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Booking airfare

LibraryLadySLC

What are the advantages of booking airfare with Tauck, rather than booking alone?

Several flights are available that are preferable to the itineraries Tauck's travel department offers. They are unable to book those for some reason, so we are left with choices of 5-hour layovers or traveling through airports we'd rather avoid. There are plenty of seats available. We were also told Tauck would only book Main Cabin and we need to upgrade on the airline's website because the airline wants the extra fees.

They are also unable to book the first leg and final leg of one traveler's flight. That traveler needs to fly from a different city to meet up and travel with me. So she has to book her flight into and out of my city. I don't understand, as not every traveler travels from the same city. And when we traveled with Tauck last year her flights to and from our meet-up city were booked with no problem.

What am I missing here?

We have travel insurance through Tauck. If we book our flights is air travel covered? If we run into problems with our flights, will Tauck help us work around issues or are we on our own?

Comments

bucketlist

Ourtravels34 - I was shocked to find out when I booked premium economy on British Air through Delta that the seats need to be purchased separately! As you said it was a "pretty penny." Being stuborn and not wanting to be nickled and dimed I waited until the second you could book the seats for free! Of course I was assigned the last row in the middle. To top it off they ran out of good meals and I could not find a place to indicate allergys, etc. on its website. I learned that in the future I needed be more careful and give in if I have to and pay for the seats. Booking through a domestic airline with a partner means you follow the partner's rules. I did not find out until after I booked about the seats since when I use Delta in the past to Europe the seat was included. Looks like an area the proposed nuisance fees laws could help. The price should be the price.

There were times Tauck flights could not book seats and we were told to go to the airline website and pay to book our own. A few times we had to do reality checks, especially on Italian connections and needed to get Tauck to pay attention to the conenct time through Rome when it was less than an hour. I have learned to do research before talking to them and then a reality check on their offer. Some agents you talk with are more experienced than others; some are just lazy.

BKMD

British - My last 3 trips to Europe have been on British Air (with the UK being final destination for only one of them). For me, BA has the best biz class these days - non-stop DEN to LHR, cubicles with a sliding door for extra privacy on the A350, which is great for an overnight flight.

On my way home from Venice in May, I flew AA to PHL, then onto DEN. No complaints, other than the AA lounge at PHL (I forget the terminal) was pathetically small and overcrowded. I had enough time to walk to the next terminal for a much better lounge. As you know, I lived in the PHl area for 25+ years, and PHL was one of the worst airports while I was there, and this recent trip was my first time back there in 15 years. While not great, it's better than it was. I tended to fly from EWR more often than PHL (only 15 mins longer from where I lived) as there were more options and better prices.

The one thing I don't like about BA is the fact they charge for seat reservations, including biz. I just figure it into the price, but it's very poor marketing on their part to not include it in the ticket price and piss off customers with their "unique" nickel and diming. Also, when flying BA, I make sure both flights (if there are two) are in terminal 5. That way I don't have to hassle with LHR's awful intra-terminal bus system.

Sealord

On BA there are different types of Business and different types of Coach. The higher categories of each come with free seat selection. That being said, they can change your seat in either case, but if you paid extra for the selection you should get that money back. I’ve done that on KLM even though they say in writing that you cannot. By the way, Delta is not a OneWorld (BA) partner.

MCD

I've never had a problem flying Aer Lingus, which I have done many times -- direct from Boston to Dublin as a destination or for a layover in Dublin on my way elsewhere in Europe (though they do use the "European business class model of an empty middle seat at the front of the plane). I've also never had to pay for seat selection in business class in Aer Lingus, but I have on British Air. And I love being able to clear US immigration in Ireland (available in Dublin or Shannon).

AmyBlackstone

We have always booked our flights through AMEX. With their International airline benefits, the fares have always been much lower than what Tauck offered (with better connections). Plus, we get 4 x the number of membership rewards.

OurTravels34

I am going to book my hotel post stay hotel today with Amex. I did that before and it was half the price than what Tauck charged. I was still able to get transportation to and from the airport from Tauck. When Tauck charges for a hotel, the price is times two for two people. When doing it independently, it is not doubled in price. It’s as if you were calling up a hotel to make a reservation. I e had this experience twice and it worked well.

Sealord

I have gotten a better price for hotels on my own (Tauck hotel), but I found over time that I was sometimes trading apples for oranges. I just priced our Paris and Lyon Intercontinental hotels for our trip next week, and the Tauck ‘total’ price and the hotel’s total price is almost identical. Now, if Amex can get a fifty percent discount off of the hotel’s price, that would be a great deal. Fifty percent of the cost of the Intercontinental Le Grand would easily pay for one of Amex’s best credit cards.

BKMD

If you book a pre or post-stay at the Tauck hotel on your own, does the hotel make you change rooms?

OurTravels34

BKMD, they never did on the few occasions that I booked my post stay on my own. I first speak with the tour direction and explain the situation to him or her since he or she might have a better relationship with the front desk personnel and might even know them. It can happy, that you might have to switch rooms but they would mean more work for the hotel, and it wouldn’t bother me if I had to switch.

Sealord

When I bought my own rooms I would call the hotel to make sure that I was booking the same category room as Tauck … the ‘on your own room’ probably will not come with breakfast unless you pay for that option. And, all hotels have some ‘bad’ rooms that they normally assign to airline crews, but if you succeed in getting an inexpensive room you will sometimes get what you paid for. Ultimately, I decided the savings was not worth the bother, and occasionally the room is a big surprise. We book a tour where almost every detail is arranged. Why screw it up with complications?