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Tauck Air
Has anyone booked their air through Tauck? Were the routing and aircraft pleasing? We want to book business class from California. Any tips or advice appreciated.
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Otherwise, you have to wait until Tauck books the ticket...60 days before departure. No payment advantage there.
I beg to differ Husker Bob, we use Economy plus frequently these days and it makes no difference, you still do not pay until 60 days before. Our last tour was in September with Tauck and that was exactly what we did, unless things have changed?
British, you're right that you still don't have to pay until Taucks final payment date (90 days for cruises) but according to the Tauck agent I spoke to they couldn't do economy comfort - only economy or business. I had to make the Economy Comfort upgrade with the airline directly and I could not do that until the ticket had been paid for. That also meant I couldn't pick our seats until then. Speaking of which..
Before picking your seats, I highly recommend a website called seatguru. You plug in the airline model number and it gives you a complete layout of seats along with reviews of them. I should have followed their advice instead of being overruled by my husband and not chosen the bulkhead seats on our outgoing flight. The reviews were right - the seats were uncomfortably narrow since the tray table has to go in the arm rest and they were close to a noisy kitchen and bathroom. Did much better on the return flight. Plus the upgrade along with Skypriority boarding helped us get through Delta's extra layer of security screening in Amsterdam faster than economy.
Hope Tauck changes its policy wrt to Economy Comfort.
Claudia is correct. DO NOT BOOK the bulkhead seats. Even though you have a bit more leg room, you have less arm room and it is difficult to get stuff under your seat. We always book economy comfort seats when we fly long distance.
If that's the case, I'll use Tauck since I feel more comfortable having all the reservations through them.
Another question is the amount of time needed to clear customs in Europe. A friend told me to allow at least three hours between flights but that seems like a long time.
We haven't flown much since we've been spending time taking car trips through the U.S.
I use seatgur.com, also. I notice that Virgin Atlantic has great reviews, however they seem the most expensive.
From experience Premium Economy and Economy comfort do vary from aircraft to aircraft and airline to airline.
Some are recliners and some are not much more than extra legroom and a foot rest. So do check Seat Guru!
Yes Effie, correct!
I have travelled to and from Europe many times over many years. Forget the pre 9/11 days of getting to the airport at the last minute, those days are over for ever. Always allow 3 hours at the airport before your flight. That is also what Tauck recommends and when they take you back to the airport after your tour, you will be at the airport three hours before.
I think it is a very good idea to leave three hours between connections in Europe. I have often found that some airports are more strict than in the US. You may find that you have to go through more than one security line, even for the same flight. If your first flight is delayed, you can soon find yourself sprinting to the next flight. For that reason alone I recommend shoes that you can run in over shoes that are easy to take off for security, in fact you often don't have to remove your shoes. Also, a carry on bag that you can easily run with. In addition, some airports have a security check point at the gate. This year alone I have been in long lines at Amsterdam. Madrid and Heathrow. Heathrow is a nightmare, you can easily take one and a half hours to negotiate security for a connecting flight. Twice in recent times my incoming flight has been delayed and I have missed connections going through their strict and long security lines.
The worst I have ever seen was going for a flight in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania, there was a whole series of different security lines to get through for one flight, I am guessing about six to get through, boy were we glad we had plenty of time until our flight left.
One good thing, many airports have great shops to browse in and free internet, that all helps to pass the time. We also enjoy guessing who on a flight might be a fellow Tauck passenger. Ah, the joys of travel!
Oh dear, just re-read your post and you meant customs, well the strategy there is to march fast when you get off the plane and get to the head of the line, have your customs forms filled out in advance and do not be carrying any illegal items like fruit or bacon, yes the Brits try to smuggle bacon into the US! Whatever time you arrive in Europe for the start of a Tauck tour, early or late, your Tauck transport will be waiting for you.
I do think I could manage not talking to my traveling companion if it meant extra comfort!
I have traveled business class on Air France on the 319 ..320 connecting within Europe and yes no true business class cabin. From Tououse we had no jet way and had to carry our carry on bags up the stairs into the plane.
British Airways has great prices, but the reviews are not good.