someone please explain consolidator tickets

[oceanseagle12]

I posted a question the other day about a companion ticket and was warned about it being consolidator tickets.

 

Then today someone asked about airfare.com, and it the concern was the same.

 

I have read quite a bit on the subject, including all the comments here. But Im not quite sure I understand what the big deal is. I'm not being argumentative, so please don't take it that way. Im just trying to understand the issues so I can make an educated decision.

 

1) People talk about time/scheduling issues I.E. if the airline changes the time of your flight, and it conflicts with cruise schedule, then you are out of luck, unless you pay the large fee from the airline. Is that an issue if I schedule, as planned, the first flight out the day before departure, and a late afternoon flight (say 4:30 or later) on return?

 

2) The other concern I heard was not being able to make a change. As I understand it, if I buy a nonrefundable ticket, most airlines will charge a change fee even if I book directly. Is that not true? And Im certainly not going to pay twice as much for a refundable ticket...

 

Thanks for everyones help and concerns!

[greatam]

Please see this thread. Pretty good explanation of consolidator class tickets.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=530322

 

To answer your questions:

 

Your consolidator ticket does not allow for changes without LARGE change fees. Under normal circumstances, IF the airline changes your flight to an unacceptable time, you can ask the airline for a FREE change to another flight. Airlines have to do this. With consolidator tickets, you are no longer dealing with the airlines. You must deal with the consolidator. They can REQUIRE you to take your original flight number, even IF it is at an unacceptable time. So if you have an arrival or departure for a fixed event scheduled, you may be out of luck.

 

Example: Original flight after cruise-1:00PM

new flight time-same flight number-9:30AM.

 

Your chances of making a 9:30AM flight after most cruises-Slim and None. So you either pony up the money for a change fee (most likely $200 per ticket) or buy a new ticket.

 

 

Change fees on consolidator class tickets are usually TWICE the fees as other airline tickets. And you may NOT be able to make any changes AT ALL or have to pay a VERY high upcharge in addition to the change fee. It gets complicated, but in this day and age, you may have a lot more problems than you bargained for going for the cheapie ticket from an unknown source.

[nho9504]

When tickets not bought on Published fares, it mean the tickets are ONLY GOOD on the original airline, and CANNOT BE ENDORSED to fly another airline even when your original flight is cancelled, and you have to wait X number of days for the next available flight from the Original airline.

 

Non-refundable ticket is that, No refund would go back to you, but it is generally cancellable, with cancellation fee. Then you get a credit in the form of Travel certificate / Transportation Voucher, that can be applied to a new ticket.

 

Consolidator ticket usually is tough to change and if you can, the fee is very steep. Sometimes if you dont fly the original ticket, the whole ticket is then wasted and you get 0 back.

 

However, the biggest issue comes, when there is a delay or cancellation of flights - if it is NOT due to weather, but due to mechanical (the airline has control) - tickets bought with PUBLISHED FARES, be it refundable or non-refundable, are ENDORSABLE to another airline so when push comes to shove, the original airline can endorse the passenger to another airline (by paying to the other airline an undisclosed amount based on the agreement between the airlines), so the passenger does not have to wait for the next available flight from the original airline - that can mean frp, hours to days delay.

 

A Consolidator ticket is not endorsable. So a passenger flies on a Consolidator ticket, if something happened, the passenger has NO alternative, but wait for the NEXT AVAILABLE flight from the ORIGINAL airline, even if the next available flight can be 3 days away. It happens.

 

That is the biggest danger of flying on a consolidator ticket, which can be a lot cheaper than a Published fare, naturally.

 

Greatam has explained the nature of Consolidator tickets in great details in many posts.

BTW, most Cruise Air arranged by cruiselines ARE CONSOLIDATOR TICKETS. And NO, the cruiselines have NO responsibility to get you to the destination, for the cruise air is offered for your convenience only. Read the FINE PRINT on the cruise air contract.

[oceanseagle12]

thanks greatam and nho9504. i think i have a better handle on the issues now.

for my plans, it seems like the biggest drawback is the unendorsable aspect of these tickets. my schedule would allow plenty of room for airline flight changes, but the inability to get put on another airline if something happens could be disastrous.

[2009]

Does the Premium Air Service from NCL use Consolidator Tickets or are these tickets different?

 

Example: if you purchase air thru the Cruiseline and go ahead and purchase their Premium Air Service are these tickets considered to be in the same classification and "Regular" air purchased from the cruiselines?

 

Also if you use the Premium Air Service I understand you will pay more than what was quoted to you when you purchased the cruise with air included but was you pull the trigger and select your flights through the Premium Air Service are you locked in with that specific price or can the airlines/cruiseline charge you more later on?

 

Thanks in advance......Amy

[greatam]

Does the Premium Air Service from NCL use Consolidator Tickets or are these tickets different?

 

Example: if you purchase air thru the Cruiseline and go ahead and purchase their Premium Air Service are these tickets considered to be in the same classification and "Regular" air purchased from the cruiselines?

 

Also if you use the Premium Air Service I understand you will pay more than what was quoted to you when you purchased the cruise with air included but was you pull the trigger and select your flights through the Premium Air Service are you locked in with that specific price or can the airlines/cruiseline charge you more later on?

 

Thanks in advance......Amy

 

Please see the thread "cruise air and air deviation" (link in post 2).

 

As a general rule, IF there is an upcharge for Premium Air, you are purchasing NON consolidator tickets. But as posted in the above link, why would you spend MORE money when you can generally get the tickets at the same price or cheaper than the cruise custom air???

 

And have ALL the benefits of dealing direct with the airline- FF miles, help when needed, etc. etc.

 

And yes, once you have booked and confirmed Premium Air/Custom Air, the price will remain the same.

[2009]

GreatAm

 

Thanks for the quick response. A couple of more questions is relation to your answers?

 

SEE BELOW

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2009

Does the Premium Air Service from NCL use Consolidator Tickets or are these tickets different?

 

Example: if you purchase air thru the Cruiseline and go ahead and purchase their Premium Air Service are these tickets considered to be in the same classification and "Regular" air purchased from the cruiselines?

 

Also if you use the Premium Air Service I understand you will pay more than what was quoted to you when you purchased the cruise with air included but was you pull the trigger and select your flights through the Premium Air Service are you locked in with that specific price or can the airlines/cruiseline charge you more later on?

 

Thanks in advance......Amy

Please see the thread "cruise air and air deviation" (link in post 2).

 

I did read the thread but was very confused, very unfamiliar with the whole airline / cruise rules, so I decided to ask my specific questions in a way I hoped I could understand and now I do somewhat.

 

As a general rule, IF there is an upcharge for Premium Air, you are purchasing NON consolidator tickets. But as posted in the above link, why would you spend MORE money when you can generally get the tickets at the same price or cheaper than the cruise custom air???

 

I quess because of the myth - if you book everything through the cruiseline then they will take care of everything. I now know from you and these boards that that is not always the case.

 

And have ALL the benefits of dealing direct with the airline- FF miles, help when needed, etc. etc.

 

Since these tickets would generally now be NON consolidator tickets would you still be dealing direct with the cruise line and not the airline if needed? Example if the airline cancels or changes your flight like so many of them are doing nowadays, if you book through Cruise Premium Air will you have the same options has someone who purchased Air directly from the airline and be able to change your flight?

 

 

And yes, once you have booked and confirmed Premium Air/Custom Air, the price will remain the same.

 

Thanks again........Amy