EZ air thoughts

[smeck]

I live in Florida, when cruising I rarely have to fly  due to the proximity of the ports.  We booked a European cruse and thinking of using EZ air.   Any advice thoughts and experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated. 

Edited June 26 by smeck

[cr8tiv1]

Google is your friend.  
1.  Check prices on your favorite carrier directly.

 

2.  Pull up your cruise but do not sign in.  There is a “Quote” tab on the bottom right.  Click on it and look up flight information.

 

I have found that if you book EZ Air early (330 days from date it return), International fares are generally cheaper.  Plus flexible.  You have up to 45 days from cruise date to continue to refare for a lower fare without any penalties or payment.  Well, it is due at final payment time, but can be changed or cancelled up to 45 days for a refund.
 

It can be more work than booking directly (reserve and done).  I check to see if I can refare a couple of times a week.  This time, the fare never dropped lower than what I had reserved.  
 

For me, the possible changes by the airlines, is a nuisance.  But EZ Air has always come through.  Read the fine print for all the benefits.

[Iamcruzin]

1 hour ago, smeck said:

I live in Florida, when cruising I rarely have to fly  due to the proximity of the ports.  We booked a European cruse and thinking of using EZ air.   Any advice thoughts and experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated. 

I flew out of JFK my entire cruise life. It was always cheaper for me to book direct with the airlines because of the many choices and never having to make a connection flight. Now that we live in Florida it's a different game. Perhaps EZ air will be the way to go here.

[Barry H]

We have always used EZ Air for our European and Trans Atlantic cruises.

Best advantage is that you don't have to put up money for the flight until final payment date (unless you are using points).

 

We keep track of flights and have re-fared flights a few times to save more money. 

 

Our best deal was a one way flight on Air France where we upgraded from premium economy to business class for ~$200 Cdn each. It was a no brainer. Closer to travel date the same flight was priced 4 times higher.

 

Advice: book as early as possible and watch for price reductions, especially around sale dates like Black Monday.

If you can get a really good deal directly through the airlines you can always cancel the EZ Air flight with no penalty.

[azbirdmom]

I used to book with EZAir all the time, especially for international flights which often cost significantly less with EZAir than booking direct.  However, after the restart of cruising I ran into many issues such as tickets not being booked, EZAir not keeping up with changes in airline schedules, etc., so I have booked elsewhere since then.  I think some of this has been resolved but it still doesn't seem to be as flexible as it used to be.  Here's a recent very active thread on one recent unannounced change that is causing angst for many:  

 

[muffydawg]

For our upcoming cruise I found booking our preferred flights were/ remain $1000+ pp more expensive through EZ Air than booking directly with the airline.

[skynight]

All good advice above. Once booked on EZ Air there will be an airline reference number. Some airlines allow you to reserve seats when booked, others do not and you have to wait until final payment from EZ Air to the airline which is about 45 days before the flight. To me seats are important. I always check for this. 

[cr8tiv1]

I had a really tight connection after Air Canada cancelled my flights and EZ Air rebooked me.  I bit the bullet and reserved my seat on the first flight so I could get off the plane almost immediately.  Sage advice from fellow cruise critic members.

 

There are some direct flights from Miami to LHR.  Don't know where you have to go for your port.  I avoid connecting flights if I can.

[Paula_MacFan]

Everyone has already given you good advice about price checking, perks of EZ Air (delayed payment, ability to refare, etc). I'll chime in that we've used EZ Air many times, most recently 2 weeks ago to Alaska and last fall to Southampton for a European cruise. For both trips we flew first class for much cheaper than the public prices and we had no issues at all. We used United to Southampton and United/Alaska Airlines for the Alaska trip, and both let us chose seats at the time of booking. That is very important to me and if seat selection isn't an option I'll pass over that flight in EZ Air when I book. 

 

I prefer to do my own booking online and monitor prices daily. I book immediately at 330 days when flights open, then refare if prices drop.

 

For our European trip we flew United Polaris first class which I highly recommend! Our fare ended up not much more than Premium Economy public prices, and the perks were outstanding. First we had access to the Polaris Lounge in Chicago and London, which provided food, drinks, showers, and excellent restroom facilities (private rooms in Chicago). On the flight we had lie flat cubes/beds with blankets, pillows, toiletries, etc. We had an evening meal early in the overnight flight, and hot breakfast served as we awoke in the morning. The service was impeccable and we arrived refreshed for our 3 days in London prior to boarding the ship in Southampton. Also factoring in free priority checked bag service made it even more economical.

 

I know first class isn't for everyone, but people should price check with EZ Air -- you might be surprised! 

 

Good luck in your planning 😊

[Astro Flyer]

It’s been my experience that when flying internationally to/from the US that EZair has been a much cheaper option & Flexible EZair has many options to make changes.

 

When flying on US based airlines, I can make seat assignments when booking EZair even in Economy except in situations where it’s a codeshare flight…for example an AA booking flying on BA would need to pay for seat assignments prior to check-in.

 

We booked a transpacific flight on Air New Zealand in Economy 330 days in advance & made free seat assignment reservations so not all non-US based airlines charge for advance seat assignments.

 

If you haven’t read the Princess webpage about EZair here’s a link to it:

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/plan/ezair
 

[Jnsplace1]

Like many, it depends.  What I like about it is that I can see what is the recommended time of departure or arrival so that I can do some comparative shopping.

 

Best thing about it, until it's completely firm, it's changable and generally at a reasonable price.   I booked my return from VAN to SEA cheaper, at a reasonable schedule.   

it's a great tool, used wisely.

[walkingsoon]

Let me echo Jnsplace1: "it's a great tool, used wisely."  Consider it as just another option to go along with other search tools.

 

I believe that many who get so upset with EZ Air had misunderstandings regarding what exactly they can and will do when things go sideways. They can't fix the weather or generate a new plane, so the guarantee to get you on to the next port of call has limited value. It can't make all bad situations happy. That's where "used wisely" comes into play. Assume that Murphy's Law holds, build in an extra day flying domestically and perhaps two for overseas.

 

If booking the cruise before final payment date, I'll book EZ Air nearly every time locking in something reasonable, quite often with my preferred carrier. There's nothing to lose by doing so. Like Barry H, I then keep checking and reprice downwards when possible. Reassess just before final payment and opt out if appropriate.

 

I recently flew one way LAX-SEA for $20.12 (economy on my preferred, upgraded using points), I have another economy SEA-FLL (cruise canal) LAX-SEA for $0.00, also on my preferred line. I don't know how or why on that one, but it's hard not to like. The optimal EZE-SEA (a difficult one to book) just before Christmas isn't on my preferred carrier but the EZ  Air business class appears $1000 cheaper than all of the less attractive alternatives.

 

I see no downside to using EZ Air, as long as you keep your eyes open.