Choice air - low one way prices to/from Europe..GONE?

May be an anomaly but...we have flights booked for this November through Celebrity Air. We booked two separate one way flights as the price was lower that way.

From Newark to Barcelona, the business class one-way fare today is $1050, roughly the same as when we booked in May 2018. This is a United code share/Lufthansa flight.

For the return, the United non-stop business class is $737, roughly $300 less than when we booked in May.

No regrets, I still think we got a good deal for these flights.

To chime back in - I also used the Princes EzAir system to price out one way standard economy air for spring 2019 transatlantic cruises and their fares were in the range one would expect ($4-600pp), if you booked the "flex fare" option. However if you booked a "restricted" fare (instant purchase/non-refundable/changes only for a fee) pricing shot up to over $2-3000pp. Since Choice Air no longer has a flex fare option (went away several years ago when they changed reservation contractors) it seems this may be an across the board strategy from the airlines to eliminate one-way discounted flight purchases

Never try to assume trends when it comes to airfare prices...on Choice Air or anywhere else...

Airfare prices fluctuate...Laws of supply and demand apply...but other things factor in as well: Changing governmental restrictions and airport taxes...schedule changes...airlines' financial stability...world politics...and more...

Also, depending on the flights and dates, Choice Air (or other purchase methods) may or may not have bought bulk seats for a flight or have a special marketing deal with an airline...

So, every situation is independent and different...

That said, I purchased my tickets for LAX-AMS round trip for June/July 2019 through Choice Air about as soon as they became available. At that time, I could have purchased round trip airfare with one stop in each direction through Choice Air for around $975 pp. I could have gotten it $100-150 cheaper than that through kayak and other websites--but those flight schedules were outrageous--like 14 hour layovers from 9:00 pm to 10:00 am--meaning we'd have to book overnight stays at airport hotels eating up any imagined savings...and deal with all of the stress of plane changes and layovers.

We elected to go with non-stops on KLM purchased through Choice Air for $1110 pp.

Within 3 days of purchase, the price of those same non-stops went up considerably, then the specific flights I booked sold out. Today, still 9 months from the trip, Choice Air is still offering similar non-stop flights (different flight times than mine) ...but now at $1279 pp round trip. But, searching out those same flights on kayak and other websites, the price on those flights is now $1652 pp. So, even though it has gone up $169 pp on Choice Air, it is now almost $400 pp higher than that without Choice Air...

My usual plan of attack is that, if I am fairly certain I am going on the cruise, purchase early. Check out the fares both on Choice Air AND on other websites (as well as on the airlines' own websites). If Choice Air is the best price, it's an easy choice. If the other sites beat it substantially, go with them. If the price is something you are willing to pay, buy it, put it out of your mind and don't worry about it.

Also a note: Check out Choice Air as a round trip AND check their prices on both legs as one-ways...I did that for my Southeast Asia cruise this December and got better pricing booking it as two one-ways. Of course, if it works out that way, you may not be able to book it on-line--rather you may have to call Choice Air directly...

Yeah, something has changed. I booked Business Class LHR to DEN departing May 15 of next year a little over a month ago for $1,300 one way. Just checked and it now costs $3,400! If I recall correctly, this about what it would have cost at the time if I booked directly with the airline. If this is the new normal it's going to drastically affect my future cruise plans.

It has to be a glitch in their system. I have a flight booked on 28 Apr 2019 from FCO to IAD for $1180pp business class. The Sea2Air website now shows flights for 10 different airlines on the same date with economy fares for all 10 at the exact same price of $2173.54pp.

 

I would suggest researching flights you want then calling Sea2Air to get a price.

I agree with your conclusion. I purchased our one-way tickets SFO-BCN less than a month ago for travel this November (<$300). For kicks I checked current offerings with ChoiceAir and they have gone up about $250 pp. But of note, out of 10 airlines displayed, nine of them had identical airfares, down to the penny. The 10th flight, the only non-stop, was $3 higher. I monitor airfares frequently and I have never seen that situation. Different airlines, different alliances, different ownerships with identical airfares. It sure seems like some type of glitch that will, we hope, be resolved soon.

For those of you who have not purchased your tickets for whichever cruise you are booking, I also found that round-trip flights SFO-BCN booked with major airlines, were about $100 cheaper than ChoiceAir's one-way fare. (Hint, Hint ;)). One would be wise to check r/t airfares if ChoiceAir's o/w offerings make no sense. It might be worth looking into.

It has to be a glitch in their system. I have a flight booked on 28 Apr 2019 from FCO to IAD for $1180pp business class. The Sea2Air website now shows flights for 10 different airlines on the same date with economy fares for all 10 at the exact same price of $2173.54pp.

 

I would suggest researching flights you want then calling Sea2Air to get a price.

I agree...I hadn't noticed that every airline offered the same exact fare. That never happens, especially on connecting flights.

Hopefully, they will fix the problem/error quickly....

I keep checking and also spoke with choice air. No glitch in system. Gave me an answer that sometimes they have special rates for certain sailings.

I have been booking through choice air for some time and never saw this happen. Always had great rates. Got great rate for my October 29 sailing on Eclipse out of Barcelona.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I keep checking and also spoke with choice air. No glitch in system. Gave me an answer that sometimes they have special rates for certain sailings.

 

I have been booking through choice air for some time and never saw this happen. Always had great rates. Got great rate for my October 29 sailing on Eclipse out of Barcelona.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Basically not exactly true. We've gotten good rates on ALL our sailings. These rates are something new.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

I keep checking and also spoke with choice air. No glitch in system. Gave me an answer that sometimes they have special rates for certain sailings.

 

I have been booking through choice air for some time and never saw this happen. Always had great rates. Got great rate for my October 29 sailing on Eclipse out of Barcelona.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Sounds like a scripted answer. Only time will tell.

Everyone needs to remember that crude oil prices have jumped about 60 percent since November 2016, from $45/bbl to over $72/bbl. And they are still climbing. Expect airfares and cruise fares to follow the same trend, especially since those businesses look at crude costs 6-months to years out.

Everyone needs to remember that crude oil prices have jumped about 60 percent since November 2016, from $45/bbl to over $72/bbl. And they are still climbing. Expect airfares and cruise fares to follow the same trend, especially since those businesses look at crude costs 6-months to years out.

Irrelevant to the discussion. airlines charge 1600 for a round trip ticket and try to sell a one way at 2000...same destinations, same flights. In one case, they get 800 each way...but if you only buy one way, they get $2000. There is only one reason for this....$$$. Why? Because they can....

Error

Everyone needs to remember that crude oil prices have jumped about 60 percent since November 2016, from $45/bbl to over $72/bbl. And they are still climbing. Expect airfares and cruise fares to follow the same trend, especially since those businesses look at crude costs 6-months to years out.

The cruise lines have a clause where they can add a fuel adjustment to the cost if crude oil rises above $65 a barrel. I've only seen this put into play once and it was for a very short time. At the time crude was over $100 a barrel. This was before the cruise lines we making record profits and were afraid of chasing customers away. If crude skyrockets I don't think they'll hesitate at all. It was capped at $10 a day with a 14 day max.

I have no idea how airlines handle it.

I agree something has changed within Choice Air. We have a med cruise booked for next July. We bought flights as soon as we could in August and we paid $2,100 pp business class from ATL to Rome and then from Milan back to Atlanta. Those same tickets would now cost over $10K pp today which is basically what you would pay going through the airlines directly.

I noticed that initially right after we bought our tickets prices went up a little, but they were still reasonable. I figured maybe it was tied to the number of tickets already purchased. No way we would pay want they are asking for now. Hopefully it is only temporary and the more reasonable prices will be back. If they don't return it would certainly effect our willingness to book open jawed cruises in the future.

Irrelevant to the discussion. airlines charge 1600 for a round trip ticket and try to sell a one way at 2000...same destinations, same flights. In one case, they get 800 each way...but if you only buy one way, they get $2000. There is only one reason for this....$$$. Why? Because they can....

So happy we have the CC blog to alert us to this new outrageous pricing for one way pricing from Cruise Air. Unfortunately we did not have our tickets purchased before this increase. We are booked for a TA April 2019, Final payment is Jan 28, 2019. I guess I will have a few months to wait and see what happens with these crazy prices. Could use some advice, should i book a round trip ticket now for better pricing or keep waiting for a price drop. When did these crazy one way tickets prices became outrageous? Thankful our OP let us know what is happening. I can see lots of people canceling their TA’s because of Cruise Air ticket prices.

Happy....you have a few options.

1) buy a round trip ticket to Europe and throw away the return ticket (don't cancel it...just don't use it). That will probably cost just a little less than the one way fare today. Either the RT or OW fares can, and probably will change, over time...hopefully down.

2) Wait to see what happens...look at alternate carriers who aren't on the major internet airline sites....if you find a ticket at a price that you are OK with, buy it...enjoy your cruise.

3) If you wait and no lower fare one way ticket is available...you still have a choice of 1 above....or cancelling the cruise prior to final payment.

My bet is that you will be able to find a reasonable one way ticket..probably through choiceAir, within the next 30-60 days.

Personally, I would wait to see what happens....I wouldn't pay either the OW or RT price they are asking today....but we've cruised alot...we have no problem cancelling a cruise and finding something else to do...a river cruise, etc.

Of course, that's just my opinion.....you should do what feels right for you.

Psychologically, this is an interesting phenomena...the airlines are creating a heightened sense of wondering when the prices will come down. Maybe they want to see if more people will jump and book if they fall a little. My United business class tickets were up to 9,700 one way, even though I paid about 1200...I guess raising baggage prices is not enough. However, these prices are quite something! Must be the new airline rollercoaster ride!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Happy....you have a few options.

 

1) buy a round trip ticket to Europe and throw away the return ticket (don't cancel it...just don't use it). That will probably cost just a little less than the one way fare today. Either the RT or OW fares can, and probably will change, over time...hopefully down.

 

2) Wait to see what happens...look at alternate carriers who aren't on the major internet airline sites....if you find a ticket at a price that you are OK with, buy it...enjoy your cruise.

 

3) If you wait and no lower fare one way ticket is available...you still have a choice of 1 above....or cancelling the cruise prior to final payment.

 

My bet is that you will be able to find a reasonable one way ticket..probably through choiceAir, within the next 30-60 days.

 

Personally, I would wait to see what happens....I wouldn't pay either the OW or RT price they are asking today....but we've cruised alot...we have no problem cancelling a cruise and finding something else to do...a river cruise, etc.

 

Of course, that's just my opinion.....you should do what feels right for you.

Appreciated your response, I will take the watch & wait approach suggestion. I really don’t want to cancel the cruise on the Edge (yn)

something strange going on with choice air...I looked at a flight in September 2019 and this is what I got....

106.00 Fare

+

1,771.23 Taxes & Fees

1,877.23 Total

Few if any airlines have posted their actual rates for Sept. 2019.

Usually the rule is 330 days before your flight date to see the actual rates.

Come back in November or December.

Few if any airlines have posted their actual rates for Sept. 2019.

 

Usually the rule is 330 days before your flight date to see the actual rates.

 

Come back in November or December.

Actually, virtually all of the European airlines have some or all of their September, 2019 fares bookable (generally 350-365 days out). Also, many Asian airlines book that far out. We've done it a number of times.

I'm wondering if there are some new Spanish/EU laws governing the sale of one-way and/or open-jaw airline tickets? I just checked air on the EDGE Spring 2019 Transatlantic and I could get air back to the US to multiple cities for under $800, even with the UK APD included. I then checked for Infinity ending in Barcelona and fares were over $2K. Checking for sailings on other RCCL/Celebrity ships ending in other European ports (Dublin, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, etc) gave lower fares like the UK ones but anything ending in Barcelona specifically showed return one-way fares in the $2K range ......

Good news for me. I found that if I fly Amsterdam to JFK and then a separate flight to Detroit it will cost me around $600 total vs the $2300 from Amsterdam to DTW on the same day through choice air and then Delta for second flight. Will have to stop vs the non stop to DTW but well worth it.

Since I am retiring in 2 weeks I thought I would do a bit of traveling after the TA and book my return ticket. I now think I will have to decide and book my tickets soon. I am on the Reflection TA in April and want to spend some time in Amsterdam and maybe elsewhere.

Gail

Few if any airlines have posted their actual rates for Sept. 2019....Usually the rule is 330 days before your flight date to see the actual rates....Come back in November or December.

Don't take the above statement into consideration its rubbish we just used air miles + cash rather than choice air. Flights for September 2019 are open with some airlines.

The cruise lines have a clause where they can add a fuel adjustment to the cost if crude oil rises above $65 a barrel. I've only seen this put into play once and it was for a very short time. At the time crude was over $100 a barrel. This was before the cruise lines we making record profits and were afraid of chasing customers away. If crude skyrockets I don't think they'll hesitate at all. It was capped at $10 a day with a 14 day max.

I have no idea how airlines handle it.

Airlines buy fuel futures and price accordingly. As with gasoline, prices jump quickly at any hint of an increase. At the moment crude futures are fairly stable around the $70-75 level. However, any uneasiness in global security/politics will jump that quickly.

Happy....you have a few options.

 

1) buy a round trip ticket to Europe and throw away the return ticket (don't cancel it...just don't use it). That will probably cost just a little less than the one way fare today. Either the RT or OW fares can, and probably will change, over time...hopefully down.

 

2) Wait to see what happens...look at alternate carriers who aren't on the major internet airline sites....if you find a ticket at a price that you are OK with, buy it...enjoy your cruise.

 

3) If you wait and no lower fare one way ticket is available...you still have a choice of 1 above....or cancelling the cruise prior to final payment.

 

My bet is that you will be able to find a reasonable one way ticket..probably through choiceAir, within the next 30-60 days.

 

Personally, I would wait to see what happens....I wouldn't pay either the OW or RT price they are asking today....but we've cruised alot...we have no problem cancelling a cruise and finding something else to do...a river cruise, etc.

 

Of course, that's just my opinion.....you should do what feels right for you.

Be careful with Option 1. In the age of data management, airlines are now tracking those who do not use the return segment and in some cases have been known to block you from flying with them.