Choice Air questions

[Nana_w]

I have always booked our flights but am thinking about using Choice Air for our Celebrity cruise in April 2023.  Since I haven't done it this way in the past, I have a couple of questions. I asked the Choice Air rep this morning but she kept contradicting herself so I thought I'd ask people with some experience. 

 

When are the flights usually ticketed?  I'm sure they won't be ticketed until paid in full but if I paid for them now, would they ticket this early (our cruise is 9 months away) ?

 

When can I choose my seat assignments? 

 

Am I locked into the price when I book (without paying) or is there a possibility of being charged more when I pay?

 

 

[RTR 21-0]

I’ll try to answer based on what I’ve been able to gather in the last few weeks while booking our flight for next May’s cruise.  I originally booked with FBC but cancelled this week and booked directly through American Airlines with a flexible ticket meaning I can cancel and get a refund to my credit card up until the day of the flight or make any changes necessary.  If flight cost more I would pay difference.  If less I believe I get a travel voucher for difference.  
 

Tickets booked with FBC aren’t ticketed until paid in full.  I was told by a rep that after making payment (even before final payment of cruise) that it could take up to 30 days to ticket.  However, if one needs them ASAP they could put in a request and it could take up to 72 hours.
 

Picking your seat depends on the airline I believe.  For instance, two of the legs for the flight I booked with FBC were on British Airways operated by American Airlines.  With BA you normally cannot choose seats until ticketed.  I was given a cross reference number and was able to choose my seats on the BA website which linked to AA.  However a few days later those seats did not show X’d out. Before cancelling I asked the Celebrity rep if she could give me a quote for the exact same flights booked on AA and she said she couldn’t, it would either be booked through Finn Air or BA and those tickets cost more than what I booked with AA.  Lots of people on the site will tell you (depending on how far out your cruise is) that the odds of the flights being changed are great.  Probably true but I preferred to deal directly with the airline, have my seat choices from the get go.  Since we are flying in a few days early I was comfortable with the decision to deal directly with AA.
 

if you choose to go with FBC (which deferring the cost is a great option) if you find the price lower before final payment of the cruise, and it’s the exact same flight options, Celebrity will confirm the price, they will cancel your original booking and rebook at the lower price.  If you flight the price lower after final payment of cruise, you will be charged $200 if you have booked a refundable/changeable ticket.  
 

Sorry so long but tried to answer your question as detailed as possible.   

[Nana_w]

1 minute ago, RTR 21-0 said:

I’ll try to answer based on what I’ve been able to gather in the last few weeks while booking our flight for next May’s cruise.  I originally booked with FBC but cancelled this week and booked directly through American Airlines with a flexible ticket meaning I can cancel and get a refund to my credit card up until the day of the flight or make any changes necessary.  If flight cost more I would pay difference.  If less I believe I get a travel voucher for difference.  
 

Tickets booked with FBC aren’t ticketed until paid in full.  I was told by a rep that after making payment (even before final payment of cruise) that it could take up to 30 days to ticket.  However, if one needs them ASAP they could put in a request and it could take up to 72 hours.
 

Picking your seat depends on the airline I believe.  For instance, two of the legs for the flight I booked with FBC were on British Airways operated by American Airlines.  With BA you normally cannot choose seats until ticketed.  I was given a cross reference number and was able to choose my seats on the BA website which linked to AA.  However a few days later those seats did not show X’d out. Before cancelling I asked the Celebrity rep if she could give me a quote for the exact same flights booked on AA and she said she couldn’t, it would either be booked through Finn Air or BA and those tickets cost more than what I booked with AA.  Lots of people on the site will tell you (depending on how far out your cruise is) that the odds of the flights being changed are great.  Probably true but I preferred to deal directly with the airline, have my seat choices from the get go.  Since we are flying in a few days early I was comfortable with the decision to deal directly with AA.
 

if you choose to go with FBC (which deferring the cost is a great option) if you find the price lower before final payment of the cruise, and it’s the exact same flight options, Celebrity will confirm the price, they will cancel your original booking and rebook at the lower price.  If you flight the price lower after final payment of cruise, you will be charged $200 if you have booked a refundable/changeable ticket.  
 

Sorry so long but tried to answer your question as detailed as possible.   

Thank you for your insight. We fly most often with Delta and right now if I book  through choice air it is $500 less per person than if I book directly with Delta. I prefer to have a control of directly booking with the airline but this current promotion is too good to pass up. I’ll probably book with choice air and monitor the prices on the Delta website.

[megr1125]

Yes you can pay ahead and ask them to ticket early.

 

As for picking your seats?  YMMV.  I just did this for my cruise in May.  I had business class and was able to choose my seats (on SAS and BA) at booking, and confirmed at ticketing, and I did NOT have to pay extra.  SOME people have had Biz on BA and were not able to choose seats without paying.

 

When my outbound on SAS got cancelled (EWR-CPH-FCO, the EWR-CPH leg cancelled) I called both FBC and SAS.  I'm still waiting for FBC to fix it and I've been home for over a month, lol.  SAS rebooked me onto UA's nonstop EWR-FCO, in Polaris. All on the same day that I was due to fly, just 8 hours ahead.

 

The only PITA with FBC is that once it's added to your reservation, you can't change it on line, you have to call them. (I was originally in Premium Economy but when Biz dropped in price I spent an hour on the phone to change it.)