Air Deviation Fees

[BarbaraB2]

How many additional fees are there when changing flights and airports?

 

I received a quote from Oceania (via my TA) which included, per person:

$125 'Air Deviation Fee'

$100 'Air Differential Fee'

 

After accepting those terms, I received the confirmation from the TA which indicated an additional fee, per person:

 

$199 'Air Add on Fee'

 

I have yet to receive a satisfactory explanation about that last fee and wonder if it is customary? The final payment for this cruise in a few weeks away so I am still free to make changes.

 

Thank you!

[globevest]

Barbara,

All Oceania cruise prices include the cost of air from major cities. If you start your travel from a minor city airport you are charged $199 pp. If you want a deviation you have the deviation fee of $125 AND any price difference between what they have covered in the cruise price and the cost of your chosen flight.

[GITC]

My wife and I have just booked our first Oceania cruise for next spring. We have been told that the air deviation fee, because we wish to arrive a few days prior to the cruise and depart approximately a week afterwards, is non-refundable but also not payable unless we were to accept the flight arrangements provided by the cruise line/air provider. Is this understanding correct?

[globevest]

Yes that is correct. You only pay the deviation fee if you choose the flights they are able to arrange for your chosen schedule.

[dundeene]

We asked our TA for air deviation and requested our 1st choice flights .

Our TA arranged a conference call with Oceania.

Oceania accepted out 1st choice flights with no extra charge beyond the allowance and the $199ea for flying from a smaller airport (charged whether you take air deviation or not), and the air deviation fee itself. Our credit card was charged immediately for air deviation fee (only) and that portion of the trip became nonrefundable.

 

Because this was prior to final payment all other amounts were still refundable until final payment date.

 

I hope this helps.

[vaitape]

We asked our TA for air deviation and requested our 1st choice flights .

Our TA arranged a conference call with Oceania.

Oceania accepted out 1st choice flights with no extra charge beyond the allowance and the $199ea for flying from a smaller airport (charged whether you take air deviation or not), and the air deviation fee itself. Our credit card was charged immediately for air deviation fee (only) and that portion of the trip became nonrefundable.

 

Because this was prior to final payment all other amounts were still refundable until final payment date.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Thanks..........it does!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Our credit card was charged immediately for air deviation fee (only) and that portion of the trip became nonrefundable.

 

Just to be clear, "that portion" refers to the deviation fee, right, not the air itself?

[Jancruz]

Just to be clear, "that portion" refers to the deviation fee, right, not the air itself?

 

Remember Wendy air is "free" so cant be non-refundable..

Jancruz1

[GITC]

Thanks to all for your replies on air deviation. Very helpful!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Remember Wendy air is "free" so cant be non-refundable..

Jancruz1

 

Thanks Jan, of course. I guess I was thinking of some kind of custom air that you would be locked in to.

[marilynfaye]

How many additional fees are there when changing flights and airports?

 

I received a quote from Oceania (via my TA) which included, per person:

$125 'Air Deviation Fee'

$100 'Air Differential Fee'

$199 'Air Add on Fee'

 

!

 

Another option is to Not pay the Deviation, Not pay the Differential, Not pay the Add On for flying out of a secondary airport and taking the credit from Oceania for Not taking the "free air" and make your own arrangements. Sometimes that works out better. Sometimes not. Of course, if you happen to have enough Frequent Flyer miles and you can get seats, take the credit and run!

[muddsmom]

Another option is to Not pay the Deviation, Not pay the Differential, Not pay the Add On for flying out of a secondary airport and taking the credit from Oceania for Not taking the "free air" and make your own arrangements. Sometimes that works out better. Sometimes not. Of course, if you happen to have enough Frequent Flyer miles and you can get seats, take the credit and run!

I've looked for this elsewhere, but couldn't find where it's been addressed. How does upgrading to Business Class work? We would not be using ff miles and I have seen where a certain amount can be charged by O for upgrading. I'm not sure how it works. I'm assuming the highest fare would be necessary for upgrading? My husband is a lifetime medallion member and million miler with Delta, so we would want to fly with them.

[Mura]

All I know is that if you ask O for a quote for a business fare, it is out of sight! If you want biz air, you can do better on your own.

 

Mura

[GITC]

Another option is to Not pay the Deviation, Not pay the Differential, Not pay the Add On for flying out of a secondary airport and taking the credit from Oceania for Not taking the "free air" and make your own arrangements. Sometimes that works out better. Sometimes not. Of course, if you happen to have enough Frequent Flyer miles and you can get seats, take the credit and run!

We explored these options and the credit provided by Oceania doesn't come close to covering our airfare for the trip.

 

Does anybody know, though, whether the "fare differential" that we'll be faced with would equate to the same airfare that we would just pay on our own or is there likely to be some advantageous pricing through Oceania given their "relationships" with air carriers? IOW, if we take the credit from Oceania and make our own flight arrangements is that likely to cost more than waiting on the Oceania flight arrangements that will include the deviation fee and differential?

[tropicalkerry2002]

Hi GITC-love how you spell Canada!

 

Our TA has always gotten back to us with deviation details within 24 hours of our request, and that would include any fare differential, so you can make your decision very quickly.

 

Our first time deviating I requested the flights we wanted and the itinerary came back with a $100pp fare differential, as well as the deviation fee.

 

For our next cruise, I just requested the dates I wanted, as I think that O may first try to pick flights on YOUR dates, where there will be NO fare differential, so I wanted to see what they offered.

 

They came back with exactly what I would have chosen, so no fare differential, only the deviation fee. How great is that!!??

 

Marian

[Benita]

Oceania has relationships with loads of airlines and they can book you on ones with different alliances. We are flying to Barcelona from Miami on AA and from Lisbon to Miami on TAP - they are part of different alliance programs. The air differential of $125 and airfare differential of $100 is far less money than taking the $800 air credit and booking it on our own. We would have had to do two separate one way flights, which would have cost over a thousand dollars more than having Oceania do it for us. Even if we booked our own airfare with AA and did a their flight coming home from Lisbon, we would not have would up ahead and would have a plane change on the return flight. Adding even more, on AA, they allow you to upgrade for points even with Oceania booking the ticket - we are on a waiting list for this and I was able to change my seats online to the emergency exit seats. This was done after the final payment, once Oceania issued the tickets.

[JimandStan]

We explored these options and the credit provided by Oceania doesn't come close to covering our airfare for the trip.

 

Does anybody know, though, whether the "fare differential" that we'll be faced with would equate to the same airfare that we would just pay on our own or is there likely to be some advantageous pricing through Oceania given their "relationships" with air carriers? IOW, if we take the credit from Oceania and make our own flight arrangements is that likely to cost more than waiting on the Oceania flight arrangements that will include the deviation fee and differential?

 

No need to wonder about any part of this process. The differential fee, if there is to be one, is part of the quote that you get from Oceania , which you are then at liberty to accept or decline.

 

Simply get your own "independent quote" beforehand and you will know exactly where you stand, and which option will work best for you.

 

I will say, in light of another thread which is presently bemoaning the unreliability of Air Travel today, that booking through Oceania does bring a certain peace of mind when weather, strikes or civil unrest loom over ones plans. Those headaches ALL remain with Oceania, and in times of strife their air dept is a dream to deal with.

[GITC]

Wow, thanks for all the quick replies!

 

Marian, that would be a great deal. We're currently looking at something around $1,000 extra to book our own flights to arrive a few days early and hang around for several days after our cruise. ($2,400 Oceania flight credit and close to $3,300 to buy our own flights) We do not, however, want to just arrive and depart in the ports for the cruise portion so this is a cost that we're prepared to incur.

 

Benita, we would also like to get on flights that are in line with our air alliances and I understand that we can provide our preferences to Oceania for this purpose.

 

JimandStan, appreciate the point about the peace of mind that comes with having somebody else look after all of this. It seems all of those things that you mentioned are becoming more prevalent these days rather than less.

 

We will certainly have our preferred itinerary and pricing together for comparison purposes.

 

Thanks again, everybody.

[tropicalkerry2002]

All our deviated flights have been on airlines included in the 2 FF programs we belong to (AC and Delta), and we have always gotten the points for the flights.

 

On Delta, we were able to pay to upgrade from economy to Economy Comfort, as well. We could only do it after the flight was ticketed, which O usually does about a month before the cruise. I asked them to ticket us 2 weeks early, so I wouldn't miss out on the Economy Comfort seats.

 

I wish EVERY airline had Economy Comfort! It was fabulous!

Marian

[Suncitygaltx]

On Delta, we were able to pay to upgrade from economy to Economy Comfort, as well. We could only do it after the flight was ticketed, which O usually does about a month before the cruise. I asked them to ticket us 2 weeks early, so I wouldn't miss out on the Economy Comfort seats.

 

I wish EVERY airline had Economy Comfort! It was fabulous!

Marian

Our TA was able to get Oceania to ticket us in May for a November departure BUT we had to make our final payment first. We did it just to get the Economy Comfort seats on Delta, and whatever they're called on UA. Please tell me if the Economy Comfort seating has any other advantages besides extra leg room, and being seated further forward in the coach cabin (which isn't really much of an advantage, IMHO!). Thanks...Martha

[tropicalkerry2002]

I'm pretty sure it included alcoholic beverages. Wish they could discount for people who don't avail themselves!

Think we may have had better headrests too--the kind where you can bend the ends forward and have something to lean your head on, but may be mistaken.

We had to make the final payment as well in order to be ticketed.

We found the extra leg room amazing!

Marian

[PaulMCO]

I'm pretty sure it included alcoholic beverages. Wish they could discount for people who don't avail themselves!

Think we may have had better headrests too--the kind where you can bend the ends forward and have something to lean your head on, but may be mistaken.

We had to make the final payment as well in order to be ticketed.

We found the extra leg room amazing!

Marian

 

Correct -- on Delta free wines/spirits on International Flight. You also board earlier than the back. (Zone 1).

 

United (called E+ Economy Plus) just gets you more legroom and closer to the front. Don't know if that is worth the extra money.

[alanmr]

No need to wonder about any part of this process. The differential fee, if there is to be one, is part of the quote that you get from Oceania , which you are then at liberty to accept or decline.

 

Simply get your own "independent quote" beforehand and you will know exactly where you stand, and which option will work best for you.

 

I will say, in light of another thread which is presently bemoaning the unreliability of Air Travel today, that booking through Oceania does bring a certain peace of mind when weather, strikes or civil unrest loom over ones plans. Those headaches ALL remain with Oceania, and in times of strife their air dept is a dream to deal with.

 

So, Jim and Stan, do you deal directly with Oceania or does your TA? If you deal directly, yourselves, can you share the name of a recommended air deviation agent with us? My recent experience this past week via my TA wasn't so successful. First, we wanted a stop over on the return from Chile through Florida. Oceania missed that and quoted a return a week earlier for the deviation and differential fees (+$350 per ticket). Fortunately, we caught their return date error. Second, word back to us was that they balked at the week stopover and finally produced a quote at +$550 (or more) per ticket extra (the airline's differential--with and without the week layover in Florida--when I checked online was only about $50). Third, we tried a third itinerary, this one on Delta, and was told that Oceania didn't have a contract with Delta--once again, the overage seemed excessive. We finally booked the itinerary online ourselves with Delta and paid the extra for Economy Comfort on the four flights. This was an itinerary from an Oceania approved city to and from different cities in South America. The economy comfort extras were $59 each for the domestic flights and $120 and $140 each for the international flights. Alan

[hondorner]

...United (called E+ Economy Plus) just gets you more legroom and closer to the front. Don't know if that is worth the extra money.

I flew United Economy Plus from Orlando to Vancouver a couple of years ago and thought the extra legroom was worth the extra -- about $75 per seat, if I remember correctly. Betsy, the frugal one on the family, would have had a fit if I had told her how much extra they were ;). Bujt, I once tried to loosen my shoelaces in a conventional coach seat and couldn't lean over enough to reach them, so every extra inch is totally worth it, to me.

 

The Economy Comfort on Delta does include alcohol, but on our recent flight to Nice, they only came around once, with dinner. I don't know if I could have asked for more at a different time, but they always managed to appear too busy :rolleyes:.

[FlipperRae]

Does anyone know at what point Oceania books your air, if you do not deviate? We've passed the "drop dead" date and just curious when we may find out what kind of flights we have.