Jump to content

Air to Sea Sucks


Recommended Posts

AIR TO SEA SUCKS!!!! THIS BOOKING HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE!!  We booked in Nov and had our flights set up seats done and upgraded... and we find out our flight was cancelled on Saturday (WE LEAVE ON 19TH) they then put us on a flight that does NOT meet our conection???? ARE THEY NOT THE TRAVEL DEPARTMENT??? They tell us we can get our money back....WHAT WE PAID 999 NOW FOR TICKETS ITS 2600 PER PERSON... then they put us on a flight and tell us we have to wait to find out if we are accepted on that flight and could take 5 DAYS... we get a confirmation email on Tues and to find out we can  not make seat arrangements because they have not released tickets..we wait 2 hours on phone for a manager and he says he will escalate and still NOT DONE 24 HOURS LATER...what a nightmare 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, AspiringCruisePlanner said:

What airline did you book with? Seems odd there would be a flat out cancellation this close to your date without attempted re-accomodation by the airline. I'd be blaming the airline rather than Air2Sea in this situation.

We booked thru air to sea and were on united airlines ...venice to frankfort and franfort to newark..they cancelled the franfort to newark flight kept the venice to frankfort that arrived at 4pm the fran to newark was leaving at 11 am..first problem. then they put us on a flight that had hardly any seats we had to wait 3 days to find out if confirmed and just spent a total of 6 hours over 2 days to get the tickets changed to book our seats..we just got off the phone ..the other half of our party was not confirmed on their flight and have to fly into another airport in another state to get home and they now have to wait to find out if they can get confirm on that flight..this is horrible...we have traveled all over the world for work and pleasure and have never had a problem like this before. it should not take hours on a phone and days in total to get a ticket issue fixed

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Listen to me they act as your travel agent and the point was the customer service sucks and they did not follow thru. I should not have  to correct their mistakes and should not have to wait hours to get a problem resolved. period. I have traveled on Royal carribean before and this trip they sucked.  what travel agent books you on a flight and has the connecting flight leave several hours before your flight gets in. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I agree that Air2Sea is terrible.  We are taking Rhapsody OTS from Athens to Ravenna July 25 thru August 1.  We booked our flights (with the help of our wonderful MEI agent) through Air2Sea.  We are having a problem with the return on August 2.  We were originally scheduled to fly from Venice (VCE) to Baltimore (BWI) with a connection at London Heathrow (LHR).  The problem is that British Airways cancelled the VCE-LHR flight and we were switched to a VCE->London Gatwick (LGW) flight and no way to get from LGW to LHR (that connection is only 3 hours; not enough).  There's an earlier VCE-LHR flight that we want to switch to but Air2Sea keeps putting me off because it's more than 30 days out.  

I also have called BA but they say that since the flight was booked through a 3rd party (Air2Sea), they won't do anything.

What a CF!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, baltodave said:

I agree that Air2Sea is terrible.  We are taking Rhapsody OTS from Athens to Ravenna July 25 thru August 1.  We booked our flights (with the help of our wonderful MEI agent) through Air2Sea.  We are having a problem with the return on August 2.  We were originally scheduled to fly from Venice (VCE) to Baltimore (BWI) with a connection at London Heathrow (LHR).  The problem is that British Airways cancelled the VCE-LHR flight and we were switched to a VCE->London Gatwick (LGW) flight and no way to get from LGW to LHR (that connection is only 3 hours; not enough).  There's an earlier VCE-LHR flight that we want to switch to but Air2Sea keeps putting me off because it's more than 30 days out.  

I also have called BA but they say that since the flight was booked through a 3rd party (Air2Sea), they won't do anything.

What a CF!

When my son's flights got re-arranged by the carrier last week, he was able to call Air2Sea on day of travel and get a new connecting flight.  Have you been able to reach Air2Sea by phone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

When my son's flights got re-arranged by the carrier last week, he was able to call Air2Sea on day of travel and get a new connecting flight.  Have you been able to reach Air2Sea by phone?

Yes, after being on hold with them for over 20 minutes, they told me that since the flight is over 30 days away to try again in a few days.  The crazy thing is that we also requested a change with our outbound flight (on AA) and it was taken care of in less than 12 hours.  I first contacted Air2Sea 2.5 weeks ago when I learned that our original flight was cancelled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To be fair, the airline industry today is not what it was pre-pandemic.  Most of the issues air passengers face are due to airlines making significant changes to flights or substituting different equipment with entirely different classes of services such as no comfort plus or business class options.  

If booked through Air2Sea or if you booked the same flights direct, you'd have the same significant impact forced on you by the airline.  Some airlines are better at notifying Air2Sea or direct booked passengers.  Other airlines are pretty weak in the notification department.  The nightmare isn't because you booked through Air2Sea.  Airlines are causing these nightmares.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, YOLO said:

Doesn't by booking with Air2Sea provide a guaranty?  To get you to the ship, to protect the cost of the cruise?

If it's a guarantee, it's one they may not always be able to fulfill. But I am not sure if they use the word "guarantee" or not. They would be smart not to. 

(Copied this from another post I recently made)

Flights are full again. Air2Sea can't add seats to a plane, or add flights to a destination. Caribbean cruises are a good example of this, where there are a lot of small islands with limited flights, not to mention the private cruiseline islands with zero flights.  They can only work with what the airlines offer. Another thing to keep in mind is that, if something big happens to cause delays, it will likely have a ripple effect through the system and you'll be competing with frequent fliers and full-fare customers, which will start pushing you down the list of priority for the airlines. 

Air2Sea uses a lot of fancy marketing language to say they'll get you to the ship. In reality, they can only do their best (and hopefully they'll at least try their best, not just try a little). Don't assume they'll get you where you need to go, when you need to get there. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Zacharius said:

Air2Sea uses a lot of fancy marketing language to say they'll get you to the ship. In reality, they can only do their best (and hopefully they'll at least try their best, not just try a little). Don't assume they'll get you where you need to go, when you need to get there. 

I remember very recently reading about a family who missed their departure in Fort Lauderdale (due to bad weather, I think) so Air2Sea flew them to meet the ship in SJ and then the ship ended up not being able to port in SJ because of an issue with another ship that was already there. At which point I think Air2Sea gave up and flew the family home. The best laid plans... that poor family was really out of luck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I remember very recently reading about a family who missed their departure in Fort Lauderdale (due to bad weather, I think) so Air2Sea flew them to meet the ship in SJ and then the ship ended up not being able to port in SJ because of an issue with another ship that was already there. At which point I think Air2Sea gave up and flew the family home. The best laid plans... that poor family was really out of luck.

Damn...if that family didn't have bad luck, they wouldn't have any luck at all. I'd at least ask Royal Caribbean to put me up in San Juan for a few days to make some kind of vacation out of it 🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Iv'e used Air2Sea extensively pre-COVID to and from Europe. It worked best when I did the research, found the connections that worked best, then presented those to the Air2Sea agent. Most of the time it was available, I booked it and off we went. 

Right now, I'd be very reluctant to book with Air2Sea. First of all, they obtain seats at group rated, reduced fares, at least that was the case pre-COVID. I would assume reduced fare seats are, these days, mostly unavailable so, your choice of bookings is going to be limited, probably severely. Air travel in general is going to be costly no matter. Commercial flying is hard in the present circumstance and it's going to remain that way for a while.

My advice is to book airline travel either directly with the airline or through an agency/agent you trust, e.g., MEI. There are skilled travel agents out there who are adroit and finding the best connections and if things get messed up prior to your travel, unscrewing things - without you spending hours on the phone waiting for the airline's CSR. Pick airlines carefully. There are lots of tools to find out whihc lines do the most cancellation and/or changes of flights.

Next, buy the best travel protection you can find that covers trip delays and trip cancellation. Finally, prepare yourself to be delayed, inconveniently rerouted, your flight cancelled or, worst case, you don't get to cruise at all. Have a back-up plan. It sucks but it is what it is. Keep all your receipts, document, document, document and bring credit cards with lots of remaining credit. You may need it.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

We have flight books with less than hour between legs and have to go from national to international terminals and recheck luggage. Called at least 10 x to Air and Sea and they refuse to change the itinierary! I am trying to proactively stop an issue here were we will ( all 4 of us) be late causing them to reroute us and they refuse to assist. So preparing for my trip is hell and dread instead of the usual excitement! Air and Sea you need to retrain your staff before you lose tons on re- routing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just booked with AIr2Sea for a one-way flight from Miami to Athens in October, 2023. This is the first time I have used Air2Sea since the cruising restart. I didn't care for it much before COVID as available routings and connections were poor. I was impressed with the ease of finding suitable flights at the Air2Sea website - its well designed and easy to use without calling an Air2Sea agent. I bounced what was available using Matrix Software (Google Flight without the adds) to what was being offered in the Air2Sea web site. Not a lot of differences, several options by both airlines and routing and this far in advance, the fare was pretty good and equivalent at both websites.

I'm assuming Roselo didn't have choices and ended up with this short layover between national and international flights. From the post, Roselo has an international flight as part of her Air2Sea itinerary. She may have been able to avoid this and have more choices on routing by booking just inside 6 months (for international). This is the point at which the airlines allegedly start to manage fares - prices rise or fall based on bookings and inquiries (dynamic pricing). Generally and as I understand it, Air2Sea won't offer an itinerary that won't work and I can't imagine Roselo's itinerary being forced on her. I suppose that is possible if it was the only itinerary offered but then again if its being booked inside 60d, that could have been the case. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, JeffB said:

She may have been able to avoid this and have more choices on routing by booking just inside 6 months (for international). This is the point at which the airlines allegedly start to manage fares - prices rise or fall based on bookings and inquiries (dynamic pricing). Generally and as I understand it, Air2Sea won't offer an itinerary that won't work

Couple things:

1. Pricing fluctuates from day one, not just at six months.

2. Air2Sea just sticks to minimum connection times (MCTs), which are a bit different for each airline and airport. But these are the minimum connection times an airline will let you book. That being said, they're not always ideal. A 1-hour connection DOM-INTL in whatever airport Roselo is going through may be perfectly "legal" (as is common phrasing with MCTs), but may not be enjoyable (or even realistic sometimes). I'll do whatever I can to avoid a MCT, especially on a DOM-INTL or INTL-DOM connection. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In September of last year we had to stay a night in Dallas due to flight connection timing problems.  There was a flight attendant in the hotel shuttle with us who we chatted with, and this is gist of what she told us. Most airlines are now using automated ticketing systems (ie computer programs).  The programs don’t take anything other than raw data into consideration….so if the minimum connection time is 50 minutes, then you get 50 minutes regardless of which airport you’re connecting in.  The common sense that a human booking your flights would bring is gone…..so your minimum connection time in Atlanta is the same as it would be in Portland, Maine. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, teddy said:

so if the minimum connection time is 50 minutes, then you get 50 minutes regardless of which airport you’re connecting in.  The common sense that a human booking your flights would bring is gone…..so your minimum connection time in Atlanta is the same as it would be in Portland, Maine. 

I think the flight attendant gave bad info. For example, American Airlines has a 40 minute MCT for DOM-DOM flights at DFW, but I think it might be as low as 25 minutes DOM-DOM at AUS. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not use Sea to Air, but book flight myself on airlines website.  And this still happens to me.   The airlines change flights all the time. Sometimes for lack of crew or  reasons.  It is not Sea to Air's fault if flights are changed, and sometimes at the last minute. I just had the same thing with a connection from Rome next month  (for a cruise) and they changed my times all around.  I called and they changed it to something else I had found and preferred.  Travel has always been hard work, and you need to be flexible.   I do not like flying, but deal with it as I want to travel.  And since I live no where near an ocean (and cruise many times a year) I fly to go on about any kind of trip.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Linda R said:

I do not use Sea to Air, but book flight myself on airlines website.  And this still happens to me.   The airlines change flights all the time. Sometimes for lack of crew or  reasons.  It is not Sea to Air's fault if flights are changed, and sometimes at the last minute. I just had the same thing with a connection from Rome next month  (for a cruise) and they changed my times all around.  I called and they changed it to something else I had found and preferred.  Travel has always been hard work, and you need to be flexible.   I do not like flying, but deal with it as I want to travel.  And since I live no where near an ocean (and cruise many times a year) I fly to go on about any kind of trip.

I fly Delta all the time, and have to go thru Salt Lake on every single flight.  The connection in Salt Lake is often 30 minutes.  I have always made the connection. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whoops! Sounds like I'm pretty wrong here. Leaving this so twangsters comment has context. For anyone saying it isn't air2sea's fault, of course it is. They charge a premium for their service of getting you to your cruise. You are an air2sea customer not a delta/american airline/whatever customer. If a flight is cancelled they have an obligation to get you there anyway, if at all possible (and losing money is possible, I'm talking about a storm or something that prevents anyone from flying).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, RafaellaCG said:

For anyone saying it isn't air2sea's fault, of course it is. They charge a premium for their service of getting you to your cruise. You are an air2sea customer not a delta/american airline/whatever customer. If a flight is cancelled they have an obligation to get you there anyway, if at all possible (and losing money is possible, I'm talking about a storm or something that prevents anyone from flying).

That's not entirely accurate.  A2S is a travel agency.  To say you are not a customer of the airline is  not accurate.  When I have used A2S my normal Delta perks and privileges for being elite still applied, my booking appeared normally on the airline website and I could do all the normal things I do like choose seats and I was upgraded to first class from being elite with the airline normally.  Once ticketed, the airline ticket is between you and the airline and A2S interaction is not required except in matters of a refund if required by law. 

In the case of the airline contract of carriage that applies between you and the airline as the named passenger on the contract.  Their obligations are outlined and controlled by federal agencies such as the DOT.  As weak as US consumer protections laws are (thanks to Congress) they still apply to airline tickets acquired through A2S regardless who booked them.   

As far as a premium often there is no premium and flights can be cheaper than the airline website directly.  My tickets to Europe this summer are $1,500 cheaper booked through A2S compared to Delta direct.  In years gone by I've also enjoyed cheaper pricing through A2S compared to airlines directly.  Not by as much, it was like $35 less through A2S.  That's not always the case but to say you pay a premium for A2S is not true.    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, twangster said:

That's not entirely accurate.  A2S is a travel agency.  To say you are not a customer of the airline is  not accurate.  When I have used A2S my normal Delta perks and privileges for being elite still applied, my booking appeared normally on the airline website and I could do all the normal things I do like choose seats and I was upgraded to first class from being elite with the airline normally.  Once ticketed, the airline ticket is between you and the airline and A2S interaction is not required except in matters of a refund if required by law. 

In the case of the airline contract of carriage that applies between you and the airline as the named passenger on the contract.  Their obligations are outlined and controlled by federal agencies such as the DOT.  As weak as US consumer protections laws are (thanks to Congress) they still apply to airline tickets acquired through A2S regardless who booked them.   

As far as a premium often there is no premium and flights can be cheaper than the airline website directly.  My tickets to Europe this summer are $1,500 cheaper booked through A2S compared to Delta direct.  In years gone by I've also enjoyed cheaper pricing through A2S compared to airlines directly.  Not by as much, it was like $35 less through A2S.  That's not always the case but to say you pay a premium for A2S is not true.    

I'm mistaken in that case. In another thread someone mentioned them being cheaper and got a chorus of "this must be an error" so I misunderstood. Thank you clarifying exactly how it works! I'll leave my original post for context.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

We booked our flights, asked to be upgraded... they said once booked, call the airline.

ANY TICKETS BOOKED THROUGH A 3RD PARTY SUCH AS AIR2SEA CANNOT BE UPGRADED!!!!!

The airlines will not honor 3rd party changes@!!!!!!!!!!!!  When I called AIR2SEA to make the changes,

they not only said they can't, they "accidentally" canceled my flight arrangements entirely!!!!  So my

daughter/husband has tickets and my husband and I don't!!!!!!!!!  I've been on the phone for almost 5 hours

trying to sort this out and the airlines are charging me extra money for the changes .... why am I the one paying extra for their mistakes?

DON"T DO IT!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

We booked with this program because we wanted the peace of mind that thew ship wouldn't leave without us if something went wrong. We were wrong. We were at the airport waiting on the first of 2 flights when we got a text from Air Canada that there was a 5 hour delay on our second flight. We called these people right away and the Indian lady that we could barely understand just said well looks like you will have to cancel. nothing can be done. We had a year in planning this cruise and had taken off work and pulled our daughter out of school. this was not acceptable. we told her we would call her back as our first flight was boarding. you could hear her saying i wouldn't do that! as we hung up on her. After getting to Toronto, we spoke to Air Canada's customer service and they were able to get us there on 2 additional flights but at least we got there no thanks to these clowns. 

the guy sitting next to me on the next flight had the same experience but when he called, the person actually tried to help him get on another flight. I think we just got someone who didn't feel like working that day.

long story short, book your own flights and fly in the day before and get a hotel room. these people are awful and barely speak English.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We too had an interesting experience last year with A2S -  I definitely won't be using them again.  Similar to someone else, the airline changed the flights (it happens, no fault of A2S) and the rebooked flight wasn't acceptable.  As someone who travels frequently for work I understand these things happen and I'm generally able to resolve with a quick phone call to the airline.  HOWEVER, because this reservation was booked through A2S, I wasn't able to manipulate the reservation.  This is where the frustration came in -  Again, like someone else stated I was told the flight is more than 30 days out so A2S wouldn't work with me yet.  Knowing how quickly flights sell out and decent seats are gone, I wanted to address the flight changes as soon as possible.  What was IMPOSSIBLE was getting anyone at A2S to help.  When the finally called me back (>20 days later), both the alternate flights I wanted weren't available.  Generally a frustrating experience all around.  Their customer service definitely needs some improvement.  

It's definitely not a "bad" program, just needs more flexibility when changes are generated from the airlines. 

Being a frequent flyer, I'll never use them again for a cruise, but instead make sure I'm flying in early enough to have contingency plans available.  If I were in a different position where I didn't have that lattitude and needed the guarantee of getting to the ship, I might reconsider this stance.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

Same thing just happened to us. Took our money gave us confirmation numbers on United.  I was able to get seats then 3 weeks later was told of a flight change and either have major time differences and additional layover or pay an additional 50% of my original fare.  We used Air and Sea to include in our insurance.  I could have booked on my own for original price that same day.  Never again

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...