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Viking Air and business class


ClevelandKid
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Hi, My SO and I are finding cattle class on long haul flights to be dreaded. So my question for those who have experience, if you book business class through Viking Air for a long haul flight - either US to Europe or US to Asia/Australia/etc, how are the fares compared with standard retail? Can they get you a good price break?

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Hi, My SO and I are finding cattle class on long haul flights to be dreaded. So my question for those who have experience, if you book business class through Viking Air for a long haul flight - either US to Europe or US to Asia/Australia/etc, how are the fares compared with standard retail? Can they get you a good price break?

 

My response disappeared for some reason so here we go again:

 

I don’t know the Busness class price if you buy it through Viking. The Vikings upgrade to Busness cost more than our Buisness class tickets we booked ourselves.

I also read on another thread that Viking Economy might be Ok but Business is not (price wise)

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our experience has only been US to EU

 

and I'll only do 'business' or better (up from 'tourist' or basic ... names differ with most non-US airlines)

 

we book our own and beat the heck out of what Viking has offered.

 

recent examples:

 

we flew on LOT (Polish National Airline) from JFK to Budapest with a stop and plane change is Warsaw .... terrific flight on a brand new airplane. Excellent service in 'business' and saved considerable $ over Vik' offers (and better routing IMO)

 

Soon heading Orlando to London Gatwick via Norwegian Air Premium Class for VERY nice price IMO .... they have some AMAZINGLY low prices (JFK to Madrid under $200 .... Lauderdale to Oslo under $200 <not premium class tho>) Premium gets bigger seat / reserved, 2 checked bags, and premium meal {on LOT what we call 1st class was business, I think the "middle" was premium .... business got the full 'bed' type seats; we got larger than regular with more recline and more leg room and included booze and upgraded meal (x2)}

 

btw, are you retired folks? have time on your hands? We've taken QM2 from Hamburg to NYC Via Southampton with a balcony cabin for LESS than the cost of business class air!!!!! Of course that's b4 factoring the bar bill! And from Hamburg a 9 day trip; Southa' 7 ..... but if you have the time much nicer than sitting in an airplane!

 

It takes an excellent TA, or in our case DW likes doing it herself and LOVES finding these bargains ......

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In Sept. we are flying from Cleveland, OH to Delhi, India.and then back from Bangkok. We are going to use Viking air business class. Like you, we can no longer endure 18 to 24 hour trips in economy. However, our life is so crazy at the moment that searching for flights was not something i needed to add to my "to do" list so, i bit the bullet and for the first time in all our many years of cruising I am letting the cruise line do it. Hope i didn"t cost us too much money..

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We book our own air because it is our preference to control the airline, times, routing, etc.

 

But wouldn't it be a good idea to start a thread for Viking Air routings and prices? Maybe a separate thread for Business class?

Have a set format--include to/from, airline, and flights.

I don't know how to keep it from degenerating into complaint forum but it would be nice to have a compilation of the routings and prices WITHOUT any other miscellaneous verbiage.

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our experience has only been US to EU

btw, are you retired folks? have time on your hands? We've taken QM2 from Hamburg to NYC Via Southampton with a balcony cabin for LESS than the cost of business class air!!!!! Of course that's b4 factoring the bar bill! And from Hamburg a 9 day trip; Southa' 7 ..... but if you have the time much nicer than sitting in an airplane!

...

 

I am, she is not - does your spouse have a website to look at? Either a generic booking site like Expedia, or something more specific?

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In Sept. we are flying from Cleveland, OH to Delhi, India.and then back from Bangkok. We are going to use Viking air business class. Like you, we can no longer endure 18 to 24 hour trips in economy. However, our life is so crazy at the moment that searching for flights was not something i needed to add to my "to do" list so, i bit the bullet and for the first time in all our many years of cruising I am letting the cruise line do it. Hope i didn"t cost us too much money..

 

We too are Clevelanders - know Hopkins well. Be interested in hearing what your experience is once you get your tickets.

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Hi, My SO and I are finding cattle class on long haul flights to be dreaded. So my question for those who have experience, if you book business class through Viking Air for a long haul flight - either US to Europe or US to Asia/Australia/etc, how are the fares compared with standard retail? Can they get you a good price break?

Hi ClevelandKid

We always travel business class on long haul flights. When we went with Viking for our River Cruise last year, we decided to check prices with our preferred airline (several months in advance) to see how they compared to to Viking's prices from Toronto to Budapest. Viking was significantly less for return air business class, so we booked with them. We did pay the small fee for Air Plus and this allowed us to give Viking our preference of airline and routing (we prefer direct flights and choose Air Canada because of status points). All in all, we have now booked two more cruises and will also be booking with Viking for business class air. I think it is is important to mention that as Canadians, we tend to pay higher air fares in general because of "taxes" so in our case it worked out well. Hope this helps.

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Best bet is to do some advance research online as to pricing, then compare that to what Viking has to offer. We have always been able to do better than cruise line air, by either using points or just buying the tickets ourselves. However, it is always worth a try to see what the cruise line may have lined up with its contracted carriers.

 

Google Flights is fairly easy to use for research, and you can even set up tracking for price changes on specific routes that are of interest.

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We too are Clevelanders - know Hopkins well. Be interested in hearing what your experience is once you get your tickets.

We are down in Kent. My quick research shows only two choices, UA and AC. Delta is our prefered but that would be a much longer trip it seems. We did a Viking river cruise on the Mekong a few years ago. CLE to Hanoi and Bangkok to CLE was cheaper and the connections were good.

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does your spouse have a website to look at? Either a generic booking site like Expedia, or something more specific?

looking at one place won't get you the best price .... that's why it takes time

and also why you may not get the best price from a travel agent .... they TOO must SEARCH and not rely on one toy/tool ....

dw spends many hours ...... (she finds this FUN) ...... your TA is PAID to do this ..... do they?

ideally DW would be paid to do this ... 'cept she is nicely paid in another profession so does this just for us ......

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our experience has only been US to EU

 

and I'll only do 'business' or better (up from 'tourist' or basic ... names differ with most non-US airlines)

 

we book our own and beat the heck out of what Viking has offered.

 

recent examples:

 

we flew on LOT (Polish National Airline) from JFK to Budapest with a stop and plane change is Warsaw .... terrific flight on a brand new airplane. Excellent service in 'business' and saved considerable $ over Vik' offers (and better routing IMO)

 

Soon heading Orlando to London Gatwick via Norwegian Air Premium Class for VERY nice price IMO .... they have some AMAZINGLY low prices (JFK to Madrid under $200 .... Lauderdale to Oslo under $200 <not premium class tho>) Premium gets bigger seat / reserved, 2 checked bags, and premium meal {on LOT what we call 1st class was business, I think the "middle" was premium .... business got the full 'bed' type seats; we got larger than regular with more recline and more leg room and included booze and upgraded meal (x2)}

 

btw, are you retired folks? have time on your hands? We've taken QM2 from Hamburg to NYC Via Southampton with a balcony cabin for LESS than the cost of business class air!!!!! Of course that's b4 factoring the bar bill! And from Hamburg a 9 day trip; Southa' 7 ..... but if you have the time much nicer than sitting in an airplane!

 

It takes an excellent TA, or in our case DW likes doing it herself and LOVES finding these bargains ......

Interested in hearing your evaluation of Norwegian air Premium class. We have booked this LAX to Fco for December cruise and the cost is great. Also, to book one way fairs can be more than return. Norwegian’s one way is half the return. Now, to see how it compares, 😐

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Interested in hearing your evaluation of Norwegian air Premium class. We have booked this LAX to Fco for December cruise and the cost is great. Also, to book one way fairs can be more than return. Norwegian’s one way is half the return. Now, to see how it compares, 😐

That is” fares”.

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Interested in hearing your evaluation of Norwegian air Premium class. We have booked this LAX to Fco for December cruise and the cost is great. Also, to book one way fairs can be more than return. Norwegian’s one way is half the return. Now, to see how it compares, 😐

Just a word of caution about low cost carriers. Last year we booked LAX-Barcelona/ Venice-LAX on AirBerlin about 7 months in advance. One week before we were scheduled to leave, AirBerlin ceased operating. The booking was with AA Reward miles so luckily they were able to get us to Barcelona with no extra charges, but they could not get us back from Venice. Everything scheduled out of Venice was fully booked but the cruise line carrier still had available tickets.

 

As for Viking business they are usually better in price then the major carriers if your cruise starts and stops at different ports. They are giving you "restricted air" which gives you business only on the ocean segment, so for example you are routed CLE to JFK; JFK to LHR; LHR to your destination it is possible you will only get business from JFK to LHR.

 

One last thing, the Viking business promo varies greatly day by day and cruise to cruise.

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We book our own air because it is our preference to control the airline, times, routing, etc.

 

But wouldn't it be a good idea to start a thread for Viking Air routings and prices? Maybe a separate thread for Business class?

Have a set format--include to/from, airline, and flights.

I don't know how to keep it from degenerating into complaint forum but it would be nice to have a compilation of the routings and prices WITHOUT any other miscellaneous verbiage.

 

If that is what you want, the only way to get it done is to start the thread yourself.

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If that is what you want, the only way to get it done is to start the thread yourself.

Lol-no, because I do not use Viking Air at this time. But I do think that due to the volume of inquiries it would be more efficient to have a thread devoted to routings and Airlines used by Viking. And maybe a separate one for Business so folks would get an idea of costs, airlines, routings, connections without digging through 50 threads that rapidly get off-topic.

I only say this because when I did searches while researching it seemed that CC Viking threads did not have consolidated useful threads per topic.

I found it cumbersome digging through threads to find the snippet of useful information. I was merely suggesting something that I thought would help those utilizing Viking Air find information quickly.

On that note-over and out. Happy travels all.

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We are taking a cruise from Bali to Sydney in December. From my knowledge of air fares (which is extensive) - business class fare from Sydney to LAX is over $4,000 (or more). Our TA contacted us a few months back and got a special business class fare (through Viking) on Virgin Australia for less than $2,800.

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  • 5 weeks later...
Interested in hearing your evaluation of Norwegian air Premium class. We have booked this LAX to Fco for December cruise and the cost is great. Also, to book one way fairs can be more than return. Norwegian’s one way is half the return. Now, to see how it compares, 😐

 

We used Norwegian's Premium Class service last year after our Into The Midnight Sun cruise and were glad we did. London to Oakland (CA). Keep in mind, these are business class style seats (they are not flatbed seats) but they do recline nicely and have a foot rest that raises nicely. The seats are comfortable and wide. And we found them to be very reasonably priced if you book well in advance and take advantage of any special offers you can find. And like you, the ability to buy a one-way ticket at exactly half the fare of a round trip is great. --Andi

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We are from the UK and let Viking arrange our flights from London to Athens and Venice back home with BA and we asked them to upgrade us to business class. Their prices were very reasonable and the flight times were perfect.

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We also let Viking arrange our air (business class) for our Sept. trip, US to Delhi and back from Bangkok. Just received our itinerary and the flights are perfect.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

2 upgrade questions.

When Viking shows an upgrade price, is it the total price or is it a suricharge added to the regular price?

If you are already booked and not ticketed, can you add an upgrade and or custom air?

Don't trust Viking answers on a holiday weekend and I have a final payment due this week.

 

 

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A8-50F using Forums mobile app

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2 upgrade questions.

When Viking shows an upgrade price, is it the total price or is it a suricharge added to the regular price?

If you are already booked and not ticketed, can you add an upgrade and or custom air?

Don't trust Viking answers on a holiday weekend and I have a final payment due this week.

 

 

Sent from my Lenovo TAB 2 A8-50F using Forums mobile app

 

When we booked the cruise our flights had not been scheduled so they rang us as soon as they were released as we had asked for our request to be upgraded be noted on our booking. They told us what the upgrade would cost and we booked it at that point. Sorry but that’s as much I can tell you about that.

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We're in the UK where flights are part of the package. Cruising next March and flights just released so our TA spoke with Viking, wanted business class, and got an offer. Emirates with good times, connections and prices. 24 hours later all confirmed, seats booked with no extra charges and e tickets issued. Result so thanks Viking air.

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Hi

We're from the UK and have booked Business flights with Viking for March next year with Emirates to Sydney via Dubai. Doing the Sydney to Bali cruise on 10th March. Got good flight times and the price was cheaper than going direct through the airline even with taking into account if we booked own air taking off the 'airfare' element than we would have been deducted from our cruise fare. So 'one happy bunny' here looking forward to going 'down under in style' :)

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