Booking before airfares are released?

[Golf4food]

We're "this" close to wanting to pull the trigger on our first ABD (Ireland) for June 2024, but of course there are no airfares yet that far out, and likely won't be for another couple of months. How does ABD deal with airfare when there are none?

Second complicating factor is we can only do trans-Atlantic flights in business class (neck/back problems, can't stay in an economy seat upright that long), so if fares stay insane we probably wouldn't want to go (we did Paris round trip for $11,000 last year, I'm ok with maybe $15k next year, but not paying $20k+...) By the time the flights are even available we'd be past the ABD cancel date, right?

 

[abdgeek]

We're "this" close to wanting to pull the trigger on our first ABD (Ireland) for June 2024, but of course there are no airfares yet that far out, and likely won't be for another couple of months. How does ABD deal with airfare when there are none?

Second complicating factor is we can only do trans-Atlantic flights in business class (neck/back problems, can't stay in an economy seat upright that long), so if fares stay insane we probably wouldn't want to go (we did Paris round trip for $11,000 last year, I'm ok with maybe $15k next year, but not paying $20k+...) By the time the flights are even available we'd be past the ABD cancel date, right?

The cost of the ABD does not include airfare. You can book your own or have ABD book it for you once it’s available to book. If you haven’t already, I would suggest looking to see what the cost is for the flights you’d want for June 2023. The cost should be the same or a little more next year. If you don’t like what you’re seeing in prices now, that will help you make your decision.

Don’t ever apologize for flying business class. Everyone travels differently and if that’s how you like to fly, that’s how you like to fly. They’re saying airfare is up 30%. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s going to come down anytime soon. The extra cost just has to be figured in now as an extra travel expense.

 

[sayhello]

We're "this" close to wanting to pull the trigger on our first ABD (Ireland) for June 2024, but of course there are no airfares yet that far out, and likely won't be for another couple of months. How does ABD deal with airfare when there are none?

Second complicating factor is we can only do trans-Atlantic flights in business class (neck/back problems, can't stay in an economy seat upright that long), so if fares stay insane we probably wouldn't want to go (we did Paris round trip for $11,000 last year, I'm ok with maybe $15k next year, but not paying $20k+...) By the time the flights are even available we'd be past the ABD cancel date, right?

The short answer is, ABD *doesn't* deal with the airfare. You are responsible for your own airfare. As @abdgeek said, you can book it yourself or through ABD (strictly as a Travel Agent), but it will in no way effect your booking of the ABD itself, which does not include airfare. The deposit is only refundable for 14 days. If you decide after that you don't want to take the trip because airfare costs too much, you *can* move the deposit one time to another trip. But you can't get your money back. And if you decide that the airfare is too much after the Paid in Full date, you are pretty much out of luck, and will lose either a part or all of your money based on the cancellation policies in the ABD Terms and Conditions. https://www.adventuresbydisney.com/terms-and-conditions/ Unfortunately, it's a risk booking an ABD early on.

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[Golf4food]

Thanks for the replies. So no real benefit to having ABD book the airfare, say if there's a last minute flight change or anything? If we have a travel agent already it would be basically the same situation?

I'm not worried about the deposit if we could just move it to a later adventure (is there a time limit on that like with DCL?)

 

[Marthasor]

I always book airfare directly with the airline - I have found if there is a cancellation or delay, it is much easier to work directly with the airline than work with through a vendor to try to sort out flights.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the replies. So no real benefit to having ABD book the airfare, say if there's a last minute flight change or anything? If we have a travel agent already it would be basically the same situation?

I'm not worried about the deposit if we could just move it to a later adventure (is there a time limit on that like with DCL?)

Definitely no benefit if you're talking about last minute changes or other issues. The ABD travel department is not 24/7, and it can sometimes be hard to get ahold of them. If you already have a good travel agent, that TA would most likely be in a better position to help you.

There used to be some benefit in case *ABD* cancelled your trip, because they would handle everything and absorb any cost for re-booking your trip. But some folks found their policies weren't so great when things started getting cancelled or moved around due to COVID. I always book directly with the airline anymore.

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