Seat Selection Available When Purchasing Flights Through the Air2Sea program?

[traveltilidrop]

My main concern with Air2Sea is that I am still not sure if you can choose seats at the time that you pay in full for the tickets. I can't imagine a worse start to a cruise then finding out that the Air2Sea program has sold me a ticket in which I am not allowed to choose my seat until, say, check-in 24 hours before the flight. Yikes. You could end up in the middle seat somewhere in a different row from your traveling companion. 

For those of you who have booked your flights with Air2Sea, were you able to choose seats along with final payment?

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

4 minutes ago, traveltilidrop said:

My main concern with Air2Sea is that I am still not sure if you can choose seats at the time that you pay in full for the tickets. I can't imagine a worse start to a cruise then finding out that the Air2Sea program has sold me a ticket in which I am not allowed to choose my seat until, say, check-in 24 hours before the flight. Yikes. You could end up in the middle seat somewhere in a different row from your traveling companion. 

For those of you who have booked your flights with Air2Sea, were you able to choose seats along with final payment?

After you've made final payment for airfare you may need to call to ask them to go ahead and actualy "ticket" them thus allowing you to get your seats assigned with the airlines.  From past experience, you may have to call more than once.

[SilkySal]

We booked A2S for our Hawaii cruise in September and was able to select our seats immediately (money not due until final payment); however, it may have something to do with booking First Class. I've never flown First Class and wanted to do so for my 70th birthday, so not sure if that may have had something to do with the ability to select our seats right away.

Edited February 3, 2023 by SilkySal

[Jbluebird]

We booked Air 2 Sea several months ago for an international flight. The flights are on Delta and the person I spoke with on Air 2 Sea got us non-stop flights both ways and we were able to pick our seats for both flights. We are able to modify or cancel the reservation up until our final payment, which is not due until May. 

[taglovestocruise]

We have used Air2Sea at least a half dozen times, always international one way.  We have always been able to go to the airline of choice and picked our seats the same day online by using the ticket locator number or calling direct. We always purchase economy plus/comfort. We have never called Air2sea, only purchased online and usually as soon as booking opens.  

[Ourusualbeach]

14 minutes ago, traveltilidrop said:

My main concern with Air2Sea is that I am still not sure if you can choose seats at the time that you pay in full for the tickets. I can't imagine a worse start to a cruise then finding out that the Air2Sea program has sold me a ticket in which I am not allowed to choose my seat until, say, check-in 24 hours before the flight. Yikes. You could end up in the middle seat somewhere in a different row from your traveling companion. 

For those of you who have booked your flights with Air2Sea, were you able to choose seats along with final payment?

Seat selection for A2S has changed in the last month or so.  For many airlines you can now select seats at the same time as you are booking the flights even though you are not paying until final.  This varies by airline and A2S is working on bringing more airlines on board with this.

 

There are still some that you must wait until the seat is paid for and ticketed.

[klfrodo]

4 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Seat selection for A2S has changed in the last month or so.  For many airlines you can now select seats at the same time as you are booking the flights even though you are not paying until final.  This varies by airline and A2S is working on bringing more airlines on board with this.

 

Is there a published source for this information?

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Is there a published source for this information?

If you are asking if there is a list of which airlines you are able to do this with the answer is no.

 

This was discussed on one of Vicki's coffee talks last year and I have booked a couple of flights for clients where I have selected the seats at time of booking

[SteelCityCruiser10]

I used A2S for the first time in November for our trip to Anchorage and then home from Vancouver.  I booked online and paid in full at the time of booking.  I was not given the option to pick seats at booking but after I called and had them issue the ticket numbers I was able to add the trips into the apps for United and Air Canada and select seats.  It was frustrating that I had to call and ask them to ticket our flights.  In fact, I had to remind the rep when I called that I was already paid in full.  They were just assuming I wasn’t paid.

 

What I have found annoying is when changes are made it seems to drop my seat selections.  Mainly with Air Canada so far.   For example, Flight numbers changed at least twice already and it has dropped my seat selections each time - but only for the free seats.  The leg with paid seats did hold so that is good.  

 

The rep at A2S said that they have the ability to assign seats for most carriers but not all.  Air Canada was one I had to figure out myself.

[Joseph2017China]

There are many ways to  book travel, but if you are looking for the cheapest, sometimes a sacrifice is needed.  Sometimes, it costs extra to pick seats.  Sometimes you have no choice.  But at the end of the day, you either go cheapest or pay for what you want.  But the end result is you arrive at your destination.  I can handle being separated from my spouse on a flight if it means that the end result is a nice long vacation .

[Cruiser_1977]

I'm booked on A2S for an August 17 cruise. I logged into my United App and chose my seats. I have not made any payment other than my cruise deposit. I am even able to upgrade through the app if I'd like. Although, not all the way to First Class 🙂 

[klfrodo]

2 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If you are asking if there is a list of which airlines you are able to do this with the answer is no.

 

This was discussed on one of Vicki's coffee talks last year and I have booked a couple of flights for clients where I have selected the seats at time of booking

So, there is no published source stating that you can select seats when purchasing air travel thru A2S.

 

I do believe that there are some A2S tickets that you may be able to do this under the terms and conditions of that specific ticket purchased at that specific time but to say that it is now and will continue to be a standard practice as shown in a written public statement is less than genuine.

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

So, there is no published source stating that you can select seats when purchasing air travel thru A2S.

 

I do believe that there are some A2S tickets that you may be able to do this under the terms and conditions of that specific ticket purchased at that specific time but to say that it is now and will continue to be a standard practice as shown in a written public statement is less than genuine.

LOL,  Not everything that Royal does has a published policy.  Simply sharing firsthand information and experiences on the changes that they announced to TA's.

 

Edited February 3, 2023 by Ourusualbeach

[traveltilidrop]

Thank you, everyone, for your responses. I called Air2Sea and told the rep that I would like to choose my seats before committing to the booking. He was able to get my seats assigned through Delta, so I was happy and saved money by using Air2Sea. I have read that some people unfortunately had problems when their flights were changed, but others said that Air2Sea took care of them. Looking forward to the flights and cruise.

[Jimbo]

Noticed today when looking on the Air2Sea site was able to actually search a find flights flying out a day ahead of the cruise and it brought up selections for me to pick.

 

I thought you had to call Air2Seas to fly in a day or 2 ahead of your cruise date. But right now that does not seem to be the case.

 

My question now is though, the cruise I have booked is suppose to have an Air discount of $200 - $500 depending on the kind of tickets you reserve......My question now is do I have to call them to make sure I'm getting the discount............or is the discount all ready figured into the price I'm seeing.

 

I used the just looking link at flights and the price was indeed higher, but only like $150 in total for 2 tickets higher...........Not like $400 higher like I was expecting..........So I'm still confused how the Royal air discounts are figured in to the prices I'm seeing.

[traveltilidrop]

7 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Noticed today when looking on the Air2Sea site was able to actually search a find flights flying out a day ahead of the cruise and it brought up selections for me to pick.

 

I thought you had to call Air2Seas to fly in a day or 2 ahead of your cruise date. But right now that does not seem to be the case.

 

My question now is though, the cruise I have booked is suppose to have an Air discount of $200 - $500 depending on the kind of tickets you reserve......My question now is do I have to call them to make sure I'm getting the discount............or is the discount all ready figured into the price I'm seeing.

 

I used the just looking link at flights and the price was indeed higher, but only like $150 in total for 2 tickets higher...........Not like $400 higher like I was expecting..........So I'm still confused how the Royal air discounts are figured in to the prices I'm seeing.

In my case, the tickets to Europe were $200 less than the Delta price booked on the Delta website. The Delta price, however, included no change fees and if you decided to cancel your flight, you would receive an e-credit. The Air2Sea pricing includes changes up to the day that you pay in full for your cruise, after that, it costs $200 to make changes. Also, I have read from other passengers that when their flight changed they had to call Air2Sea for help, the airline refused to work with them because they had not purchased their tickets directly from the airline. 

You have to consider all of these factors before making a final decision as to how you want to buy your airline tickets. Although Air2Sea was the best deal for me in regards to Europe, when I called them asking for a quote on a flight back from my upcoming repo cruise in which I needed only a one-way return ticket, I was quoted a higher fare than what I was seeing online on various airline's websites, so I booked my one-way ticket on an airline's website and I am very happy with the savings and the fact that I was also able to choose my seats for an additional fee.

 

[Ourusualbeach]

14 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Noticed today when looking on the Air2Sea site was able to actually search a find flights flying out a day ahead of the cruise and it brought up selections for me to pick.

 

I thought you had to call Air2Seas to fly in a day or 2 ahead of your cruise date. But right now that does not seem to be the case.

 

My question now is though, the cruise I have booked is suppose to have an Air discount of $200 - $500 depending on the kind of tickets you reserve......My question now is do I have to call them to make sure I'm getting the discount............or is the discount all ready figured into the price I'm seeing.

 

I used the just looking link at flights and the price was indeed higher, but only like $150 in total for 2 tickets higher...........Not like $400 higher like I was expecting..........So I'm still confused how the Royal air discounts are figured in to the prices I'm seeing.

The price you see should already include any discounts.

 

Thanks for posting that you were able to see cruises arriving a day early.  That is certainly a nice change back to how it used to be.  

[traveltilidrop]

6 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

The price you see should already include any discounts.

 

Thanks for posting that you were able to see cruises arriving a day early.  That is certainly a nice change back to how it used to be.  

I was able to tell the agent on the phone that I wanted to arrive a day early and also that I wanted a flight back days after the cruise ended as I wanted to travel on my own as well. Just tell the agent your dates and the flights you are interested in and make sure that you have the agent choose seats for you at time of booking if that is important to you. By confirming that I could check a bag and choose my seats, I was also confirming to myself that this was indeed Main Cabin, and not an economy seat that would not allow me checked bags nor seat selection. Booking online leaves that up in the air, IMO.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 minutes ago, traveltilidrop said:

I was able to tell the agent on the phone that I wanted to arrive a day early and also that I wanted a flight back days after the cruise ended as I wanted to travel on my own as well. Just tell the agent your dates and the flights you are interested in and make sure that you have the agent choose seats for you at time of booking if that is important to you. By confirming that I could check a bag and choose my seats, I was also confirming to myself that this was indeed Main Cabin, and not an economy seat that would not allow me checked bags nor seat selection. Booking online leaves that up in the air, IMO.

It's never been an issue when calling in.  It was only an issue when trying to do it yourself on line which was frustrating.

[moposh]

I guess you won't fly Southwest then.  No assigned seating.  You have to check-in 24 hours before flight to get a boarding number (unless you choose to pay for early check-in or A boarding).

[SandyBottom61]

Has anyone ever booked a flight to Europe (BCN) on Lufthansa (operated by Air Canada)?

It’s one of the flight options I’m looking at because it’s a bit less expensive for a family of 4 and is only 1 layover, but does the Economy ticket from A2S include seat assignment or is that extra?
 

Im going to call later and ask, just hoping someone might know.

[Biker19]

19 minutes ago, SandyBottom61 said:

but does the Economy ticket from A2S include seat assignment or is that extra?

That will likely depend on the specifics of the fare used.

[gfargo53]

we just booked our airfare with air2sea this morning for our AUG.27-SEPT.3RD cruise on anthem flying from newark to london and return with united airlines tickets business class.we paid $5538.28 for 2 tickets.plus transfer from cruise port to london airport.i just now did a check of the same flights and the price for 2 tickets in business class is $7728.90 !!!!!!!!! on united website

[ksadonnab]

Whoooo Chile!!!!  A disaster - I guess it depends on the knowledge of your booking agent.

I'll just leave it there.  Not my first time booking with them but definitely the most work and errors I've experienced.  SAD

[Jbluebird]

We booked our flights through A2S several months ago.  We are on Delta with non-stop flights to Amsterdam in Economy and we picked our seats at the time of booking.  Since then the flights have gone both up and down (mostly up now), but at one point went down about $400 so I called A2S and was able to rebook at the lower rate (while also keeping our original seats). The only "extra" cost is paying for 1 luggage, which I think is $100.