choice air

[ghstudio]

 

I am not against Choice Air; I have used them before, but feel it is prudent to realize that with the deeply discounted tickets Choice Air is selling you are not receiving the same ticket as the more expensive ones sold by the airline and to weigh the added risks versus the monetary savings - then make an informed decision.

 

I'm just reacting to your post that said that the ticket you buy on choice air is somehow different than buying it from the airline. I think it's just about identical risk and you do get a savings because choice air negotiates for one way rates that aren't available directly from the airline.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Canadian credit cards do not have great deals

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

[pmacher61]

Celebrity web site touts Choice Air (CA) as guaranteed lowest fare. I click on the link to CA, enter ship, sailing date, name, then click on enter "search flights" and CA screen pops up with a multi-city layout. The "to" destination of 1st leg is filled in with the embarkation port airport just as the 2nd leg is filled in with disembarkation port airport in the "from" box.

 

I fill in the 2 missing boxes on the multi-city form with my originating city and my final destination city (a different city than originating city). I press "search" link and up pops a flight plan which struck me as suspiciously overpriced. I search separately on a different site with different search engine, but just for the initial (transatlantic) flight - one way. It is much cheaper than CA total fare. I do the 2nd leg separately on a one way basis. The sum total of the 2 one way legs I can buy is about half the cost of the cheapest CA flight plan cost.

 

I use Orbitz to buy first transatlantic leg thinking it is a great deal (under $500 pp for a NYC to London nonstop flight with no fees for two bags on Kuwait Air). I feel good.

 

I send email to CA detailing the problem and even cut and paste the multi-city format to which the CA site automatically directs the customer. After I have booked Kuwait Air, CA replies to my email asking me to call. I call and naturally the person answering the phone has no access to my email detailing the problem (or couldn't access it).

 

He does a search for CA one way transatlantic flights while we are on the phone. He comes up with a significantly cheaper fare than my Kuwait Air one way fare. I feel bad. I ask how come. He says I should not use the multi-city format (the one that the CA site defaults to), but should search for two separate one way flights. I say thank you and hang up. I figure there's no sense in trying to convince the phone rep that the site is misleading/odd/defective because ordinary people would not think to disregard the multi-city format that first appears on the screen with the embarkation and disembarkation port cities already filled in.

 

I contact Orbitz and cancel my Kuwait Air (thank god with no penalty). I call Allianz Ins Co and cancel my accompanying flight ins (thank god with no penalty).

 

I write CA a follow up email suggesting that an ordinarily reasonable person would not suspect that he should disregard the multi-city format that pops up when one initiates a search for a flight plan using the CA website. Since the CA fares are only cheapest when purchased as 2 separate one way fares, it doesn't make sense for the CA search format to default to a multi-city flight plan especially with the embarkation and disembarkation port already filled in. Who would think to override it? I am waiting for a reply.

p.s. None received and 2 business days have passed.

[Gonzo70]

I'm just reacting to your post that said that the ticket you buy on choice air is somehow different than buying it from the airline. I think it's just about identical risk and you do get a savings because choice air negotiates for one way rates that aren't available directly from the airline.

 

They ARE different. The difference arises during irregular opps - i.e. missed connection, extreme delay or flight cancellation. Has NOTHING to do with seat selection, ff miles etc. As I said earlier - if things wrong according to plan you will never know the tix are different; the pitfalls only materialize when setting goes awry.

[Cruise Junky]

I'm just reacting to your post that said that the ticket you buy on choice air is somehow different than buying it from the airline. I think it's just about identical risk and you do get a savings because choice air negotiates for one way rates that aren't available directly from the airline.

 

They can come with a lot of restrictions. A ticket bought from an airline directly has some perks should stuff hit the fan, ie it can be assigned to another airline, or you could fly a different route. Lots of alternatives to get you to the ship. Buying choice air can be very restrictive, they're usually not assignable to other airlines or on other routes and would be at the bottom of the pecking order for the airline to help you out. I'd use them for a Transatlantic, I'd just make sure I had some extra time built into my schedule.

[odysee]

They can come with a lot of restrictions. A ticket bought from an airline directly has some perks should stuff hit the fan, ie it can be assigned to another airline, or you could fly a different route. Lots of alternatives to get you to the ship. Buying choice air can be very restrictive, they're usually not assignable to other airlines or on other routes and would be at the bottom of the pecking order for the airline to help you out. I'd use them for a Transatlantic, I'd just make sure I had some extra time built into my schedule.

 

If you buy the cheapest fare directly from (European) airlines, they have same restrictions and they won't reroute you through a different airline or route either. Happened to us last year with cheap ticket bought directly from Lufthansa. We had to wait for next available Lufthansa flight hours later although there were other direct flights before that and we asked to be rerouted at various levels. I think it is just a matter of the fare you buy a ticket at, irrespective how/where you buy it.

[suekay]

Celebrity web site touts Choice Air (CA) as guaranteed lowest fare. I click on the link to CA, enter ship, sailing date, name, then click on enter "search flights" and CA screen pops up with a multi-city layout. The "to" destination of 1st leg is filled in with the embarkation port airport just as the 2nd leg is filled in with disembarkation port airport in the "from" box.

 

I fill in the 2 missing boxes on the multi-city form with my originating city and my final destination city (a different city than originating city). I press "search" link and up pops a flight plan which struck me as suspiciously overpriced. I search separately on a different site with different search engine, but just for the initial (transatlantic) flight - one way. It is much cheaper than CA total fare. I do the 2nd leg separately on a one way basis. The sum total of the 2 one way legs I can buy is about half the cost of the cheapest CA flight plan cost.

 

I use Orbitz to buy first transatlantic leg thinking it is a great deal (under $500 pp for a NYC to London nonstop flight with no fees for two bags on Kuwait Air). I feel good.

 

I send email to CA detailing the problem and even cut and paste the multi-city format to which the CA site automatically directs the customer. After I have booked Kuwait Air, CA replies to my email asking me to call. I call and naturally the person answering the phone has no access to my email detailing the problem (or couldn't access it).

 

He does a search for CA one way transatlantic flights while we are on the phone. He comes up with a significantly cheaper fare than my Kuwait Air one way fare. I feel bad. I ask how come. He says I should not use the multi-city format (the one that the CA site defaults to), but should search for two separate one way flights. I say thank you and hang up. I figure there's no sense in trying to convince the phone rep that the site is misleading/odd/defective because ordinary people would not think to disregard the multi-city format that first appears on the screen with the embarkation and disembarkation port cities already filled in.

 

I contact Orbitz and cancel my Kuwait Air (thank god with no penalty). I call Allianz Ins Co and cancel my accompanying flight ins (thank god with no penalty).

 

I write CA a follow up email suggesting that an ordinarily reasonable person would not suspect that he should disregard the multi-city format that pops up when one initiates a search for a flight plan using the CA website. Since the CA fares are only cheapest when purchased as 2 separate one way fares, it doesn't make sense for the CA search format to default to a multi-city flight plan especially with the embarkation and disembarkation port already filled in. Who would think to override it? I am waiting for a reply.

p.s. None received and 2 business days have passed.

 

Glad you were able to change with no penalty. As a matter of interest I went back to Choiceair and followed your directions, but in our case the cheapest flights were $1665 compared to $1041 when booked as return flights. It will be interesting to see how Choice air respond to your email

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[suekay]

Does anybody know if Choice air show every available flight? We're still 3 weeks too early to actually book our flights but I'm obsessed with checking routing/cost on the same cruise which departs 4 weeks earlier. I know that the same flights may not be offered, but I'm coming up with a cheaper flight with better connections (same price every week for the preceding months) direct with the airline. Choice air have the outbound flight available but returning on a different airline

[Ex-Airbalancer]

.

 

I write CA a follow up email suggesting that an ordinarily reasonable person would not suspect that he should disregard the multi-city format that pops up when one initiates a search for a flight plan using the CA website. Since the CA fares are only cheapest when purchased as 2 separate one way fares, it doesn't make sense for the CA search format to default to a multi-city flight plan especially with the embarkation and disembarkation port already filled in. Who would think to override it? I am waiting for a reply.

p.s. None received and 2 business days have passed.

 

I have done that before booking tickets with Choice Air, the reps know that it is usually cheaper booking one way fares instead multi city

It has been written on this forum about this already

 

I am ordinary reasonable person and found the cheaper one way flights to be cheaper by myself

I do not think you will get a reply from CA

 

If they want to increase their sales , they will find away to change it

[waterbug123]

I've never used Choice air but was thinking about it for our Singapore-Hong Kong cruise. As they say "they will ensure gusts make it to the ship......or next port of call" They don't appear any cheaper than booking the flights direct but it seemed worth the $25 booking fee pp to have this reassurance

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

They actually make no such guarantee, so do not fool yourself into thinking they do. Re-read the verbiage. They say a lot of things that make it sound like a guarantee, but in the fine print they even tell you it's not.

 

Having said that, it doesn't necessarily mean they won't help you, but don't go thinking they guaranteeing anything.

[waterbug123]

huh? The last time I booked choice air, I had an economy class ticket on american airlines from Barcelona and could manage that reservation on the american airlines site. The only difference was that I paid a fare not offered on AA's web site because choice air had negotiated special one way fares. I also got AA miles for the flight.

 

So what won't AA do for me that I might have gotten if I had paid the AA one way fare directly to AA?

 

As with seat selection, being able to "manage that reservation on the american airlines site" means nothing. It could still be a very different ticket. i.e. different restrictions in the event of irregular operations.

 

If you buy the cheapest fare directly from (European) airlines, they have same restrictions and they won't reroute you through a different airline or route either. Happened to us last year with cheap ticket bought directly from Lufthansa. We had to wait for next available Lufthansa flight hours later although there were other direct flights before that and we asked to be rerouted at various levels. I think it is just a matter of the fare you buy a ticket at, irrespective how/where you buy it.

 

Please don't make a generalization like that because it simply isn't true. Maybe it was true for YOUR particular ticket on YOUR particular airline. But that doesn't mean the cheapest fare available directly from every single European airline for every flight at all times will have the same restrictions. You'll scare the pants off people making generalizations like that with no clarification.:rolleyes:

[waterbug123]

Does anybody know if Choice air show every available flight? We're still 3 weeks too early to actually book our flights but I'm obsessed with checking routing/cost on the same cruise which departs 4 weeks earlier. I know that the same flights may not be offered, but I'm coming up with a cheaper flight with better connections (same price every week for the preceding months) direct with the airline. Choice air have the outbound flight available but returning on a different airline

 

I believe you've answered your own question. Choice Air generally shows the cheapest ticket options available to them at the time, rather than all possible ticket options.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I did see any fine print

• Assured Arrival means that any delays or cancellations to air travel booked through Celebrity's ChoiceAir will not keep a guest from getting to their cruise. Celebrity's ChoiceAir team monitors guests' flights and, in case of an unexpected travel snag, works quickly with the airline to get the guest on the next available flight to the ship, even providing hotel stays and ground transfers at no additional cost when necessary - resulting in greater peace of mind for vacationers.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/aboutceleb/tabLanding.do?ICID=Cel_11Q4_web_hp_ftr_about&pagename=footer_pages_about_celebrity&tab=footer_pages_about_celebrity_press_room_tab%2Faboutceleb%2FpressRoomDetails.do%3Fevent_date%3D2013-03-11%26event_type%3Dpress_release%26sequence_code%3DA%26pageNumber%3D1

So many Choice Air haters on this forum :rolleyes:

[odysee]

"If you buy the cheapest fare directly from (European) airlines, they have same restrictions... . I think it is just a matter of the fare you buy a ticket at, irrespective how/where you buy it."[/I]

 

Please don't make a generalization like that because it simply isn't true. Maybe it was true for YOUR particular ticket on YOUR particular airline. But that doesn't mean the cheapest fare available directly from every single European airline for every flight at all times will have the same restrictions. You'll scare the pants off people making generalizations like that with no clarification.:rolleyes:

 

As I mentioned ; it depends on the airfare you are paying for and the cheapest ones with corresponding restrictions are also available directly from (certain) European airlines, but of course you can always decide to buy the higher economy fares with less or no restrictions . Important is that you realize which fare you are buying and corresponding restrictions. (Also there are different business class fares available with or without restrictions.) I know this for a fact and through lots of practical experience with Lufthansa, Swiss, Air France, KLM and some others.

 

Some people seem to think that ALL tickets bought directly from airline are fully cancellable/ reimbursable/changeable/reroutable, which is absolutely not always the case and only depends on fare you are paying.

[ghstudio]

Does anybody know if Choice air show every available flight? We're still 3 weeks too early to actually book our flights but I'm obsessed with checking routing/cost on the same cruise which departs 4 weeks earlier. I know that the same flights may not be offered, but I'm coming up with a cheaper flight with better connections (same price every week for the preceding months) direct with the airline. Choice air have the outbound flight available but returning on a different airline

 

In my experience, choice air never shows all the flights. You have to consider Choice Air as just one possible place to purchase tickets...they don't show all airlines (and you may not see a scheduled airline that offers better times/prices) and they don't show all possible flights even for the airlines they do handle. Like booking a cruise, you have to do your homework and spend some time checking for the best arrangements for you....

[ghstudio]

The restrictions, should something go wrong, are not detailed in any fine print that I've ever found.....be it a ticket from an airline directly or from choice air. Airlines make up their own rules, priorities, procedures, many times on the spot, to accomodate travellers who have cancelled/delayed flights.

 

I would be very interested if someone could post the part of their ticket contract that says what the airline will do or not do in terms of rebooking you...based on the fare you've paid....or just post the URL of the ticket terms for a major airline and choice air that shows the difference.

 

I think we are dealing with rumors and innuendos rather than facts.....not to say there aren't differences at a specific airport for a specific situation, but I don't think it's documented anywhere.

[Cruise Junky]

The restrictions, should something go wrong, are not detailed in any fine print that I've ever found.....be it a ticket from an airline directly or from choice air. Airlines make up their own rules, priorities, procedures, many times on the spot, to accomodate travellers who have cancelled/delayed flights.

 

I would be very interested if someone could post the part of their ticket contract that says what the airline will do or not do in terms of rebooking you...based on the fare you've paid....or just post the URL of the ticket terms for a major airline and choice air that shows the difference.

 

I think we are dealing with rumors and innuendos rather than facts.....not to say there aren't differences at a specific airport for a specific situation, but I don't think it's documented anywhere.

 

No, we're dealing in facts. Check the fine print of Choice Air - it talks about the restrictions and there have been lots of cases (Sadly) of people posting here using Choice Air and missing cruises because they were stuck in some outback airport waiting for the next flight on that exact same route as others were getting re-routed. As I and Gonzo said, we'd use them, but would build in extra time. It's a free country, do as you please, but others should be aware, those cheap prices do come with restrictions should it hit the fan.

[ghstudio]

I'm really not trying to be argumentative and I agree that we have seen reports here about all kinds of things both on ships, airports, etc......but I can't find any fine print on Choice Air that talks about being treated differently than if you purchased directly from the airline. I don't currently have a choice air flight booked, so I can't look at any specifics.

 

If you believe there is a documented difference, I'd really appreciate your pointing it out....just copy the URL here and I'll take a look. I also don't think you'll find anything in writing about what an airline will do for you (other than as required by law) should your flight be delayed/cancelled that's specific to a booking class.

 

Help me here....show me that it isn't just rumors and war stories.

 

Note: I am not talking about any charter flights...just regular airline flights that we book on choice air, kayak, or the airlines directly....

[Christine Frances]

If you don't see an itinerary/flight that you are interested in, just give them a call and they will happily look it up for you.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[pmacher61]

If you don't see an itinerary/flight that you are interested in, just give them a call and they will happily look it up for you.Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Are you aware there is a $35 pp service fee for booking flights with the aid of a live CA rep?

[Wine-O]

We took a Choice Air flight last year on Lufthansa because it was a code share with United, so we thought we would get the miles credited to our United accounts. When we returned and didn't see the mileage credited to our account, I inquired. Found out we were not eligible because our tickets were fare coded "K" -- "12th Tier Economy. Seasonal Economy Promotional Fares/Reduced Fare Gov’t contract etc."

[Wine-O]

Are you aware there is a $35 pp service fee for booking flights with the aid of a live CA rep?

 

I think the fee is waived if you are a member of the Captain's Club?

[bhughey]

Anyone else having trouble connecting to Choice Air????

 

Seems like this thread has taken off in a new direction, but YES - I, too am unable to access the choiceair website. Haven't been able to all week.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I think the fee is waived if you are a member of the Captain's Club?

 

It is

Choice Air® Plus Program

 

Choice Air® Plus Program Complimentary Upgrade For Captain's Club Members.

 

ChoiceAir is our exclusive website where you can purchase airline tickets at the best prices. Guests who prefer highly personalized assistance when booking air itineraries, will appreciate ChoiceAir Plus. And we've taken care of the upgrade fee so our Captain's Club members can enjoy this personalized service anytime a booking is made through ChoiceAir. Our professional air agents will work closely with you on all of the details of your flight arrangements, offering the same low fares and choices found on the ChoiceAir website.

• Book your preferred schedule and/or air carrier.
  
• Extend your vacation either before or after your cruise.
  
• Fly from virtually any city.
  
• ChoiceAir Plus arrangements are only available on US and Canada cruise bookings.
  
• ChoiceAir Plus arrangements are only available after your cruise booking has been confirmed and may not be available less than 4 days prior to sailing date for individual reservations or 30 days for all group requests.
  
• ChoiceAir Plus is recommended for groups of 9 or more guests traveling together or guests with difficult itineraries that require multiple changes of aircraft to get to/from your city of origin to the port city.
  
• We've waived the US$35 per person non-refundable special assistance charge for ChoiceAir Plus reservations for our Captain's Club members. The $15 ChoiceAir fee for Domestic/North American destination sailings and a US$25 per person service charge for European, South American, Australian, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and Asian destination sailings still applies.
  
• Any changes to a ChoiceAir Plus reservation must be made through the ChoiceAir Support Desk. These changes may be subject to additional fees. In the event of airline schedule changes it may be necessary to rebook ChoiceAir flights. Additional charges may apply.
  

[waterbug123]

As I mentioned ; it depends on the airfare you are paying for and the cheapest ones with corresponding restrictions

 

Except that in the post I referred to, there was no clarification of "with corresponding restrictions." Just the generalization that "If you buy the cheapest fare directly from (European) airlines, they have same restrictions"

 

"cheapest air" and "cheapest air with corresponding restrictions" are two very different things, and it's an important difference.

 

The restrictions, should something go wrong, are not detailed in any fine print that I've ever found.....be it a ticket from an airline directly or from choice air. Airlines make up their own rules, priorities, procedures, many times on the spot, to accomodate travellers who have cancelled/delayed flights.

 

I would be very interested if someone could post the part of their ticket contract that says what the airline will do or not do in terms of rebooking you...based on the fare you've paid....or just post the URL of the ticket terms for a major airline and choice air that shows the difference.

 

Go to the cruise air forum and search for a post by Greatam. She has posted such restrictions several times. The airlines don't make them up; they are there, buried in the terms of the ticket. Unfortunately, with Choice Air, it's extremely difficult if not impossible to see them BEFORE you purchase the ticket.