Likelihood of Getting a Non-Stop Flight Using Oceania O'Life Inclusive Air

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Getting  a non stop flight has nothing to do with being in economy   it is to do with the routing & the contracts O has with airlines  using the city pairs  you are using

 

ABSOLUTELY correct.

 

And even more so, it has to do with how the OVERALL specifics  of the demand for airline seats.

 

Let me give an hypothetical example.  Passenger A is flying from Chicago and there is a nonstop to XXX.  However, Passenger B is flying from Podunk, and the onward flight that they can connect to is that non-stop. If there is one ticket left on the non-stop, guess who it will be assigned to?  Most likely to the Podunk passenger, because it distributes the "getting a connection" across the board.  And Mr A also gets a connection to XXX.  Remember - as opposed to a passenger buying a ticket on their own, the cruiseline air department has to juggle and schedule hundreds of flight passengers for each cruise.

 

So, it's all a big jigsaw puzzle - where it's not just about any one passenger and what works best for them alone.

 

 

[Bone1]

On 3/23/2023 at 4:45 PM, WESTEAST said:

One needs to identify their preferred routing (non stop, day, airline, flight, time) to your TA who can book your Custom Air with Oceania no earlier than 270 days prior at a cost identified below. Never had a problem and Oceania gives you time to review before accepting. The charge is non-refundable once approved.

 

HOW DO YOU HANDLE CUSTOM AIR REQUESTS? 

 

Updated March 21, 2023

Custom air requests for specific airlines, routings, flights, etc can be requested once payment has been made on the booking and no earlier than 270 days prior to sailing. The cost to request custom air is $199 USD / $299 CAD per guest per request plus any applicable air differential. The $199 USD / $299 CAD service fee is non-refundable once the custom air is accepted.

Any pre-flight arrangements, such as seat assignments, frequent flyer programs, wheelchair requests, oxygen or special meal requests must be made by the guest directly with the airlines based on their policies and procedures. Oceania Cruises cannot confirm any special airline requests unless otherwise specified. Due to the special nature of fares used, frequent flyer or past traveler discounts may not apply to air tickets issued by Oceania Cruises. These special requests and services should be arranged by you or your travel agent directly with the airlines.

 

 

 

 

Twice with the paid air through Oceania we got such awful air that we asked our TA to get better flights and she was kind enough to do so and we did get better flights. We are on a cruise in 4 weeks and we had a flight with a 9 hour layover and got us in late at night on a day that we paid for a pre-cruise extra offer. We, once again, found that unacceptable. Our TA talked with the Oceania air Dept and we got a direct flight to our destination. We also are arriving at 6:00 a.m. so we have the whole day to sightsee instead of losing the whole day. So don’t be surprised if you get a flight with1 or more stops. And it also doesn’t make a difference what type of level you are flying at. (Econ, Premium, Bus, etc.). Also, it was just accepted for us by our TA and was never offered to us for our acceptance. 

Edited May 13, 2023 by Bone1
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[jonthomas]

7 hours ago, Bone1 said:

Twice with the paid air through Oceania we got such awful air that we asked our TA to get better flights and she was kind enough to do so and we did get better flights. We are on a cruise in 4 weeks and we had a flight with a 9 hour layover and got us in late at night on a day that we paid for a pre-cruise extra offer. We, once again, found that unacceptable. Our TA talked with the Oceania air Dept and we got a direct flight to our destination. We also are arriving at 6:00 a.m. so we have the whole day to sightsee instead of losing the whole day. So don’t be surprised if you get a flight with1 or more stops. And it also doesn’t make a difference what type of level you are flying at. (Econ, Premium, Bus, etc.). Also, it was just accepted for us by our TA and was never offered to us for our acceptance. 

 

Oh that does not sound good at all.

Our bargain air and prem econ with O, could turn into a nightmare.

We plan to go 2 days early into Barcelona,  but don't know how that will affect the prem econ. I know we lose the transfers. There is no charge now for going in earlier.

Did you have to pay deviation for your chosen flight?

[FlaggMary]

On 3/23/2023 at 2:39 PM, Luv2trvl18 said:

We have gone on over 20 cruises but have never used a cruise line's inclusive air.  We are going on our first cruise with Oceania in November, and so far will be flying from JFK New York to Barcelona using Oceania O'Life inclusive air.  From JFK there are a number of non-stop flights to Barcelona, as well as 1 and 2-stop flights.  What is the likelihood that the flight we get will be one of those non-stops?  We will find out our flight only 75 days before the cruise, but if it is other than a non-stop we would rather book the flight on our own.  But if we wait until only 75 days before the cruise we would probably have a more difficult time or pay more for or not get a good choice of seats on a non-stop. If anyone has experience with Oceania's O'Life inclusive air flights, please let us know.what your's has been and what y ou think.  Thanks.

We booked a fairly last minute cruise to Norway, leaving at the end of July. Because the prices are so crazy this year going to Europe we decided to just go with the Oceana included airfare and just take our chances. Just got our booking, Phoenix to Montreal, Montreal to Copenhagen. On the way back Oslo to Newark Newark to Phoenix, couldn’t have been better. We are very happy.

[jonthomas]

that is good....so far a mixed bag of opinions...will see what others have to add to this...

[Redtravel]

We book a cruise that leaves soon.  With fewer planes and higher fares, we decided to let O do the air.  We have one change going.Coming home 2 changes. It wouldn’t be my choice.  It gets us there and back. Just hope planes fly on time.  Missing connections could present issues.  

[osandomir]

It all depends on your itinerary. Some itineraries result in better routings than others. Oceania goes with what is available on their contracts with the airlines. It helps if you’re supposed to fly between the major hubs.

[jonthomas]

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

We book a cruise that leaves soon.  With fewer planes and higher fares, we decided to let O do the air.  We have one change going.Coming home 2 changes. It wouldn’t be my choice.  It gets us there and back. Just hope planes fly on time.  Missing connections could present issues.  

Are you going in a day or two earlier?

Did you ask for a particular flight? If you did, did O charge you deviation?

[FlaggMary]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

Are you going in a day or two earlier?

Did you ask for a particular flight? If you did, did O charge you deviation?

No, I am not going in earlier. I have been to Copenhagen several times. I did not ask for a deviation, which there is a charge for that plus the difference. I’m just saying if you want to get there and get your airport transfers, my experience is the routings are very nice. If you need to book every aspect of your air experience, then you’re probably better off going and doing it yourself.

[jonthomas]

Can't beat the deal O is giving us. Just hope for no more than one connection.

[Redtravel]

3 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Are you going in a day or two earlier?

Did you ask for a particular flight? If you did, did O charge you deviation?

No, I am not going a day early.  We looked for possible air before booking.  With fewer flights and higher fares, we took what they gave us.  If I had found flights with fewer connections and a decent price, I would have booked it.  We hope that everything goes well.  We also are going on a Viking trip later this summer.  We had lots of time to possibility buy our own air.  Again, we opted for Viking Air because of the huge savings.

[Redtravel]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

Can't beat the deal O is giving us. Just hope for no more than one connection.

Good luck.  

[jonthomas]

I'll need it.

[osandomir]

10 hours ago, jonthomas said:

Can't beat the deal O is giving us. Just hope for no more than one connection.

Not always the deals are offering on the best products that you can have. More often… “you get what you paid for”. Hopefully you’ll get acceptable flights but there’s no guarantee.

[Cruisingagain2022]

I have flown from Tampa to Miami to Barcelona with American Airlines … it’s was a pretty good trip and coming back same route . Miami airport was great cleared immigration and customs in less than 30 minutes and rebooked bags.I usually  make sure we have a 2 hour layover. The above was pre COVID .

we booked a taxi from the airport to the hotel and to the cruise ship it wasn’t much. We stayed over night in Barcelona at a Hilton within walking distance of many restaurants.

 

Last year we flew Lufthansa from UK to Malta stop over in Frankfurt … connection was 1 hour 40 mins it was tight !! Flight landed 40 mins late and the airport was huge. Thankfully we had used luggage forward so our luggage arrived a few days before us and it arrived in our room shortly after our arrival. 

I booked our hotel separately and again arranged with the hotel a taxi to pick us up at the airport and take us to the cruise ship the next day.

This particular hotel added  the taxi fare on to our hotel bill. 

Coming back are luggage arrived 9 days later. We flew from Istanbul to Frankfurt then onto Manchester UK again connection times very tight 

I am not impressed with Lufthansa or German airports.based on the above experience. 
 

I have booked O air right now for  a July 2024 cruise to Norway but if I don’t have non stop from UK I will switch to cruise only. TA has confirmed that O utilizes different airlines.

Scandinavian I think is the only airline that does non stop from Manchester UK. O is also  charging a deviation fee 

if I have to stopover anywhere I am going to use my Delta SkyMiles and fly KLM.

My personal preference is to fly in the day before a cruise.

 

[jonthomas]

4 hours ago, osandomir said:

Not always the deals are offering on the best products that you can have. More often… “you get what you paid for”. Hopefully you’ll get acceptable flights but there’s no guarantee.

Our air from Toronto would easily be twice as much. We don't have the options that exist in the US. Basically we have one disgraceful airline.

[CptBoatface]

Can't help but think of the magic 8 ball being used to answer the question. 

[FlaggMary]

4 hours ago, Cruisingagain2022 said:

I have flown from Tampa to Miami to Barcelona with American Airlines … it’s was a pretty good trip and coming back same route . Miami airport was great cleared immigration and customs in less than 30 minutes and rebooked bags.I usually  make sure we have a 2 hour layover. The above was pre COVID .

we booked a taxi from the airport to the hotel and to the cruise ship it wasn’t much. We stayed over night in Barcelona at a Hilton within walking distance of many restaurants.

 

Last year we flew Lufthansa from UK to Malta stop over in Frankfurt … connection was 1 hour 40 mins it was tight !! Flight landed 40 mins late and the airport was huge. Thankfully we had used luggage forward so our luggage arrived a few days before us and it arrived in our room shortly after our arrival. 

I booked our hotel separately and again arranged with the hotel a taxi to pick us up at the airport and take us to the cruise ship the next day.

This particular hotel added  the taxi fare on to our hotel bill. 

Coming back are luggage arrived 9 days later. We flew from Istanbul to Frankfurt then onto Manchester UK again connection times very tight 

I am not impressed with Lufthansa or German airports.based on the above experience. 
 

I have booked O air right now for  a July 2024 cruise to Norway but if I don’t have non stop from UK I will switch to cruise only. TA has confirmed that O utilizes different airlines.

Scandinavian I think is the only airline that does non stop from Manchester UK. O is also  charging a deviation fee 

if I have to stopover anywhere I am going to use my Delta SkyMiles and fly KLM.

My personal preference is to fly in the day before a cruise.

 

Are you on the Copenhagen to Tomoso on the Marina? That is our cruise.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, jonthomas said:

Our air from Toronto would easily be twice as much. We don't have the options that exist in the US. Basically we have one disgraceful airline.

 

You do know that you aren't limited to just flying Air Canada from YYZ.  Lots of other options are available if you just do some digging.

 

Plus, there is nothing to say that you can't take a positioning flight from YYZ to another gateway, where the savings would be more than the positioning cost.

 

Be creative.

 

 

[jonthomas]

other options are worse....

 

west jet, more unreliable than AC,

 

airtransat, awful, no prem econ....

 

hard to be creative in Canada..very limited...

[jonthomas]

13 minutes ago, FlaggMary said:

Are you on the Copenhagen to Tomoso on the Marina? That is our cruise.

 no we are doing a TA from BCN to MIA....open to going in two days ahead, depending on the kind of flights we can get ...

[LHT28]

I prefer Air Canada  to some other US  carriers 

YMMV

[jonthomas]

IMHO but it is hard for Americans to understand how very limited we are with our air travel. AC pretty much has monopoly, Yes Airtransat does a flight here and here, West Jet is beyond bad.

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, jonthomas said:

IMHO but it is hard for Americans to understand how very limited we are with our air travel. AC pretty much has monopoly, Yes Airtransat does a flight here and here, West Jet is beyond bad.

What about  BA AF KLM  plus other  carriers  ???

[jonthomas]

yes BA is an option...not the others for BCN...

 

we want AC stop over in YUL, but who knows if O will give it to us, that would be ideal to BCN....