the system used there haven’t yet been undated with the new limits. Just a guess.  If I was booking a cruise there now and it was important to fly in earlier than 5 days or stay more after, I would not waste time and book the flights asap to avoid a possible disappointment if it changes there as well.  

I just checked EZAir for a couple of my Saved Cruises and I'm still seeing the 5 day window.  So I agree that it's likely an intentional change implemented in the US.  Who knows if it will spread elsewhere?

[Astro Flyer]

4 hours ago, clarky213 said:

Must be different for UK bookings as I can go back to december 10th for my cruise on 30th December, then up until end of January after my cruise ends on 11th January 2025.

 

6 hours ago, john1970 said:

Could it have been just an IT glitch? I just looked at a cruise from Sydney leaving 08 March. It let me get an air quote leaving London February 25th. 

 

1 hour ago, gottagocit said:

I suppose it’s possible since I’m checking that one here now in the USA and it’s only giving us a 5 day window to purchase flights. 
Or it could be the system used there haven’t yet been undated with the new limits. Just a guess.  If I was booking a cruise there now and it was important to fly in earlier than 5 days or stay more after, I would not waste time and book the flights asap to avoid a possible disappointment if it changes there as well.  

I created a thread on the Cruise Air board to inform others about this change & another person in London reported a much longer booking window in the UK…3 weeks pre & post cruise. It’s possible that the UK booking system has not been updated yet or it’s another difference with the UK booking requirements…or it’s just another example of Princess being consistently inconsistent.

 

[AZaTaz]

Yeah for the UK cruisers!  For once Princess is being “nice” to them and giving them something they have taken from us North America cruisers.