A Different EZ Air Question

[jajsmom]

We just booked a Northern Europe cruise for next summer last week. The airfare for our dates only became available the very end of August. I have learned from reading these boards that I should check for price changes and I can get a lower price until 45 days prior to cruising.

 

I "booked" our airfare exactly one week ago. I obsessively check daily, not expecting to see any changes in this short period of time. Well, in the past week, airfare prices have continued to rise daily. And more concerning is the fact that the flights we chose are no longer available. The flights are listed in our cruise personalizer. I even went as far as checking directly with the airline, and I'm not able to book these flights.

 

Is it possible that the flight has sold out already? Or has the flight been cancelled even though it has only been able to have been booked for just over two weeks? Should I start looking for a new flight?

 

The EZ Air fares were significantly better than what we could book on our own, saving us over $1200 for the two of us at this early date. I was hoping to save even more, but now I'm hoping to just be able to keep the flights I already have.

 

Thanks for any insights.

[Redhaven]

I would call Princess and have them check the status of the flight reservation. I have seen similar things in the past, and it could be the flights were quickly fully booked and then taken off the availability list. Princess will know.

[Kamloops50]

Princess usually has limited number of seats this far out. Not all airlines have a price agreement with Princess this far out.

[TwoCruisers]

I would go to the airline web site and see if the flights are available there. I would also look up my booking on the airline web site. If it shows that you are booked on their web site then I would expect that you are alright.

[Astro Flyer]

EZair flights & pricing can vary daily so if I correctly understand your situation not seeing your flight as being available to currently book through EZair probably means the available seats are already booked.

 

Your EZair reservation contains the airline confirmation code next to each flight which you could use to check your airline's website for your reservation. Don't confuse that confirmation code with the "AIR BOOKING NUMBER" at the top of your EZair reservation which is the Princess reference code & not the airline's confirmation code.

 

We immediately made an EZair reservation as soon as our return flight was available for our flight next month. That price dropped by 58% within the first 2 months but nothing lower since then. For another cruise in Summer 2018, we again immediately booked EZair flights which have only increased since booking.

 

I check at least daily but there are so many variables that things can be very different for each passenger.

[Colo Cruiser]

They are in your personalizer? Why would you think they are no good?

Flight availability changes all the time. Of course they could be sold out if they are not showing anymore.

[Colo Cruiser]

I would go to the airline web site and see if the flights are available there. I would also look up my booking on the airline web site. If it shows that you are booked on their web site then I would expect that you are alright.

 

 

 

The OP states they did this already.

[Hlitner]

I would go to the airline web site and see if the flights are available there. I would also look up my booking on the airline web site. If it shows that you are booked on their web site then I would expect that you are alright.

 

Not sure your idea will work. The EZ Air folks have told us that they do not book the specific flight (in the name of the passenger) until they receive final payment. So even though one has a reservation on the EZ Air system....there will be no record on the airline site or even an airline reservation number. We have flights booked for next April via the EZ Air site...and the only proof that our booking even exists is what we see on the Princess site. Otherwise, we would quickly go on the airline site and carefully select our seats (seats for our flights are not available via EZAir...at this time).

 

Hank

[Colo Cruiser]

Not sure your idea will work. The EZ Air folks have told us that they do not book the specific flight (in the name of the passenger) until they receive final payment. So even though one has a reservation on the EZ Air system....there will be no record on the airline site or even an airline reservation number. We have flights booked for next April via the EZ Air site...and the only proof that our booking even exists is what we see on the Princess site. Otherwise, we would quickly go on the airline site and carefully select our seats (seats for our flights are not available via EZAir...at this time).

 

Hank

 

 

Respectfully disagree. We have always been able to find our booking on the airlines website when booking through EZ Air. And we have had many different airlines. Never had an issue finding the record.

Now getting seats? Thats another story.

The booking is made, it's just not paid for until final.

[Astro Flyer]

Not sure your idea will work. The EZ Air folks have told us that they do not book the specific flight (in the name of the passenger) until they receive final payment. So even though one has a reservation on the EZ Air system....there will be no record on the airline site or even an airline reservation number. We have flights booked for next April via the EZ Air site...and the only proof that our booking even exists is what we see on the Princess site. Otherwise, we would quickly go on the airline site and carefully select our seats (seats for our flights are not available via EZAir...at this time).

 

Hank

Airline policies can vary because our EZair reservations for two cruises both provide confirmation codes that I can use to view my reservations on the airline's websites.

 

Our KLM & Virgin Atlantic reservations are available to access on their website even when booking 11 months in advance. We also used their website to pre-pay for a coach seat assignment which was done many months prior to final payment.

 

So it appears that airlines have different policies but both of ours allow accessing our EZair reservations including making advance coach seat assignments. Those fees are non-refundable & each EZair fare reduction results in a new airline confirmation code. So we waited until figuring our airfare had reached the lowest price before paying for seat assignments which was still several months before final cruise payment.

[racj846]

Not sure your idea will work. The EZ Air folks have told us that they do not book the specific flight (in the name of the passenger) until they receive final payment. So even though one has a reservation on the EZ Air system....there will be no record on the airline site or even an airline reservation number. We have flights booked for next April via the EZ Air site...and the only proof that our booking even exists is what we see on the Princess site. Otherwise, we would quickly go on the airline site and carefully select our seats (seats for our flights are not available via EZAir...at this time).

 

Hank

Also respectfully disagree! We have flights booked to Singapore next March on United and back to Canada from Rome on Delta. Seats were chosen during the EZair booking process. EZair confirmation included airline booking numbers. Subsequently checked both airline sites and was able to "see' our booking and seat selection.

[caribill]

 

I "booked" our airfare exactly one week ago. I obsessively check daily, not expecting to see any changes in this short period of time. Well, in the past week, airfare prices have continued to rise daily. And more concerning is the fact that the flights we chose are no longer available. The flights are listed in our cruise personalizer. I even went as far as checking directly with the airline, and I'm not able to book these flights.

 

Is it possible that the flight has sold out already? No.

 

If the airline booking code is not in your personalizer, call Princess and get that booking code.

 

Then call the airline and ask them about the flights, giving them the booking code and the flight numbers and dates for travel.

 

It is possible that the airline changed their schedule.

[IECalCruiser]

Respectfully disagree. We have always been able to find our booking on the airlines website when booking through EZ Air. And we have had many different airlines. Never had an issue finding the record.

 

Now getting seats? Thats another story.

 

The booking is made, it's just not paid for until final.

Same with us. As you said, the booking is made but not paid. I can't remember if the airlines are paid at final payment or 45 days before the flight for Flexible air. We have been able to book seats on domestic flights before then, but not so much on international carriers

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[PescadoAmarillo]

I can't remember if the airlines are paid at final payment or 45 days before the flight for Flexible air.

I believe it's at 45 days. That's why you can still take advantage of price drops and cancel your air all together until then.

[kiwimum]

Our flexible Ezair tickets on BA were issued 30 days prior to our flight. BA flight locator, seat selection was almost immediate.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Hopeless67]

JaJsMom

We booked thru EZAir and our flight the air line canceled the flight. My TA called Princess and right away I was booked on another airline ( same cost ) I was the one who found out it was canceled so keep checking but I'm sure you'll be fine.

[jajsmom]

Thanks for all of the helpful replies. I was particularly concerned because our family has 3 flights scheduled over the next few months, and of those, one was cancelled and one was drastically changed. And because of that, I obsessively check all of our reservations daily. I was able to get my daughter's flight home for Thanksgiving changed before the airline notified us, and got her onto a flight that is now sold out.

 

As far as my EZ Air flights, I tried checking Air France directly by trying to book the same flights. They were no longer available, but they were last week when I booked the flights. I did use my confirmation code to check that we were on the flights, and our reservation came up. When booking through EZ air, I had been able to book seats for our transatlantic flights both ways, but not for our flights RT from Paris to Copenhagen. Our seat assignments showed up, but I could not book seats for the other two flights either.

 

I am most amazed that a full 10 months in advance, our flights are sold out.

[jajsmom]

Just wanted to provide a follow-up on this. A few days ago, I saw flights that were a better price than I had originally booked. I had difficulty changing the flights through my cruise personalizer. Today, I finally called Princess, and after spending 1 1/2 hours on the phone with them, it was discovered that my original flights had been changed to 2 stopovers in the US before an additional stop in Paris before we finally would reach our destination. This did not show in our cruise personalizer, but EZ Air knew there was some change and that is why is would not let me rebook a flight. While I was on hold with EZ Air, I checked Air France directly using my confirmation code. That's where I found out the crazy route my flights changed to. After much work, we were able to get flights with only one layover.

 

My take on the experience--check flights often, and if there seem to be any problems, there probably are. We are still 10 months away, so there are more choices to be had than if we were closer to sail time. I will continue to check diligently.

[Mud_Shark]

I am one who likes to book airfares early and have had the flights changed or cancelled several times - once the flight I was booked changed 4 times over the course of 9 months or so. I wasn't using EZ air then but the airlines were very good at working with me to come up with a satisfactory alternate flight each time. In the end we ended up with better routing and timings than we started out with. Point is - this far out, changes to routing or flt cancellations are not that uncommon, but for EZ air - you are not locked in so they are not obligated to work with you to provide an attractive routing at the same price.

 

However, might I recommend a handy little app called "Hopper"? Probably plenty of folk are aware of it but I find it handy for air fare forecasts. It is free from the app store and when you put in your travel dates and destination, it will monitor fares and let you know each week when a good fare is available. It will also give you an assessment of whether they think the fare is likely to drop further or not. And then they show a forecast for how low they think the fare is likely to go, and when it should hit its most reasonable price point (usually about 3 months out from travel date).

 

Don

[Kamloops50]

Just wanted to provide a follow-up on this. A few days ago, I saw flights that were a better price than I had originally booked. I had difficulty changing the flights through my cruise personalizer. Today, I finally called Princess, and after spending 1 1/2 hours on the phone with them, it was discovered that my original flights had been changed to 2 stopovers in the US before an additional stop in Paris before we finally would reach our destination. This did not show in our cruise personalizer, but EZ Air knew there was some change and that is why is would not let me rebook a flight. While I was on hold with EZ Air, I checked Air France directly using my confirmation code. That's where I found out the crazy route my flights changed to. After much work, we were able to get flights with only one layover.

 

My take on the experience--check flights often, and if there seem to be any problems, there probably are. We are still 10 months away, so there are more choices to be had than if we were closer to sail time. I will continue to check diligently.

 

I’ve always got an email from Princess for flight changes.

[jajsmom]

Thanks for the tip on the "hopper" app. I'm not sure how well it will work with EZ Air, as those prices are so much lower anyways. But it will work great trying to book my kids trips home from school around holidays.

 

Kamloops 50, we did not get an email from Princess. In fact, they were unaware of the fact and had to call the airline directly to see why I could not make changes to my airfare. I'm sure it was a freak occurrence, but those seem to happen to me more than other people.

[Kamloops50]

Thanks for the tip on the "hopper" app. I'm not sure how well it will work with EZ Air, as those prices are so much lower anyways. But it will work great trying to book my kids trips home from school around holidays.

 

Kamloops 50, we did not get an email from Princess. In fact, they were unaware of the fact and had to call the airline directly to see why I could not make changes to my airfare. I'm sure it was a freak occurrence, but those seem to happen to me more than other people.

 

If you bought restricted airfare they won’t notify you. We always buy flexible air .

[trvlwrld]

have used ez-air 9 times-each time has been a different experience-some airlines have your schedules immediately after booking them and others dont show up until 30 days before your flight-sometimes your schedule changes 5-6 times before AND after final payment to princess...last april we had a $1000 price drop after final payment was made. we changed our flights through ez-air and princess refunded the money back to our credit card immediately AND the flights were at a better time than our previous ones....i constantly check ez-air for prices and times right up til we leave home and it usually works in our favor!

[Kamloops50]

have used ez-air 9 times-each time has been a different experience-some airlines have your schedules immediately after booking them and others dont show up until 30 days before your flight-sometimes your schedule changes 5-6 times before AND after final payment to princess...last april we had a $1000 price drop after final payment was made. we changed our flights through ez-air and princess refunded the money back to our credit card immediately AND the flights were at a better time than our previous ones....i constantly check ez-air for prices and times right up til we leave home and it usually works in our favor!

 

We have had similiar experiences with EzAir. Only that all airlines had our reservations on the their system. Some airlines didn't allow seat selection until 45 days before the cruise. Princess has a form you fill and have the reservation released to airline after the cruise is fully paid. Sometimes for codeshare (example American and BA ) to have to go to actual company to get a seat assignment in advance.