Oceania Air - seat selection

[sunlover12]

16 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

It is important to know who is, or is not, the operating carrier.  Because that is who you will check in with, whose flight number will be the most prominent on airport displays, whose carry-on rules will apply and whose seat assignment policies will be in effect.  Especially be aware of that carry-on gotcha -- you could easily find that your carry-on allowance drastically changes midway through your flights at a connection point, and get stuck with checking bags and/or various fees. 

 

I've had that happen, where at the connection point I was confronted by a gate agent with a scale, weighing every single item being taken onboard.  Luckily I was under the limits, but I saw others getting blindsided out of the blue (from their perspective).

 

 

Very true.  I have a UA flight booked with a connecting flight on a partner airline, Swiss.  Swiss' carry-on bag policy is that it cannot exceed 8 kg.  This is something that you need to do your homework on and plan ahead because no one wants to find this out when they're at the gate.

[pinotlover]

I wrote this back several years ago on the cruise air forum, but here goes again.  One of the Lufthansa owned airlines, and Star Alliance partners is Brussels Airlines. We flew them Prague to Brussels, then UA back to the States. That Brussels Air flight was one of the best and easiest boarding experiences we’ve ever experienced. One carry on ( excluding a purse) per person. Max carryon weight was 8 kilos. Every bag and carry on was weighed at the checkin counter and checked for appropriate size. One’s single carryon was given a color coded tag attached by the attendant. When you boarded, one was only allowed that single carryon. If you tried to slip something else through at the gate, it was gate checked to final destination at 100 Euros per bag.  Airport purchased items were exempt.
 

Boarding went fast and smoothly. No searching for overhead space, no one trying to cram in carryons. Imo oversized suitcases being dragged down the aisle. I wish every airline did this. 
 

p.s. All those people playing the “ live out of the carryon “ game will need a different airline.

[Ronni7770]

We did an Istanbul to Rome on Vista in June.  The cruise was wonderful. It was the first and only time we will ever book air through Oceania.  It was a nightmare.  They first sent us an itinerary with three flights to Istanbul and two from Rome.  Then it was changed to three worse flights going and two worse flights coming back.  I ended up upgrading for more money than if I had booked on my own to Business Class and flying direct to Istanbul but at that point Oceania only had one Business Class seat even though Turkish air showed four of them so my husband flew economy even though he had paid for Premium Economy had to pay for a fare differencial as well.  Coming back was a nightmare.  People hadn't shown up to work so there was a huge line to check in and we only made our flight because we cut into the line and our flight was delayed.  Then our connecting flight was already boarding when we arrived and we only made the connection because I had a wheelchair.  The only good part was that they upgraded me to business for free.  My husband was in Premium Economy.

[richyking]

Thanks for the heads up Ronni7770. I will make sure its sorted well before my cruise date. That would certainly make me think before using  O Air again but l guess for now I will give them a chance!! As this is our first ever cruise I played safe booking everything through Oceania.

[pinotlover]

42 minutes ago, richyking said:

Thanks for the heads up Ronni7770. I will make sure its sorted well before my cruise date. That would certainly make me think before using  O Air again but l guess for now I will give them a chance!! As this is our first ever cruise I played safe booking everything through Oceania.

So now you are a well informed future passenger. Being so informed means that all these matters, that may occur, are of your choosing and choice. Good Luck and Happy cruising.

 

ps there’s a reason we do our own air.

[FlyerTalker]

16 hours ago, Ronni7770 said:

People hadn't shown up to work so there was a huge line to check in and we only made our flight because we cut into the line and our flight was delayed.  Then our connecting flight was already boarding when we arrived and we only made the connection because I had a wheelchair.

 

Completely the fault of the cruiseline.  Don't they know when an airline is going to have operational issues!!

 

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, richyking said:

Thanks for the heads up Ronni7770. I will make sure its sorted well before my cruise date. That would certainly make me think before using  O Air again but l guess for now I will give them a chance!! As this is our first ever cruise I played safe booking everything through Oceania.

 

And why do you say that?  (Read the terms and conditions for air travel)

 

 

[Redtravel]

Still no air flights.  Booked cruise last July for a cruise in May 2024.  Everything has been paid in full.  I called O a few weeks ago and was told that our air would be available on March 3. That’s today. Called O and was told it was too soon. Also, told that O would inform my TA soon.  The rep said that they only contact TA.  All info must go through TA.  I usually book my own air.  Since we are booked on the first cruise after Marina leaves dry dock, we didn’t want to get stuck with plane tickets if Marina doesn’t sail.  Starting to wonder if it will really sail.  Like many people we had pandemic cruises cancelled.  This cruise is very similar to one that we booked for August 2021. Since the pandemic, I have become calmer making plans.  If it happens, great. If it gets canned, oh well.  

[Redtravel]

On 3/3/2024 at 11:50 AM, Redtravel said:

Still no air flights.  Booked cruise last July for a cruise in May 2024.  Everything has been paid in full.  I called O a few weeks ago and was told that our air would be available on March 3. That’s today. Called O and was told it was too soon. Also, told that O would inform my TA soon.  The rep said that they only contact TA.  All info must go through TA.  I usually book my own air.  Since we are booked on the first cruise after Marina leaves dry dock, we didn’t want to get stuck with plane tickets if Marina doesn’t sail.  Starting to wonder if it will really sail.  Like many people we had pandemic cruises cancelled.  This cruise is very similar to one that we booked for August 2021. Since the pandemic, I have become calmer making plans.  If it happens, great. If it gets canned, oh well.  

Got air flights.  Acceptable arrangement .  got seats on return flight.  cannot get seats on departure flights.  I was told that Oceania hasn't paid for the tickets. Last week, Oceania said that they would ticket today.  Now Oceania says ticketing is next week.  The agents keep telling me different info. 

[osandomir]

44 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Got air flights.  Acceptable arrangement .  got seats on return flight.  cannot get seats on departure flights.  I was told that Oceania hasn't paid for the tickets. Last week, Oceania said that they would ticket today.  Now Oceania says ticketing is next week.  The agents keep telling me different info. 

Depends on the airline normally you can see the status of your flights online. Don’t call Oceania customer service. If it’s not ticketed by Monday call your TA (assuming you have one) and have them call Oceania air department to request the flights to be ticketed now.

[clo]

On 2/18/2024 at 8:05 AM, pinotlover said:

p.s. All those people playing the “ live out of the carryon “ game will need a different airline.

I've long said that I have a goal of being "Czarina of the Universe" and my first edict will be to ban overhead bins. It either fits under your seat or you check it. ???

[Redtravel]

7 hours ago, osandomir said:

Depends on the airline normally you can see the status of your flights online. Don’t call Oceania customer service. If it’s not ticketed by Monday call your TA (assuming you have one) and have them call Oceania air department to request the flights to be ticketed now.

As soon as I got the air flights, I told my TA to have O ticket the flights.  According to my TA, they requested ticketing.  

[FlyerTalker]

8 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Got air flights. 

 

1 hour ago, Redtravel said:

As soon as I got the air flights, I told my TA to have O ticket the flights.  According to my TA, they requested ticketing.  

 

You don't have "air flights".  Until you are actually ticketed, you have, at best, a reservation for a flight.  And that is nothing that is set in stone, or even sand.  It can be changed, cancelled or even ignored.

 

8 hours ago, osandomir said:

Depends on the airline normally you can see the status of your flights online.

 

What you need is a 13 digit ticket number.  If you have a six character locator, that does NOT mean that you are ticketed.  Only the 13 digit number indicates an actual electronic ticket.

 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, clo said:

I've long said that I have a goal of being "Czarina of the Universe" and my first edict will be to ban overhead bins. It either fits under your seat or you check it. ???

 

And you will be universally despised by every road-warrior on the planet.

 

 

[clo]

58 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

And you will be universally despised by every road-warrior on the planet.

 

 

My husband was one for most of his career. He thinks it's a great idea. You've clearly never had a carry on bag fall on your head 🙂 You won't believe what the next edict will be. LOL

[osandomir]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

 

You don't have "air flights".  Until you are actually ticketed, you have, at best, a reservation for a flight.  And that is nothing that is set in stone, or even sand.  It can be changed, cancelled or even ignored.

 

 

What you need is a 13 digit ticket number.  If you have a six character locator, that does NOT mean that you are ticketed.  Only the 13 digit number indicates an actual electronic ticket.

 

 

 

That’s correct, but even with the record locator PNR that Oceania normally provides when they send the flight schedule one can go to the airline website to see if the tickets are on hold (on request) or the ticket numbers are there. So the record locator normally is sufficient to see reserved flights and then the ticket numbers will be visible when the flights get ticketed. Some airlines allow to choose the seats even before the actual ticketing but others don’t.

[FlyerTalker]

Thing is...folks see a locator and think that means they are ticketed.

 

Trying to provide information so people are not sadly disappointed.

 

 

[richyking]

As I started this thread I thought I would update it. Turkish Airlines and BA would not accept just the locator for seat selection but I got my ticket numbers 60 days before the cruise and then was able to select seats. Unfortunately Turkish Airlines do not allow passengers over 65 years to sit in extra leg room seats at emergency exits but BA did. Considering the flights are only 8/9 weeks away there were a lot of spare seats so my anxiety was probably unfounded! Another lesson learnt. I have to say that I have learnt so much reading the comments on this forum so thanks everyone!

[ronrick1943]

Our preference is to book air separately from the cruise.  That way we can go and stay a few days before and after the cruise.  We can book the day, time and the carrier we want.  Plus getting the seats we want, not depending on anyone.  We also enjoy leaving the hotel at the time we want-no crowded buses and arriving to the Port at the time we want.  It's just nicer for us.  The ports have plenty of porters so no worry about luggage,  the doorman puts in the car, the porter takes it and we find the luggage in our suite.  A great way to start a cruise.  I realize it isn't for everyone, but works for us.

[Hlitner]

Different airlines have different policies regarding advance seat assignments.  Some will allow you to reserve seats as soon as there is a reservation number  Others will not allow seat assignments until the ticket is actually paid (with a ticket number) which some cruise lines do not do until only a few weeks prior to embarkation.  And other airlines have different policies depending on the class (i.e. first, business, etc).

 

So, for example, United will normally allow seat choice as soon as booked.  But Croatian Air will not...even if the booking is through United (a partner).  British Air will not allow seat assignments for even Business Class until 24 hours before the flight (except for folks with their own BA status).

 

Hank

[pinotlover]

British Airlines allows you to pay for an early seat selection. Even BC passengers have to pay if they want to pre choose their seats.