Not Happy

[11dfr11]

I have never had to fly using Choice Air, but we are going to cruise to Rome and needed a return flight for next year.

I am very disappointed that the company does not back what they say and does not allow flex when they definitely know the price will go down, but maybe not in their guarantee of 24 hours.

I am getting told that Alitalia is terrible but it seems that it is the only non stop they are using back to Miami. I really wanted to go to Fort Lauderdale but they didn't have a non stop and the price was $2000.00.

I really want to be in Fort Lauderdale, but it cost $150.00 each ticket to change the flight. They really have a gimmick.

Prices have dropped tremendously and I am going to call them now.

[Orator]

I have never had to fly using Choice Air, but we are going to cruise to Rome and needed a return flight for next year.

I am very disappointed that the company does not back what they say and does not allow flex when they definitely know the price will go down, but maybe not in their guarantee of 24 hours.

I am getting told that Alitalia is terrible but it seems that it is the only non stop they are using back to Miami. I really wanted to go to Fort Lauderdale but they didn't have a non stop and the price was $2000.00.

I really want to be in Fort Lauderdale, but it cost $150.00 each ticket to change the flight. They really have a gimmick.

Prices have dropped tremendously and I am going to call them now.

 

You need not use Choice Air if you don't like their prices or schedule. Unfortunately Alitalia only offers a direct flight from Miami to Rome. I'm taking that flight on November 16th and paid about $600 for the one way flight. I also live in Boca and would have preferred to leave from Ft. Lauderdale. The price for my driver to take me to MIA is not unreasonable, much less costly than taking a flight to Rome from FLT. I've flow Alitalia before and have not experienced problems. Took a flight from JFK to Rome and it was excellent.

I think you're just frustrated and needed to vent. Hope it all works out for you.

[Jade13]

Post this on the Cruise Air board. Are you sure this is not the Airlines change fee?

 

Choice Air is just the name of the air department within RCCL/Celebrity. They are acting as agent.

 

I would also watch our for "Flex" fares. They do not guarantee the airline, just the routing.

[Fisherlady48]

$150 is low. Most major airlines are now charging $200 to change the ticket.

[tbugstwo]

I do not understand why people do not do simple Internet searches to checkout their flight options and fares BEFORE calling Choice Air. As another poster said, you are not required to use Choice Air. We are taking 3 b2b cruises from Ensenada to Singapore later this year. I used kayak.com to check on schedules and fares available for the return date to Orlando. I then called Choice Air and spoke to an agent. They did not offer seats on the airline (AA) that had not only the best schedule by far, but the best price. The agent was unable to tell me why, only that the flight was not showing in his system. Needless to say, I booked my flight directly with AA through its web site!

[frugaltravel]

I have never had to fly using Choice Air, but we are going to cruise to Rome and needed a return flight for next year.

I am very disappointed that the company does not back what they say and does not allow flex when they definitely know the price will go down, but maybe not in their guarantee of 24 hours.

I am getting told that Alitalia is terrible but it seems that it is the only non stop they are using back to Miami. I really wanted to go to Fort Lauderdale but they didn't have a non stop and the price was $2000.00.

I really want to be in Fort Lauderdale, but it cost $150.00 each ticket to change the flight. They really have a gimmick.

Prices have dropped tremendously and I am going to call them now.

 

Why did you book to Miami when you really wanted to go to Ft. Lauderdale? Also, Choice Air or not, the airlines won't give you a price reduction for a previously-purchased ticket unless the price drops by more than the change fee (which is usually $250 for international flights and is going up to $400 with many airlines soon).

 

I have flown Alitalia multiple times and I am not sure who told you they are "terrible." I can tell you horror stories about US airlines that are way worse!

[zoncom]

I fly Miami International. FLL is a domestic airport. Shuttles between 2 cost $25 pp or under. Italia is not considered a good International. Foreign lines usually fly to their home hub, you then transfer to your European destination. I have good luck with AirFrance and Lufthansa .American lines are chintzy with food, alcohol and legroom in coach.

[jsmeeker]

Hard to sell routes that don't exist.

 

 

FWIW, FLL does have international service. Maybe not to FCO or to many European cities on major airlines, but they certainly have quite a few international destinations. Most are in the Caribbean and central and South America.

[nolatravelgirl]

I am not sure I understand what you want. You want to fly out of FLL fine, but realize that you are now setting yourself up for a connection. Would you rather fly FLL-EWR-FCO or nonstop MIA-FCO. Seems like a no brainer to me. Why would you want to add a second flight and hours of travel just to avoid 26 mile drive. :confused:

[jsmeeker]

I am not sure I understand what you want. You want to fly out of FLL fine, but realize that you are now setting yourself up for a connection. Would you rather fly FLL-EWR-FCO or nonstop MIA-FCO. Seems like a no brainer to me. Why would you want to add a second flight and hours of travel just to avoid 26 mile drive. :confused:

 

MIA is a total and complete zoo. EWR isn't my favorite place either, but a connection there may be more tolerable than dealing with MIA from the curb to the plane.

 

The flight EWR-FCO will be shorter than MIA-FCO. If you are stuck in coach, you might want to make the over water flight as short as possible.

 

We don't really know where the poster lives. Sure, MIA is 26 miles south of FLL, but if you live well north of FLL, that's even more driving.

 

 

 

I'm a big, big, big fan of flying non-stop as much as possible. But I understand there are circumstances where taking a connection might be more desirable.

[waterbug123]

I have never had to fly using Choice Air, but we are going to cruise to Rome and needed a return flight for next year.

I am very disappointed that the company does not back what they say and does not allow flex when they definitely know the price will go down, but maybe not in their guarantee of 24 hours.

I am getting told that Alitalia is terrible but it seems that it is the only non stop they are using back to Miami. I really wanted to go to Fort Lauderdale but they didn't have a non stop and the price was $2000.00.

I really want to be in Fort Lauderdale, but it cost $150.00 each ticket to change the flight. They really have a gimmick.

Prices have dropped tremendously and I am going to call them now.

 

Wow, where to even begin?!

1. In what way did Choice Air not back what they said?

2. How do you know that Choice Air KNEW the price would go down?

3. Even a tiny bit of research would show you that when you buy a cheap ticket, you will not have the ability to change that ticket without incurring additional fees. File that under "you get what you pay for."

4. If by "gimmick" you mean they sell cheap tickets to passengers who, instead of reading the fine print and understanding what they are really purchasing just make assumptions of what they THINK the rules of their ticket are, based upon what they WISH the rules of their ticket were, then yeah, I guess you could say they have a gimmick. :rolleyes:

[nolatravelgirl]

MIA is a total and complete zoo. EWR isn't my favorite place either, but a connection there may be more tolerable than dealing with MIA from the curb to the plane.

 

The flight EWR-FCO will be shorter than MIA-FCO. If you are stuck in coach, you might want to make the over water flight as short as possible.

 

We don't really know where the poster lives. Sure, MIA is 26 miles south of FLL, but if you live well north of FLL, that's even more driving.

 

 

 

I'm a big, big, big fan of flying non-stop as much as possible. But I understand there are circumstances where taking a connection might be more desirable.

I agree that MIA and EWR suck so there are other options such as connecting in ATL or PHL, but it appears that the OP wants to fly nonstop FLL-FCO which doesn't exist. Perhaps the OP can come back and point out which flights would be her preference.

 

Agree that there are times where a connection may be preferable especially when someone has status and would thus be upgraded to a premium cabin for doing so.

 

I am going out on a limb that the OP and doesn't have elite status nor is booked in a premium cabin.

[jsmeeker]

sure. But that's why I suggested it might be preferable to have the long over water leg to be as short as possible. Because they are back in Y. Some people just don't like it and would take extra time and longer domestic hop to shorten the longest leg. The connection gives them a chance to stretch, spend some time in a much larger space, etc. prior to getting on a plane again.

[frugaltravel]

I am not sure I understand what you want. You want to fly out of FLL fine, but realize that you are now setting yourself up for a connection. Would you rather fly FLL-EWR-FCO or nonstop MIA-FCO. Seems like a no brainer to me. Why would you want to add a second flight and hours of travel just to avoid 26 mile drive. :confused:

 

I am absolutely certain that the OP wants none of the above :). They said they are taking a cruise to Rome and need a flight back :D.

[greatam]

I have never had to fly using Choice Air, but we are going to cruise to Rome and needed a return flight for next year.

 

You had a LOT of choices. Maybe not a lot of choices nonstop but a LOT of choices nevertheless. So why did you use Choice Air when you REALLY had NO IDEA what you were purchasing?

 

I am very disappointed that the company does not back what they say and does not allow flex when they definitely know the price will go down, but maybe not in their guarantee of 24 hours.

 

This is a joke, correct??? Why would you think you should get a price drop and refund? This isn't a cruise. It is an airline ticket. A fixed commodity with a fixed price other than a few companies who will reprice your ticket or give you a refund WITHIN 24 hours. Why would you think you should get a lower price 48 hours or more past purchase? Have you never purchased an airline ticket before???

 

 

I am getting told that Alitalia is terrible but it seems that it is the only non stop they are using back to Miami. I really wanted to go to Fort Lauderdale but they didn't have a non stop and the price was $2000.00.

I really want to be in Fort Lauderdale, but it cost $150.00 each ticket to change the flight. They really have a gimmick.

Prices have dropped tremendously and I am going to call them now.

 

So if you wanted to go to FLL, why did you book a ticket to MIAMI??? You booked the ticket. What is the "gimmick"?

 

I am really astounded someone posted this. Absolutely NO concept of airline ticketing, routing, airline rules or what they purchased.

 

And what prices have dropped tremendously? The LEFTOVER unsold consolidator tickets on Choice Air??? I seriously doubt it this far in advance.

 

I am no fan of Choice Air because there are so many who believe as the OP believes-Choice Air can do it all. That belief is a FAR cry from reality.

[slidergirl]

I have no idea why you think Cruise Air is doing you wrong.

They are merely a 3rd party booking agent for cruise guests. They have no magic powers to force an airline to create a non-stop flight just for you to destinations where no non-stops exist. The tickets they sell to you are consolidator tickets 90% of the times and you must follow the same rules for them as customers who book the same tickets through the airlines directly or other 3rd party agents. I don't know where you got the idea that CA has something special.

 

There used to be something called a "deviation fee" that you could pay if you wanted to specialize your flights, like picking the exact airline and flight numbers. I don't know if that still exists. You could always ask.

 

Next time, you really should do some checking around the Internet yourself instead of blindly diving into cruise-provided air.

 

IF (and it's a big IF) US Airways is still in operation when your cruise is happening (there's a possible merger with AA happening), they do offer flights from FCO to CLT, then a short flight to FLL.

[jsmeeker]

US will be operating. It may not be USdbaAA if the DOJ has their way, but there will be a US for some time to come in some form or or fashion.

[11dfr11]

You need not use Choice Air if you don't like their prices or schedule. Unfortunately Alitalia only offers a direct flight from Miami to Rome. I'm taking that flight on November 16th and paid about $600 for the one way flight. I also live in Boca and would have preferred to leave from Ft. Lauderdale. The price for my driver to take me to MIA is not unreasonable, much less costly than taking a flight to Rome from FLT. I've flow Alitalia before and have not experienced problems. Took a flight from JFK to Rome and it was excellent.

I think you're just frustrated and needed to vent. Hope it all works out for you.

 

We live in Boca too.

[11dfr11]

I have never had to fly using Choice Air, but we are going to cruise to Rome and needed a return flight for next year.

I am very disappointed that the company does not back what they say and does not allow flex when they definitely know the price will go down, but maybe not in their guarantee of 24 hours.

I am getting told that Alitalia is terrible but it seems that it is the only non stop they are using back to Miami. I really wanted to go to Fort Lauderdale but they didn't have a non stop and the price was $2000.00.

I really want to be in Fort Lauderdale, but it cost $150.00 each ticket to change the flight. They really have a gimmick.

Prices have dropped tremendously and I am going to call them now.

 

I did and do read the small print. Well it is good

To hear some people like Alitalia.

Dont be so judgemental and critical in your reply and

Assume what you dont know.

Thanks for replying.

Anyway, i am set now so venting did give

Me answers i needed.

Good Day

[slidergirl]

US will be operating. It may not be USdbaAA if the DOJ has their way, but there will be a US for some time to come in some form or or fashion.

 

Problem is, when airlines merge, they start looking at routes and eliminating some. That's why I'd be concerned with any US/AA flights right now - if you book 'em early, they may not be on the list come flying time...

[ducklite]

Problem is, when airlines merge, they start looking at routes and eliminating some. That's why I'd be concerned with any US/AA flights right now - if you book 'em early, they may not be on the list come flying time...

 

FCO>PHL>FLL isn't going away if it's booked through US. Worst that will happen is that PHL will become JFK, but I doubt that will even happen in the next year or more.

[jsmeeker]

Problem is, when airlines merge, they start looking at routes and eliminating some. That's why I'd be concerned with any US/AA flights right now - if you book 'em early, they may not be on the list come flying time...

 

THey do. But the good thing with US/AA is that there is minimal direct non-stop route overlap.