Air flight seat selection

[wcGma]

I currently am awaiting information from my TA in reference to when I would be able to select seats on my custom air request if I accept the proposal from Oceania. Do I have to wait until I make the final payment for the cruise before I can select seats?  Can anyone advise me as to their experience with custom air?  I have requested specific flights specific dates and realize the offer cost I received included the per person custom fee plus a fare differential. My question is, if I accept and pay the custom fee as required to secure these flights, will I then be able to request specific seats.  O policy says the fare diffential will be added to my reservation as the amount due “final payment”.  

[smartlady25]

33 minutes ago, wcGma said:

I currently am awaiting information from my TA in reference to when I would be able to select seats on my custom air request if I accept the proposal from Oceania. Do I have to wait until I make the final payment for the cruise before I can select seats?  Can anyone advise me as to their experience with custom air?  I have requested specific flights specific dates and realize the offer cost I received included the per person custom fee plus a fare differential. My question is, if I accept and pay the custom fee as required to secure these flights, will I then be able to request specific seats.  O policy says the fare diffential will be added to my reservation as the amount due “final payment”.  

 

[smartlady25]

1 minute ago, smartlady25 said:

You need to stay on top of it.  We did this once and Oceania decided to put us in the seats that were for those who didn’t pay the deviation.  My husband was told he was in a forward row and I was put in row 57.  My TA tried without success to correct the situation since the seats are not assigned until 48 hours before the flight.  It only got resolved when I called every executive at Oceania including Frank Del Rio.  They were forced to give us business class seats that cost them $10,000.  Even though we got upgraded because those were the only seats left, it wasn’t worth the aggravation.  So know that your TA can’t really help as there is a special department that just does the seat assignments.  I would never let them buy my airline seats again.  I take Olife without air and book my own flights.

Fern

 

[LHT28]

51 minutes ago, wcGma said:

I currently am awaiting information from my TA in reference to when I would be able to select seats on my custom air request if I accept the proposal from Oceania. Do I have to wait until I make the final payment for the cruise before I can select seats?  Can anyone advise me as to their experience with custom air?  I have requested specific flights specific dates and realize the offer cost I received included the per person custom fee plus a fare differential. My question is, if I accept and pay the custom fee as required to secure these flights, will I then be able to request specific seats.  O policy says the fare diffential will be added to my reservation as the amount due “final payment”.  

I think it may vary  but I seem to recall they do not ticket you until 45 days out

Paying the deviation at least you can choose the flights/routing

 I usually ask to be ticketed  soon after final payment  but then you are on your own if things go pear shaped

 

I think I did book seats at that point   but Air Canada may allow that  where some other airlines may not

Last time we took O air was 2019   (a long time ago)  🤔

 

I would ask your TA  how it works

[YourWorldWithBill]

1 hour ago, wcGma said:

Can anyone advise me as to their experience with custom air?  I have requested specific flights specific dates and realize the offer cost I received included the per person custom fee plus a fare differential.

Even when I requested specific flights, O wanted to put me on another flight with a similar itinerary for a similar cost, so I booked my own flight.

[Redtravel]

I can feel your pain. We booked a cruise from the extraordinary deals.  We booked with O air because we couldn’t find a decent airfare.  We change planes once going, and change twice returning.  All changes have 2+ hours between flights. We don’t like it.  We got assigned seats on 4 out of 5 flights.  We couldn’t get reserved seats on a subsidiary of Lufthansa Eurowings Discovery.  I called my TA, Lufthansa, and Eurowings with no success. Lufthansa and Eurowings said that nobody can reserve a seat. We cannot get seats until checkin 24 hours before the flight.  We are not happy.  Strangely enough, we are booked on a Viking cruise with air. Sure enough, we are also flying Eurowings. Viking got us reserved seats.  I can only guess that O bought the cheapest seats.  Has anyone flown on Eurowings? 

[Panama111]

On 6/5/2023 at 12:18 PM, wcGma said:

I currently am awaiting information from my TA in reference to when I would be able to select seats on my custom air request if I accept the proposal from Oceania. Do I have to wait until I make the final payment for the cruise before I can select seats?  Can anyone advise me as to their experience

Oceania flights.

with custom air?  I have requested specific flights specific dates and realize the offer cost I received included the per person custom fee plus a fare differential. My question is, if I accept and pay the custom fee as required to secure these flights, will I then be able to request specific seats.  O policy says the fare differential will be added to my reservation as the amount due “final payment”.  

Flights

We had booked flights with Oceania to Amsterdam, return from Trieste, Italy.

We just cancelled and booked our own flights. We saved money and got better connections.

The deviation fee pp is too expensive. On top of that, we did not like the flights they gave us which were very early morning departures and then long  wait for connecting flight and complicated routes.

 

Oceania ( for a substantial flight differential cost)would change to the flights we requested. Yes, there was a seat selection cost.

it was take it or leave it.

We cancelled and got  a refund from 0ceania. They could have cared less. I think they over flights and  upgrades to enhance booking, but when the time comes, the flights are not acceptable. This has happened to me twice. I won't happen again.

Edited June 22, 2023 by Panama111
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[Redtravel]

If I had booked early, I probably would’ve booked my own air.  However, booking late has its good and bad points.  Booking late got us a good discount, but getting air was a problem.  The flights that I like were mostly booked or the price for air was outrageous.  That left us with option of not going or booking with O air.  It’s the first time using O air. Even though our air arrangements were crazy, we did get to the ship.  Traveling is an adventure.

[osandomir]

We mostly fly business class overseas. It used to be very nice experience in the past. Not so anymore. Almost every flight over the recent years had some problems. The service and food offerings went downhill. Missconnections resulted in the delays and even downgrading. 
 

That being said, we’re still looking forward to our future travels and hoping for the things getting better.