Fee to talk to Regent Custom Air Department

[1982CruzStart]

21 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

So how do we know what carriers Regent has their contract rates with and what those rates are? I’m sure they aren’t going to share this information with us. 

You don't know who Regent contracts with but before contacting them you check what options you have from your gateway.

For instance if you like to fly Delta and your gateway is a Delta hub there is a good chance that Regent has a contract with them. If you go into Delta's website and put in your routing and your dates and options come up.  Click on Delta One suites fare (their business class) and if there are 2 fares available both Delta One suite - 1 fully refundable and the other not then there is a good chance that there are seats available with Regent if they do indeed contract with them on that route.

So when Regent says if the lowest fare isn't available don't ask for that flight, they are saying if you click on the business class fare and there is only fully refundable fares available don't expect to fly that route. 

For Air Canada their 2 business class fare classses are Lowest and Flexible. If i check on a proposed flight i want and there is no Lowest available then i can forget about taking that flight with Regent. 

When i call Regent i usually have a couple of airline options that i have checked to see if there is a lowest business class fare available on the route and dates i want.  That way i will usualy get one of my choices. When flying to Europe i usually check AC, BA and KLM routing and fare classes. 

[puppyluv1]

I wonder, is the $75 per person or per call?

[flossie009]

16 hours ago, rcandkc said:

Maybe because precruise tours?

In our experience Regent includes transfers for their pre- and post-cruise tours whether you are using Regent air or making your own arrangements.

You simply have to inform Regent of your flight arrangements.

 

Typical note for a Regent pre-cruise land tour:

"Please Note: Guests booking their own flights (independent of the cruise line) are responsible for ensuring that the cruise line has the updated arrival information, so your transfer can be arranged. If you book additional nights independently of the cruise line, an arrival transfer is not provided. If we do not receive flight details a minimum of 14 days in advance, transfers will not be provided"

[Pcardad]

25 minutes ago, puppyluv1 said:

I wonder, is the $75 per person or per call?

It is my understanding that the $75 is for the Air Desk to provide you with deviation option(s). If you reject them, it ends there. If you ask for more options, it is another $75. Once you accept an option, you are charged another $100.

[SireDoime]

75$ just to talk to them is all I read in the email.

Oh well, it just shows they are fed with their customers wanting to talk to them about air travel.

 

 

[Pcardad]

2 hours ago, puppyluv1 said:

I wonder, is the $75 per person or per call?

Per person.

[SireDoime]

On 3/27/2023 at 3:34 PM, Lonedaddy said:

What next a $75 charge to make a cruise booking? 

Don't say that!!! You'll jinx us!!

[pappy1022]

Just to verify. If I call them for air travel for my wife and I, do I pay $75 or $150 just to talk to them? And if a family of 4 is that $300 just to talk to them?

[Pcardad]

14 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

Just to verify. If I call them for air travel for my wife and I, do I pay $75 or $150 just to talk to them? And if a family of 4 is that $300 just to talk to them?

If you call to request a Deviation/see deviation options it would be $75 x number of people you are calling about (non-refundable). If you accept the option(s), you are billed another $100 per person for a total of $175PP...just like before. Fees waived for P/T or higher.

Edited March 29, 2023 by Pcardad

[SireDoime]

On 3/28/2023 at 4:27 AM, broccoli robin said:

I didn't think we needed any particular flights since I didn't see any bad ones. However, I am a little worried that they will not get us to our destination one day before boarding. Has anyone ever experienced Regent not booking air to a destination in time to use the included hotel?

 

Does anyone experienced with Regent have an answer to this? This is what I was concerned about. What happens if the flight brings me in too late?

[Frncie]

How does one find out what the “Air Allowance” is for a particular booking? If I am to make an informed decision to book my own flights, I need to know (1) the price of the flights I want to book, and (2) how much of a fare discount (Air Allowance) Regent will give me for doing so. I’ve looked on my invoice. I’ve looked on my booking page. I can’t find it. 
 

Do I need to call them and pay the $75 for this info?

 

This just keeps getting crazier. 

[mrstanley]

I want to ask the Air Department if they will fly me back from Madrid instead of Barcelona. We want to stay in Spain for another week after debarking in Barcelona.

 

We need this information in order to plan our trip. We are too far out to book flights .

$ 75 to ask ? Totally ridiculous!

[travlr21]

1 hour ago, Frncie said:

How does one find out what the “Air Allowance” is for a particular booking?

One way to see the Air Allowance is by navigating to a specific cruise on the Regent website. Below the chart that has the prices by suite type there should be a line that states "A savings of up to $$$$$ per person is available when arranging your own flights and transfers."

[bbstx]

On 3/28/2023 at 12:59 PM, ljsanantonio said:

Do they take layover time in consideration, or do they think a 10 hour layover is appropriate?

On the first iteration of my flights, I had an 8 hour layover in EWR.  I sent a better routing to them through my Regent cruise consultant.  They responded with a better arrival time, more reasonable layovers but added a stop.  When I asked my cc to look into it, he told me I had to call the Air Department directly.  That’s when I got the “$75 to talk to us” recording. 

[papaflamingo]

A lot of questions around this.  It's important to fully read the email. Regarding cancellations or other air travel issues, the email states "Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee." So, no, if your have a problem with your already booked flight you WON'T be charged any fee.  The fee only applies to Custom Air request.  

Is this a "money grab?"  Hardly since if you accept the deviation the $75 rolls into the normal $175 deviation fee.  So it appears it's an attempt to alleviate phone calls from people who are not serious about deviations.  We always deviate as we like to arrive early, stay over, and pick our own flights.  So if I choose to deviate then it's zero difference in cost.  I only have provide a number of options.  This is most likely to free up a very busy department and focus on those who truly want to deviate.  

As for selecting flights, as others have said, if a "non-refundable" rate isn't posted on the airline's website, then likely there is no contract seats available. But you can still request it and possibly pay an upcharge.  We did that for our upcoming cruise and it was still over $1000 per person cheaper than if I booked the flight on my own.  

And, just because you live in a hub like Atlanta, it doesn't mean Regent has contract rates on the hometown carrier.  I live in Atlanta and was trying to deviate to a cruise that left out of Sydney and ended I Tokyo.  There were NO Delta flights that Regent could offer from Atlanta to Sydney, even with an upcharge.  Just wasn't going to happen.  However we could get the Delta non-stop from Tokyo to Atlanta for no extra cost.  So it just depends.  

Bottom line is this looks more like an attempt to keep calls to Custom Air limited to those who truly plan to deviate and are not just "fishing."  And it forces us to offer a number of acceptable requests instead of one request, followed by a rejection, followed by a new request, rejection, new request, etc.  It will significantly  relieve pressure on the Air Department at a time when airline schedules and fare are in constant flux. 

[pappy1022]

If what you say is true about Regent’s motivation is true, and it does make sense, then why doesn’t Regent just say that and prevent much of this angst.

[papaflamingo]

1 hour ago, pappy1022 said:

If what you say is true about Regent’s motivation is true, and it does make sense, then why doesn’t Regent just say that and prevent much of this angst.

They basically did say it when they said:

"as we continue to work through challenges with air services due to the combination of strong demand for air travel, reduced airline capacity and major airline schedule changes, we have decided to revise our Custom Air policy to help reduce long call hold times to our Custom Air Department."

 

Of course the other option is Regent thinks:

 

 

😜

Edited March 30, 2023 by papaflamingo

[PaulMCO]

14 hours ago, travlr21 said:

One way to see the Air Allowance is by navigating to a specific cruise on the Regent website. Below the chart that has the prices by suite type there should be a line that states "A savings of up to $$$$$ per person is available when arranging your own flights and transfers."

no no no... that number constantly changes....

Call your travel advisor eith your TA or Regent who booked the cruise.   It is not shown on the Regent Invoice, but is shown on my TA invoice.

[carolina cruisin]

3 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

A lot of questions around this.  It's important to fully read the email. Regarding cancellations or other air travel issues, the email states "Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee." So, no, if your have a problem with your already booked flight you WON'T be charged any fee.  The fee only applies to Custom Air request.  

Is this a "money grab?"  Hardly since if you accept the deviation the $75 rolls into the normal $175 deviation fee.  So it appears it's an attempt to alleviate phone calls from people who are not serious about deviations.  We always deviate as we like to arrive early, stay over, and pick our own flights.  So if I choose to deviate then it's zero difference in cost.  I only have provide a number of options.  This is most likely to free up a very busy department and focus on those who truly want to deviate.  

As for selecting flights, as others have said, if a "non-refundable" rate isn't posted on the airline's website, then likely there is no contract seats available. But you can still request it and possibly pay an upcharge.  We did that for our upcoming cruise and it was still over $1000 per person cheaper than if I booked the flight on my own.  

And, just because you live in a hub like Atlanta, it doesn't mean Regent has contract rates on the hometown carrier.  I live in Atlanta and was trying to deviate to a cruise that left out of Sydney and ended I Tokyo.  There were NO Delta flights that Regent could offer from Atlanta to Sydney, even with an upcharge.  Just wasn't going to happen.  However we could get the Delta non-stop from Tokyo to Atlanta for no extra cost.  So it just depends.  

Bottom line is this looks more like an attempt to keep calls to Custom Air limited to those who truly plan to deviate and are not just "fishing."  And it forces us to offer a number of acceptable requests instead of one request, followed by a rejection, followed by a new request, rejection, new request, etc.  It will significantly  relieve pressure on the Air Department at a time when airline schedules and fare are in constant flux. 

 

3 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

A lot of questions around this.  It's important to fully read the email. Regarding cancellations or other air travel issues, the email states "Please note, schedule changes made by the airlines are outside of our control. If there is a significant change in schedule, our Air Concierge will find a better alternative without charging a new custom air fee." So, no, if your have a problem with your already booked flight you WON'T be charged any fee.  The fee only applies to Custom Air request.  

Is this a "money grab?"  Hardly since if you accept the deviation the $75 rolls into the normal $175 deviation fee.  So it appears it's an attempt to alleviate phone calls from people who are not serious about deviations.  We always deviate as we like to arrive early, stay over, and pick our own flights.  So if I choose to deviate then it's zero difference in cost.  I only have provide a number of options.  This is most likely to free up a very busy department and focus on those who truly want to deviate.  

As for selecting flights, as others have said, if a "non-refundable" rate isn't posted on the airline's website, then likely there is no contract seats available. But you can still request it and possibly pay an upcharge.  We did that for our upcoming cruise and it was still over $1000 per person cheaper than if I booked the flight on my own.  

And, just because you live in a hub like Atlanta, it doesn't mean Regent has contract rates on the hometown carrier.  I live in Atlanta and was trying to deviate to a cruise that left out of Sydney and ended I Tokyo.  There were NO Delta flights that Regent could offer from Atlanta to Sydney, even with an upcharge.  Just wasn't going to happen.  However we could get the Delta non-stop from Tokyo to Atlanta for no extra cost.  So it just depends.  

Bottom line is this looks more like an attempt to keep calls to Custom Air limited to those who truly plan to deviate and are not just "fishing."  And it forces us to offer a number of acceptable requests instead of one request, followed by a rejection, followed by a new request, rejection, new request, etc.  It will significantly  relieve pressure on the Air Department at a time when airline schedules and fare are in constant flux. 

I think you nailed it.  After reading the message several times - it appears to me that Regent is trying to streamline things a bit.  Believe if we just do our due diligence, flights can be arranged with minimal hassle.  And, as you noted, they will STILL work with you if the airlines make any significant changes.

[RJ2002]

52 minutes ago, PaulMCO said:

no no no... that number constantly changes....

Call your travel advisor eith your TA or Regent who booked the cruise.   It is not shown on the Regent Invoice, but is shown on my TA invoice.

 

I did not realize that the air credit can change over time.

[pappy1022]

2 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

They basically did say it when they said:

"as we continue to work through challenges with air services due to the combination of strong demand for air travel, reduced airline capacity and major airline schedule changes, we have decided to revise our Custom Air policy to help reduce long call hold times to our Custom Air Department."

 

Of course the other option is Regent thinks:

 

 

😜

I side with Jack as far as Regent’s motivation. 

[seaknots]

I luv the conspiracy theories on these boards 

[annapolitan369]

There are several ways to reduce call hold lines: hire more agents, better training of agents etc.  What Regent has done is to reduce the service to its customers, while trying to justify it as improved customer service.  I predict that we will see more of the same over time.  I know that the company needs to be profitable and therefore should charge a cruise price that would ensure that, rather than bit by bit reduce the all inclusive luxury which makes Regent unique.
 

[Lonedaddy]

Regent (and NCLH for Oceania and NCL) should create an online program where you put in your cities and dates for your cruise, and it gives you the Offered flights and flights with cost differential.   Similar to google flights you could select which airline/program as well as duration, departure, arrival, number of stops as filters.  Problem solved.   Agents would be needed for exceptions, flight changes, schedule changes.  

Edited March 30, 2023 by Lonedaddy

[Pcardad]

35 minutes ago, Lonedaddy said:

Regent (and NCLH for Oceania and NCL) should create an online program where you put in your cities and dates for your cruise, and it gives you the Offered flights and flights with cost differential.   Similar to google flights you could select which airline/program as well as duration, departure, arrival, number of stops as filters.  Problem solved.   Agents would be needed for exceptions, flight changes, schedule changes.  

Unfortunately, Regent won't give their IT department a sufficient budget to improve what they are currently trying to run.