Everything You Wanted To Know About Flights With Ultimate Break But Were Afraid To Ask
If the thought of booking flights, dealing with airlines, and finding your way from the airport to your hotel keeps you up at night—this one's for you.
Booked a tour with us? Amazing! You’re in for the ride of your life (trust me, I’ve been on multiple Ultimate Break tours myself). I’m Cam, I’m a Flight Support Specialist on the Customer Experience team. I help make your journey, from take-off to baggage claim, as smooth as possible by handling all the flight details—booking, searching, changing, and ticketing. I’m here to answer your questions, whether it’s about direct flights, delays, or how it all works.
While I can refer you to our many resources that help answer these questions (you should really check out the Help Center, my colleague Mike would love you forever), sometimes I’ve found it’s best to just walk through it. So, let’s do that: this is everything you’ve ever wanted to know about flights with EF Ultimate Break but were afraid to ask.
Just booked?
Many of you worry the most about delays and cancellations, which I promise we will dive into. But let’s start from the beginning—you just booked your tour, congratulations! You’ve selected to book your flights through us too? Even better. Let’s walk through what you get now:
- Round-trip airfare in standard economy (not basic economy, you won't be be boarding last unless you want to)
- Purchased insurance? Your flights are covered for a variety of issues you may run into. Learn more about our Travel Protection here!
- Want to arrive early? Fly with a friend? Avoid a specific airport? Upgrade to business class? Our flights team can help customize your itinerary—just submit a request here. While we can’t guarantee the cost or availability of your request, we can investigate solutions that would work best for you.
- Spread your payments for your flight package across your payment plan.
- Bookings with major airlines that have been safety vetted by our On-Tour Support Team. You'll also get access to their guidance on working with the airlines.
- Airport transfers organized by yours truly (Ultimate Break, not me, sorry).
What if you choose to book your own flights? It’s a valid option, but there are a few drawbacks. You’ll need to pay the airline in full upfront, your flights won’t be covered by Ultimate Break Travel Protection, you won’t have support for your flights from our On-Tour Support Team, and airport transfers won’t be included. You can learn more about this here. If you do go this route, we recommend waiting until about two months before your tour—when it's finalized—to book.
How do we do what we do?
Many of you have asked me why we have certain deadlines when it comes to making changes to flights, and I think the best way to address that is to walk you step by step through how we book your flights for you. Here is a rough timeline of how our flight process works:
The moment you book: Our team starts to search for and book you on the best available option at that time. It is essential that when you book you also submit your TSA information (with your name exactly as it appears on your passport), that way we can ensure you are booked correctly.
Note that if you are booking your tour less than 60 days prior to departure, you are considered a “late add” & will not be approved for the tour until we have verified we are able to secure flights & hotels for you (this can come at an additional cost).
We recommend putting in requests for flights ASAP after booking, you can do so by calling in or submitting here!
60 days prior to tour: Your flight preview is available in your online account. This means your flights are now finalized and are not likely to change prior to departure (pending no changes from the airline or last-minute requests). Airlines are constantly refining their schedules, making changes to the times and routes they are running. But don’t worry, we monitor this and make sure you are all set to go.
30 days prior to tour: Your flight is confirmed and the confirmation number has been released. You can now manage your booking via the airline’s website or mobile app.
Departure day: Time to fly! Make sure you check in with the airline as soon as the window opens!
An essential rule of thumb to follow—there is always a chance that a flight request can come at an additional cost, and the closer to tour you request it, the higher the likelihood is that the cost will increase. We work in a live flight booking system, so flight pricing and availability are always subject to change.
A final note on a common question: seat selection is up to the airline and can’t be done until you receive your confirmation number, about 30 days before your tour. Each airline handles seat selection differently, and changes to schedules or aircraft can affect availability—so we can’t guarantee specific seats in advance. For more details, we recommend checking directly with the airline once you have your itinerary.
The on-tour experience
Let’s walk through the on-tour travel experience. You arrive at the airport 3 hours early (passport ready, meds in your personal item—nicely done). Security goes smoothly, and you’ve got time to grab a bite, a glass of wine, maybe even hit the lounge.
Then, uh oh, a delay. No need to panic. Get. In. Line. Talking to the airline first is always your best bet. Call our On-Tour Support Team at 1-617-619-1411 to let us know what they say (consider this your sign from the universe to save this number in your phone). Flight delays, especially on international routes, happen. Just be sure to keep us in the loop.
If your flight ends up cancelled, head straight to the airline counter. Since you’re already checked in, they’re in the best position to rebook you (and don’t be afraid to push back if needed). You can utilize our On Tour Support Team for guidance, they can walk you through how to best handle the specific situation.
As for while you are on tour, let’s say you booked one of our longer tours that involves flights as part of the tour from one location to another. Not to worry, your Tour Director will have all of the information and provide it to you on tour! Need it in advance for Visa reasons? Reach out to our team around 30 days prior to tour and we can look into it for you!
Tips and tricks from the team
We at EF are rather experienced travelers (it’s basically the air we breathe), so here are some more great tips and tricks direct from the flights team. I highly recommend heeding these words, they can save you a lot in terms of both money and stress.
- “If you’re on a double aisle aircraft (so a plane with 3 seat sections and two aisles), go for the aisle seat of the middle section, even if it’s towards the back. Odds are the other seats in the middle will be filled by travelers flying together, so they won’t bug you as much to get up. There is also a higher likelihood the middle seat next to you will be empty!”—Drew, Team Lead of our Flight Emergencies Team
- “When you book, make sure the name you provide us is your full name as it appears on your passport. Having a nickname or missing a part of your name can cause issues down the line.”—Maddi, Travel Coordinator
- “Don't be afraid to be a bit of a "Karen" if the airlines aren't super helpful or gave you an option you don't particularly like if you’re delayed or cancelled. Sometimes their hands are tied but other times a bit of pushback can get you a better itinerary or option.”—Kellee, Trip Specialist
- “Using Mobile Passport Control when you’re re-entering the U.S. on your way home can drastically lower the amount of time it takes for you to get through customs.”—Alicia, Senior Request Specialist
- “If you can get an Air Tag for your checked bag—do it, you will save yourself a lot of worry.”—Madi, Team Lead of Travel Coordinators
Hopefully you’ve either had some of your questions answered by reading through this or have found the answer through our Help Center. If you have a question that has yet to be answered, give us a call at 1-800-766-2645 or submit a request through the Help Center, we’re more than happy to help. As I like to wish all the travelers I get to work with, clear skies!
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