HAL Flight Ease program

[motravelerken]

So I just booked my Alaska cruise for July 2023. I noticed on the HAL website that they seem to assist you in booking airfare for your trip with a program called Flight Ease. I have not read much about this on the cruise forum (yet). I will be flying into Vancouver and flying out of Anchorage (we are doing a northbound cruise out of Vancouver). Does HAL do a nice job of arranging flights with this program? I have read and heard not-so-good things about Norwegian and their arrangement of flights for people but have heard nothing about this program for HAL until just now. I am not close enough to my cruise date to put in my info yet (looks like you have to be at most 330 days out to use it). What are opinions from people that have used the flight ease program??

[Lido deck main]

We use flight ease, and have no problems.  Payment due at final payment. Can go in anytime once booked and go in to see if prices have gone down, also if there are additional flights.  Can also cancel the flight no charge before final, (make sure you select flexible). 

[AV8rix]

I have had good results with FlightEase for international flights regarding fares.  However, for domestic flights I can do equally good (or better) on my own.  Are you using a HAL PCC, a travel agent, or booking on your own?  If using a HAL PCC he/she can enlighten you about FlightEase.  Don't know about a TA or arranging FlightEase on your own, as I always book it through my PCC.

Edited August 5, 2022 by AV8rix

[Mary229]

I like Flight Ease and find that for all of my flights I can get at least the same prices if not better.  There contracts with airlines are in flux so you favorite airline may not always be available.

 

the best part is you can book right away, not have to pay until final payments and adjust as many times as you want until final payment. If the cruise is canceled you are fully cancelled and refunded. 

[Caribbean Chris]

Perhaps it is because of the staff-shortages at both airlines and FlightEase this year, and inexperienced people on the phones, but the service so far for our trip happening in two months has been lacking. There have been several schedule changes we have never been notified about - just accidentally discovered them by checking the airline’s passenger record. Others on our Roll Call are having the same experience. Some have cancelled their FE air and rebooked, paying more on their own.
 

Twice, our 3-hour (deliberately-planned) layover has shrunk to just 50 minutes for a stopover requiring us to change terminals in a major airport, from domestic to an international flight. When we call FlightEase, they say they can’t help, that the flight we want doesn’t exist, or “we’ll call you in a few days,” so we have called the airline directly and fortunately persuaded them to fix it even though their rules say that FlightEase, as travel agent of record with these special bulk fares they have, must handle changes.

 

It’s making me very nervous about our flights operating properly. Before this experience, we had the impression that by booking with FE, HAL would help us if any problems arise and take responsibility for getting us to the ship, but we no longer feel that way. I know the airline industry is a mess, but I have the feeling we’ll be on our own to deal with it. 
 

Maybe our post-summer flight will be better and - by next year - these problems will be solved for your trip.

[vicd1969]

I used Flight Ease for international and the savings were pretty substantial. I don't think you'll see similar face value savings on domestic BUT you likely will get more flexibility - most flight ease fares and bookings are flex and have no cost to change. That said, what I do is book on Flight Ease, then use the airline booking code to register my trip with the airline. That way, if the airline cancels or modifies the flight, I will get notified by the airline instead of relying on Flight Ease to do so. 

 

If you book on Flight Ease, you can continually check for prices and new flights to see if cheaper options are available, then change for free (unless you booked the restricted airfare option) before final cruise payment. The negatives are that the HAL Flight Ease website is unreliable on the PC - I have like a 1 out of 4 chance of successfully getting on the site and have to retry many times. Also, if you do need to contact the Flight Ease department by phone, wait times can be loooong, though airline customer service probably isn't much better. My travel agent does handle the major issues if I have any with Flight Ease, however.

[Gray Lady]

We booked our Alaskan trip though Flight Ease. One added benefit is if you contract COVID while on your trip (pre/post cruise), they modify and change your flight for you with no added out-of-pocket expense. It made our “catastrophe” much easier with one less thing to worry about. My TA also says that it is difficult to find fares as good as they offer. As stated, it is very easy to change your flights up until final payment.

[Caribbean Chris]

16 hours ago, vicd1969 said:

…That said, what I do is book on Flight Ease, then use the airline booking code to register my trip with the airline. That way, if the airline cancels or modifies the flight, I will get notified by the airline instead of relying on Flight Ease to do so. 

I do the same, with all my details as a frequent flyer, including email and text #, in the record. But no notification from FlightEase nor American on two flight schedule changes so far. So I monitor constantly.

[vicd1969]

On 8/6/2022 at 9:34 AM, Caribbean Chris said:

I do the same, with all my details as a frequent flyer, including email and text #, in the record. But no notification from FlightEase nor American on two flight schedule changes so far. So I monitor constantly.

Yes, that's a good idea to do so. I haven't flown American international in a while, and Delta and United have been pretty good about notifying me of flight changes. I would also recommend downloading the airline's app to one's smart phone.

[sethro983]

I have had nothing but trouble accessing flight ease. I was able to book a flight 2 weeks ago and have been unable to get back in to make a change for the past week. I keep getting this message “We are unable to process your request. Please try again later or call us at the number listed on the page for assistance” . I have been on hold now for 34 minutes just to speak to someone about the issue and try to get more flight information.

[Skicruiser55]

5 minutes ago, sethro983 said:

I have had nothing but trouble accessing flight ease. I was able to book a flight 2 weeks ago and have been unable to get back in to make a change for the past week. I keep getting this message “We are unable to process your request. Please try again later or call us at the number listed on the page for assistance” . I have been on hold now for 34 minutes just to speak to someone about the issue and try to get more flight information.

I have found that if i wait about 30 seconds after going to the page where you click to “manage” your flights I don’t get that message.  Someone had posted this and I haven’t had an issue accessing my flights when I get it time for it to fully load.  

[Torquer]

11 minutes ago, sethro983 said:

I have had nothing but trouble accessing flight ease. I was able to book a flight 2 weeks ago and have been unable to get back in to make a change for the past week. I keep getting this message “We are unable to process your request. Please try again later or call us at the number listed on the page for assistance” . I have been on hold now for 34 minutes just to speak to someone about the issue and try to get more flight information.

Please follow the steps in the following post and you will get in to the Flight Ease website.  It is amazing that HAL has not fixed this bug yet.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2856034-more-flight-ease-drama/?do=findComment&comment=63359158

 

[motravelerken]

So I have now booked my flights through Flight Ease. Seemed pretty simple. There does seem to be a little glitch in their system in which it often comes up with the "not able to process request" page but usually after I try it a few times it comes up. 

 

So here are my new questions:

1. If I see a better offer come up or a better flight option, is it easy to change? Is it even possible to go back and see the other options now that I have booked?

2.  How hard is it to cancel my flights without canceling the whole cruise if I get better offers? 

3. I am guessing if I download the airline apps, I will be able to see my flights and get notifications?

 

I sure do love the fact that I just booked my flights and don't have to put any money down until I make final payment for my cruise in April so that is a good thing. Seems almost too simple and too good to be true to me, but it is all good right now. 

 

[Mary229]

12 minutes ago, motravelerken said:

So I have now booked my flights through Flight Ease. Seemed pretty simple. There does seem to be a little glitch in their system in which it often comes up with the "not able to process request" page but usually after I try it a few times it comes up. 

 

So here are my new questions:

1. If I see a better offer come up or a better flight option, is it easy to change? Is it even possible to go back and see the other options now that I have booked?

2.  How hard is it to cancel my flights without canceling the whole cruise if I get better offers? 

3. I am guessing if I download the airline apps, I will be able to see my flights and get notifications?

 

I sure do love the fact that I just booked my flights and don't have to put any money down until I make final payment for my cruise in April so that is a good thing. Seems almost too simple and too good to be true to me, but it is all good right now. 

 

this is for flexible airfare booked prior to final payment:
 

1. Use google flights for tracking and if you notice better pricing it is easy to go back in to change.  Even if you simply want to explore other options it is easy,But it is a bit scary.  So you will click on change this flight and a big scary warning pops up.  Ignore, proceed.  You can now pick and choose.  Your original options are still held unless you buy anew.  If you don’t like any of it close your browser window and your former flights are preserved

 

2.  Simply repeat above and click cancel this flight.  
 

3.  Yes 

[Mary229]

Did you put in your frequent flyer number and TSA number on the HAL website, if not do so now.  You usually can pick your seats on the HAL website too but not always.     When you download the app there is often a 24 hour delay. 

[QueenofEverything]

I booked flights thru Flight Ease for our cruise in April. Even though i booked flexible fare and it clearly states you won't be charged until final payment, it charged my card.  Anyone else have this happen?

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, QueenofEverything said:

I booked flights thru Flight Ease for our cruise in April. Even though i booked flexible fare and it clearly states you won't be charged until final payment, it charged my card.  Anyone else have this happen?

Is it a complimentary casino cruise?  I am on a CCC in May and if I want to use Flight Ease it states payment due at time of air booking.  I am holding off until closer time.

[opa&oma]

On 8/5/2022 at 1:30 PM, Caribbean Chris said:

Perhaps it is because of the staff-shortages at both airlines and FlightEase this year, and inexperienced people on the phones, but the service so far for our trip happening in two months has been lacking. There have been several schedule changes we have never been notified about - just accidentally discovered them by checking the airline’s passenger record. Others on our Roll Call are having the same experience. Some have cancelled their FE air and rebooked, paying more on their own.
 

Twice, our 3-hour (deliberately-planned) layover has shrunk to just 50 minutes for a stopover requiring us to change terminals in a major airport, from domestic to an international flight. When we call FlightEase, they say they can’t help, that the flight we want doesn’t exist, or “we’ll call you in a few days,” so we have called the airline directly and fortunately persuaded them to fix it even though their rules say that FlightEase, as travel agent of record with these special bulk fares they have, must handle changes.

 

It’s making me very nervous about our flights operating properly. Before this experience, we had the impression that by booking with FE, HAL would help us if any problems arise and take responsibility for getting us to the ship, but we no longer feel that way. I know the airline industry is a mess, but I have the feeling we’ll be on our own to deal with it. 
 

Maybe our post-summer flight will be better and - by next year - these problems will be solved for your trip.

We have never had so many serious problems as we did with our last FE  booking (this year).  At this point, we just can't trust it. We too, had many changes to our schedules, without being notified of them, finding out at last minute, including our flight home, which included a 19 hour flight going through Dubai from England to US.

[QueenofEverything]

49 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Is it a complimentary casino cruise?  I am on a CCC in May and if I want to use Flight Ease it states payment due at time of air booking.  I am holding off until closer time.

No, it is a regular booking.  The only thing I can think of is even though it is far from final payment date, it is fully paid for.  We had to cancel an August cruise and much to my surprise, HA offered to credit the fare to another cruise.  We had outside insurance and I assumed I would have to file a claim on that.  I guess I will call and find out, just dread the wait time on hold.

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, QueenofEverything said:

No, it is a regular booking.  The only thing I can think of is even though it is far from final payment date, it is fully paid for.  We had to cancel an August cruise and much to my surprise, HA offered to credit the fare to another cruise.  We had outside insurance and I assumed I would have to file a claim on that.  I guess I will call and find out, just dread the wait time on hold.

This could be the reason as mine is fully paid for.  

[hoakiedon]

The flight schedule Flight Ease recommended gets into Fort Lauderdale the morning of the cruise. If the flight gets cancelled and I can't make the cruise, does Flight Ease get me to the next port?

[Cruise NH]

We looked at flight ease for an upcoming trip where we're going into one city and back from another.  That's two one way flights on flight ease. 

 

 Instead I used the 'multi city' selection (depending on the airline it's with the round trip or one way selection) on my favorite airline's site.  The multi city choice was a little more then the round trip price but not as pricey as two one ways on the site.

 

I would recommend looking at the multi city option if you have a favorite airline and want to be in complete control of your booking.  Not all airlines offer it, eg  Delta does, Jetblue does not.

[Mary229]

9 minutes ago, Cruise NH said:

We looked at flight ease for an upcoming trip where we're going into one city and back from another.  That's two one way flights on flight ease. 

 

 Instead I used the 'multi city' selection (depending on the airline it's with the round trip or one way selection) on my favorite airline's site.  The multi city choice was a little more then the round trip price but not as pricey as two one ways on the site.

 

I would recommend looking at the multi city option if you have a favorite airline and want to be in complete control of your booking.  Not all airlines offer it, eg  Delta does, Jetblue does not.

The recent update makes it a lot easier to do this - thank goodness