Silversea Air Screws Up Again

[Observer]

For quality of in-flight service and comfort, I would readily take Austrian over United.  Austrian is a fine airline.

[FlyerTalker]

Unless the appeal of a non-stop is that overwhelming, take the Austrian flight.  Much better than UA.

[bubbulz]

1 hour ago, Lois R said:

Good to know🙂 thank you. Is the Vienna airport pretty easy to access? I have never been there before. IF this is the flight I end up with, I have a 90 minute layover for my flight to JFK.....I was told that is plenty of time.

VIE is very easy to navigate and 90 minutes should be plenty of time. And although Polaris on United is nice, business class on Austrian is a step above. 

[silkismom]

How is Iberia?   Different cruise, just wondering.

[dougburns]

I have a non-stop flight from Lisbon to Dulles on United for 4 April thru SS and was able to upgrade within the main cabin on the SS class ticket. So, apparently things have changed.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

2 hours ago, dougburns said:

I have a non-stop flight from Lisbon to Dulles on United for 4 April thru SS and was able to upgrade within the main cabin on the SS class ticket. So, apparently things have changed.

That's good to know.  In 2021, I was not able to get the non-stop flight.  As others have indicated, it depends on whether they've got contracts for specific flights and how many seats on those particular flights.  It also could be they may have had coach seats but not business class.  So many variables.

[CruzinFeraBruzin]

3 hours ago, bubbulz said:

VIE is very easy to navigate and 90 minutes should be plenty of time. And although Polaris on United is nice, business class on Austrian is a step above. 

I will keep this in mind for our 2024 cruise that ends in Athens.  If the connections and airline service are good, that's more important than flying with your preferred airline these days.  Especially if the flights fall within Silversea's contract.

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, dougburns said:

I have a non-stop flight from Lisbon to Dulles on United for 4 April thru SS and was able to upgrade within the main cabin on the SS class ticket. So, apparently things have changed.

 

You are not "upgrading".  You are still in economy, you merely have a preferred seat with a better location or a bit more legroom.  You paid a seat fee, not an upgrade.

 

Upgrading is to a different class of service, which would be to Premium Economy or Business.  Within main, you just got a slightly better seat.

 

Please don't confuse the two situations, which are fundamentally different.  And yes, the nomenclature matters.

 

 

Edited January 28, 2023 by FlyerTalker

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, bubbulz said:

VIE is very easy to navigate and 90 minutes should be plenty of time. And although Polaris on United is nice, business class on Austrian is a step above. 

 

And although UA calls all of their business class service "Polaris", there are still routes that have the old business class seats, which are WAY past their prime.  The term "Polaris" won't guarantee you the latest seating.

[bubbulz]

1 minute ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And although UA calls all of their business class service "Polaris", there are still routes that have the old business class seats, which are WAY past their prime.  The term "Polaris" won't guarantee you the latest seating.

And even though on some flights (e.g., some to Hawaii) may have you sitting in a 'Polaris' seat, it's not considered 'Polaris' in terms of the service or club access. (BTW, United still has some business class routes such as to the Caribbean. They don't call it Polaris.)

[ak1004]

I need advice about our upcoming cruise in 2024.

 

We usually fly business class and arrive 2 nights before the cruise. So the options are:

 

1. Book d2d, take $1,150 CAD air credit and book our own flights.

2. Book d2d and upgrade to business class for $2,800 CAD.

 

So the total cost would be almost $4,000 CAD. There are still no prices for 2024, but similar flights in 2023 (same month) are around the same price. Plus if we book through SS and fly earlier, we also pay deviation fee, correct? How much is it?

 

Reading all the issues with flights, we tend to take the air credit. I'm aware that we also lose the transfers, but we will be travelling with another couple and share the transfer cost.

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

[A Tucson Guy]

53 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

I need advice about our upcoming cruise in 2024.

 

We usually fly business class and arrive 2 nights before the cruise. So the options are:

 

1. Book d2d, take $1,150 CAD air credit and book our own flights.

2. Book d2d and upgrade to business class for $2,800 CAD.

 

So the total cost would be almost $4,000 CAD. There are still no prices for 2024, but similar flights in 2023 (same month) are around the same price. Plus if we book through SS and fly earlier, we also pay deviation fee, correct? How much is it?

 

Reading all the issues with flights, we tend to take the air credit. I'm aware that we also lose the transfers, but we will be travelling with another couple and share the transfer cost.

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

When the 2024 Bus Air prices come out, you may find that the fares have gone up quite a bit. I doubt air fares are going down. I like to take SS Bus Air and pay the fee if the flights are more than 330 days out.

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, A Tucson Guy said:

When the 2024 Bus Air prices come out, you may find that the fares have gone up quite a bit. I doubt air fares are going down. I like to take SS Bus Air and pay the fee if the flights are more than 330 days out.

and if we do it and don’t like the flights that they offer, or can find better prices on our own, can we get it removed? Both bus air and $1,150 air credit?

[bubbulz]

1 minute ago, ak1004 said:

and if we do it and don’t like the flights that they offer, or can find better prices on our own, can we get it removed? Both bus air and $1,150 air credit?

Yes. That is my plan. I’m waiting to see what they come up with for my trip in November.

[ak1004]

Just now, bubbulz said:

Yes. That is my plan. I’m waiting to see what they come up with for my trip in November.

Do they offer the flights before the final payment?

[Gourmet Gal]

6 hours ago, Lois R said:

I know you are the flight expert (seen many of your postings over the years on the air forum).

I will just wait and see what happens. Right now they have me on Austrian Air, Athens to Vienna and then Vienna on to JFK. The times for these flights work well so will just wait and see what SS does. I will contact my gal on Monday about that United flight.

I have made the decision not to stress over all this......it won't do any good.

Sometimes if the airline is not contracted with SS you may still be able to pay a (sometimes hefty) deviation fee and still come out ahead compared to booking on your own.

[Lois R]

52 minutes ago, Gourmet Gal said:

Sometimes if the airline is not contracted with SS you may still be able to pay a (sometimes hefty) deviation fee and still come out ahead compared to booking on your own.

After reading the postings about the positive feedback with Austrian air, I will be good with that itinerary. 

I will know more this coming week.

[Port Power]

I find the mention of “having” to pay the deviation fee confusing.  I thought a deviation fee would only be charged if you want to change the flights that are set out for you?  Posts here seem to imply this fee is paid up front, apparently for no reason.  Can anyone explain, please?

[ak1004]

does anyone know if SS have contracts with Air Canada and I can request Air Canada flights?

[Stumblefoot]

9 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

Delta had a "direct" flight from Miami to Tel Aviv that not only stopped in New York, but changed aircraft as well.

Why was DL allowed to market it as “direct”?  Or, was it just a one off due to an unanticipated equipment change?

[Stumblefoot]

8 hours ago, silkismom said:

How is Iberia?   Different cruise, just wondering.

👎🏻 Bleh.

[alithecat]

@ak1004Yes, SS does have contracts with Air Canada. They wanted to route us from Santiago back to my home in San Francisco on Air Canada via Toronto in January. I rejected this.

[Stumblefoot]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

…we tend to take the air credit.

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

We ALWAYS take the air credit. I couldn’t imagine putting up with all the hassle some folks here do with SS Air. I like the convenience to pick the exact day I want to arrive and depart, select the flight, grab our preferred seats, and voila! Easy peasy. No back-n-forth between cruise and air departments, waiting on communication for days, or paying any deviation fees.

 

Hope this is the feedback you were looking for.

[taxatty]

9 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

👎🏻 Bleh.

Motion seconded. IMHO, IB has mediocre economy and business class seats and food, and service has been average and below. IB also has the worst customer service department I've ever dealt with, even after trying to get help via Twitter--which covers a lot of territory--it took a year and a half and a DOT complaint to get flight credits for COVID-cancelled flights that we eventually used on BA.

[ak1004]

11 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

We ALWAYS take the air credit. I couldn’t imagine putting up with all the hassle some folks here do with SS Air. I like the convenience to pick the exact day I want to arrive and depart, select the flight, grab our preferred seats, and voila! Easy peasy. No back-n-forth between cruise and air departments, waiting on communication for days, or paying any deviation fees.

 

Hope this is the feedback you were looking for.

I completely agree with you. I also like to be in control, and many times I can also book with points. The only issue is as others mentioned, if the prices in 2024 are much higher?

 

What if I book with bus air now, and when prices are released for 2024, if I see that I can book at similar prices or with points, I remove the air? Any downside to this (except obviously slightly higher deposit)?