Choice Air Availability...

[tgmtgm]

Does anyone know if Choice Air releases discounted airfare closer to sail date? I'm booked on the April 14th Equinox transatlantic, and Choice Air has no decent airfares for the return from Malaga. I've called and spoke with one of their reps, and informed me that it's a 50/50 chance that they will- depends on whether or not the airlines are willing to give them contracted space.

 

I can book my return flight using AA miles, but there's a forced overnight stay in London, and I'd prefer not to. Thanks

 

Tony

[justcrusn]

It really depends on the airlines. If seats are not full, they will discount them to fill the plane, just like cruise ships. The conventional wisdom is that cheapest airfare is about 6 weeks before a trip.

And a 50/50 chance they will discount the airfare makes it just as likely they WON'T.

 

Best of luck finding a good fare, by the way there are some websites that track and predict airfares aren't there?

[BEAV]

Does anyone know if Choice Air releases discounted airfare closer to sail date? I'm booked on the April 14th Equinox transatlantic, and Choice Air has no decent airfares for the return from Malaga. I've called and spoke with one of their reps, and informed me that it's a 50/50 chance that they will- depends on whether or not the airlines are willing to give them contracted space.

 

I can book my return flight using AA miles, but there's a forced overnight stay in London, and I'd prefer not to. Thanks

 

Tony

 

My guess is that Malaga, not being a major airline gateway, is perhaps the reason you're not seeing bulk, contracted fares through ChoiceAir. If you can get to Madrid or Barcelona reasonably (by train, possibly?), then you'll see much lower rates through ChoiceAir from those gateways.

 

For example, doing a one-way search on ChoiceAir from Madrid on April 28 (the day after you disembark Equinox), you'll find the following:

 

MAD-LAX $479

MAD-SFO $479

MAD-FAT (Fresno) $499

 

I mention FAT seeing you're from Hanford! ;) I did a lot of "hard time" working for Amtrak in Hanford back in the late 70's-80's-90's. Talk about memories!

[tgmtgm]

It really depends on the airlines. If seats are not full, they will discount them to fill the plane, just like cruise ships. The conventional wisdom is that cheapest airfare is about 6 weeks before a trip.

And a 50/50 chance they will discount the airfare makes it just as likely they WON'T.

 

Best of luck finding a good fare, by the way there are some websites that track and predict airfares aren't there?

 

I wouldn't hold my breathe on the airlines putting forth any discounted fares. I'm hoping(as well as a few other folks on the roll call)that Choice Air will have some contracted fares loaded into their system. I have a feeling that since this cruise ends in Malaga instead of Rome, Barcelona, or Southhampton, Celebrity doesn't have the same one way pricing that exists for the other transatlantic routes. We'll see- hopefully they can put something together. If not, I'm afraid some folks will cancel out due to the outrageous pricing for the flight home.

 

Tony

[tgmtgm]

My guess is that Malaga, not being a major airline gateway, is perhaps the reason you're not seeing bulk, contracted fares through ChoiceAir. If you can get to Madrid or Barcelona reasonably (by train, possibly?), then you'll see much lower rates through ChoiceAir from those gateways.

 

For example, doing a one-way search on ChoiceAir from Madrid on April 28 (the day after you disembark Equinox), you'll find the following:

 

MAD-LAX $479

MAD-SFO $479

MAD-FAT (Fresno) $499

 

I mention FAT seeing you're from Hanford! ;) I did a lot of "hard time" working for Amtrak in Hanford back in the late 70's-80's-90's. Talk about memories!

 

Thanks for pointing that out- I noticed that as well on the Choice Air search engine. That might be plan B if nothing else pans out. TGV train from Malaga to Madrid runs about $100 and 2.4 hours one way. More of a hassle than leaving from Malaga, but do-able! ;)

 

Haha- small world! You should see the Amtrak station here in Hanford now- much nicer, and cleaner! And they actually make some revenue now instead of being in the red every year. I'm also certain you remember Superior Dairy? Had a fantastic sundae there this weekend- still popular as ever! :D

 

Tony

[smoosh21]

My guess is that Malaga, not being a major airline gateway, is perhaps the reason you're not seeing bulk, contracted fares through ChoiceAir. If you can get to Madrid or Barcelona reasonably (by train, possibly?), then you'll see much lower rates through ChoiceAir from those gateways.

 

For example, doing a one-way search on ChoiceAir from Madrid on April 28 (the day after you disembark Equinox), you'll find the following:

 

MAD-LAX $479

MAD-SFO $479

MAD-FAT (Fresno) $499

 

I mention FAT seeing you're from Hanford! ;) I did a lot of "hard time" working for Amtrak in Hanford back in the late 70's-80's-90's. Talk about memories!

 

 

I was going to suggest the same thing. Those are some really good rates. I paid $600 to fly from BCN to ATL this May after our TA on the Mariner OTS. You should get better rates from the big cities, and Choice air does offer much better OneWay rates than you can get with the airlines

[Ex-Airbalancer]

I have been watch the Silhouette TA in April 2014 but pricing is over $2000 Rome to Toronto.

This past January, I pick up an one way Rome to Toronto for $402 for the Silhouette crossing, so trying figure out what flight cost will is impossible

 

Maybe Celebrity will have give free air instead of a drink package promo to get people on the cruises

[KEN31VA]

Tony:

 

I'm on the same cruise using AA miles. Since there is a high tax when using LHR, I decided to spend one night in Malaga and then get the morning Iberia flight to MAD connecting to JFK. (It is possible to make the flight on the embarkation morning, but you have to be one of the first off the ship.)

[BEAV]

Tony:

 

I'm on the same cruise using AA miles. Since there is a high tax when using LHR, I decided to spend one night in Malaga and then get the morning Iberia flight to MAD connecting to JFK. (It is possible to make the flight on the embarkation morning, but you have to be one of the first off the ship.)

 

I'm glad you brought up the high taxes flying via the UK, even on an award ticket. They're outrageous and we avoid connecting through here at all costs. The taxes/fees can practically add up to what ChoiceAir is charging for the entire ticket, taxes/fees included.

[deserttraveler]

It costs quite a bit less to fly from Malaga to Madrid or to Paris or Amsterdam than to Barcelona. For some reason, BCN is an expensive flight from Malaga. I use a European website with the name dreams in the title to search fares within Europe. Since the Choice Air fares from MAD to SFO are quite reasonable, it's really just managing this first leg that is challenging, but if Choice Air is really a travel agency, they should be able to combine your within-Spain one-way ticket with your tranatlantic flight so you can check bags all the way through. If Choice Air is offering $475, they should be able to write you a ticket for the Malaga-Madrid segment for only about $200 more. The train is fun (fast, with a movie), but would leave you in downtown Madrid, and you'd still need to get to the airport. It should not be the end of the world to spend Sunday night in Malaga, certainly better than Heathrow. The Picasso musuem is open on Sunday!

[h20cruzer]

I have found one strang quirk when I try to price on Choice Air, it seems to auto populate 6AM

as departure time.

I use the pull down menu and change to any time and a lot of time more fares pop up that are less than it I leave the 6am there.

I have used Choice air 5 times and have gotten terrific rates every time. I have booked last minute as well as 7-8 months ahead.

I have found the best deals on one ways, like the TA.

Norma

[BEAV]

It costs quite a bit less to fly from Malaga to Madrid or to Paris or Amsterdam than to Barcelona. For some reason, BCN is an expensive flight from Malaga. I use a European website with the name dreams in the title to search fares within Europe. Since the Choice Air fares from MAD to SFO are quite reasonable, it's really just managing this first leg that is challenging, but if Choice Air is really a travel agency, they should be able to combine your within-Spain one-way ticket with your tranatlantic flight so you can check bags all the way through. If Choice Air is offering $475, they should be able to write you a ticket for the Malaga-Madrid segment for only about $200 more. The train is fun (fast, with a movie), but would leave you in downtown Madrid, and you'd still need to get to the airport. It should not be the end of the world to spend Sunday night in Malaga, certainly better than Heathrow. The Picasso musuem is open on Sunday!

 

ChoiceAir will sell you Malaga-MAD starting at $195.78 on Iberia (One World). When you combine that with their MAD-SFO price of $481 via DL/KLM/AF (SkyTeam) the total comes to $676. But when you try to price ChoiceAir Malaga-SFO it all jumps to $1200+ as Tony originally posted. My guess why they don't display the combined $676 rate option is because they're mixing two different airline alliances, and I don't believe that's "ticketable". I see this on nearly all travel websites. If you want to fly one segment on one alliance and a different alliance on another segment, you have to book separately -- seems they won't combine (ticket) two different alliances on a single booking. Just a hunch.....

[Gonzo70]

ChoiceAir will sell you Malaga-MAD starting at $195.78 on Iberia (One World). When you combine that with their MAD-SFO price of $481 via DL/KLM/AF (SkyTeam) the total comes to $676. But when you try to price ChoiceAir Malaga-SFO it all jumps to $1200+ as Tony originally posted. My guess why they don't display the combined $676 rate option is because they're mixing two different airline alliances, and I don't believe that's "ticketable". I see this on nearly all travel websites. If you want to fly one segment on one alliance and a different alliance on another segment, you have to book separately -- seems they won't combine (ticket) two different alliances on a single booking. Just a hunch.....

 

While it will save money, it is vary risky booking two separate tickets as part of a connecting flight. If the first flight is late (leading you to miss the second flight) the first carrier has zero obligation to get you to your final destination and the second carrier will cancel your ticket if you do not contact them in time. Even if you are able to reach them in time, you likely would have to pay significant fees to then switch to a later flight, as well as wait for an available flight.

[BEAV]

While it will save money, it is vary risky booking two separate tickets as part of a connecting flight. If the first flight is late (leading you to miss the second flight) the first carrier has zero obligation to get you to your final destination and the second carrier will cancel your ticket if you do not contact them in time. Even if you are able to reach them in time, you likely would have to pay significant fees to then switch to a later flight, as well as wait for an available flight.

 

I agree completely. I wasn't suggesting the OP do this, but rather offering a hunch as to why ChoiceAir won't display a one-way itinerary involving airlines of different alliances.

 

If anyone were to actually fly/purchase this itinerary in two transactions, the best way would be to fly Malaga-MAD the day of disembarkation, then MAD Transatlantic back to the U.S. the following day.

[deserttraveler]

I agree completely. I wasn't suggesting the OP do this, but rather offering a hunch as to why ChoiceAir won't display a one-way itinerary involving airlines of different alliances.

 

If anyone were to actually fly/purchase this itinerary in two transactions, the best way would be to fly Malaga-MAD the day of disembarkation, then MAD Transatlantic back to the U.S. the following day.

 

I think BEAV is on the right track here, but I have had Alitalia plus American all on one ticket, changing at CDG (an aiport to be avoided, if possible). American sent a little truck over to the Alitalia gate to fetch our bags, one of which made it on to our flight and one of which made it a day later. But Alitalia is in the alliance with Delta, not American, yet it still worked aside from the issues of CDG being a horrible airport in which to transfer. I have not yet tried Choice Air, but I wonder if a phone conversation with an agent would allow them to make a combined ticket. Two hours in Madrid would be sufficient for the change if you are doing it all in one day. And, yes, it would be safer to do it as two tickets with an overnight in an airport hotel in Madrid. Airport there is big, with long walks, but the signage is excellent.

[luvthoseships]

I would try talking to an agent again. Sometimes you can force the computer to break the ticket price (in this case at Madrid), and it should fare lower as each fare is in Euros (exchanged to dollars). The airline systems will all do this when prompted, but can be difficult to find an agent who knows how to do it. The fare is stored and issued as one ticket, with the ticket being issued on the transatlantic airline. Iberia and AA are partners, so should work with them. Small regional airlines do not have ticketing agreements with anyone.

[BEAV]

I think BEAV is on the right track here, but I have had Alitalia plus American all on one ticket, changing at CDG (an aiport to be avoided, if possible). American sent a little truck over to the Alitalia gate to fetch our bags, one of which made it on to our flight and one of which made it a day later. But Alitalia is in the alliance with Delta, not American, yet it still worked aside from the issues of CDG being a horrible airport in which to transfer. I have not yet tried Choice Air, but I wonder if a phone conversation with an agent would allow them to make a combined ticket. Two hours in Madrid would be sufficient for the change if you are doing it all in one day. And, yes, it would be safer to do it as two tickets with an overnight in an airport hotel in Madrid. Airport there is big, with long walks, but the signage is excellent.

 

Do you recall if you were able to book/combine AA with Alitalia yourself over the Internet or did you have to call to get the job done?

 

The only time I was able to combine non-alliance airlines together on the same booking was when flying SFO-LHR-LIS via Virgin Atlantic and BA. We were on an award ticket SFO-LHR and Virgin was able to "sell" us the BA ticket LHR-LIS on the same booking. We were also able to check bags through to LIS from SFO. Worked great, but no way was that possible to orchestrate on the Virgin Atlantic website!

[Cruising89143]

We booked our air this past weekend for our EQ cruise next June. We checked Choice Air and the price was exactly the same as Delta. We booked through Delta but paid a very high price for our flights.

[tgmtgm]

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback. I ended up booking an award ticket business class on Air Berlin connecting in Dusseldorf. Planning on spending a couple of days in Malaga after the cruise and visiting the Alhambra. Total cost- 50k airmiles plus $53 in tax. Had I gone the London route- $398 in tax/fuel surcharge on BA- outrageous!

 

Tony

[happy 2 b cruising]

We booked our air this past weekend for our EQ cruise next June. We checked Choice Air and the price was exactly the same as Delta. We booked through Delta but paid a very high price for our flights.

 

On your June 1, 2014 cruise do you have a non stop for your return flight home from Venice to Atlanta? We live in Florida and all I see is going through JFK as a direct flight. I have been reading on the threads all the problems with schedule changes this far out so I guess we can anticipate this will happen to us as well. Thanks for your help.

[BEAV]

Thanks everyone for all the great feedback. I ended up booking an award ticket business class on Air Berlin connecting in Dusseldorf. Planning on spending a couple of days in Malaga after the cruise and visiting the Alhambra. Total cost- 50k airmiles plus $53 in tax. Had I gone the London route- $398 in tax/fuel surcharge on BA- outrageous!

 

Tony

 

Tony,

 

Thanks for the follow up and I'm glad to you were ultimately able to not only use your miles, but also avoid the high UK taxes. Win-win!

[Cruising89143]

On your June 1, 2014 cruise do you have a non stop for your return flight home from Venice to Atlanta? We live in Florida and all I see is going through JFK as a direct flight. I have been reading on the threads all the problems with schedule changes this far out so I guess we can anticipate this will happen to us as well. Thanks for your help.

 

Yes, we booked non stops both directions. Atlanta-Barcelona and Venice-Atlanta. We had the direct flights roundtrip last month from Atlanta to Venice on Delta and it worked out great. This is one reason that we booked so early. Business class can go quickly.

 

By the way, I think that there is a couple of days each week where Delta doesn't offer the direct flight back to ATL from VCE plus it's seasonal.

[happy 2 b cruising]

Thank-you for the information. I guess you like booking with the Airlines direct instead of Choice Air. Just curious what days of the week will you be flying your non stops? Atlanta could be a better option than JFK for us.

[Cruising89143]

Thank-you for the information. I guess you like booking with the Airlines direct instead of Choice Air. Just curious what days of the week will you be flying your non stops? Atlanta could be a better option than JFK for us.

 

The prices were exactly the same and I don't really trust the cruise lines to be there if something goes wrong. We fly out of ATL on a Thursday and back home on a Saturday.

[happy 2 b cruising]

I understand why you would book direct if the price is the same, no need for a middle man. Appreciate your help :)