Viking Air Plus Program Advantage

[Cruising in my mind]

I received Air Schedule Change notice this morning on our flights scheduled on November 25, 2021. When we booked this long anticipated voyage on Feb 3, 2021 we chose to pay extra for the AIR PLUS Program.  We did choose to pay for that feature so we could pick our flight schedule using the times and flights best suited for us.  The best reason that we did this was to have a non-stop flight from Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale, and again non stop from Fort Lauderdale back to Minneapolis.  Today we received notice  that our non=stop had changed to leaving a half hour earlier than planned but the big problem it is now has a lay-over in Atlanta that arrives in Fort Lauderdale almost 3 hours later, hence a 3 1/2 hour longer arriving flight. At this time our return flight has not changed and is scheduled as non-stop.  Am I wrong in believing what I paid extra for should at the very least have the non-stop flight or did I miss something in the small print.  I tried contacting the AIR PLUS CUSTOMER SERVICE number but received a recorded message that stated I should return the call within 60 days of our departure.  That means I will not be able to speak to anyone until Sept 25th.  Our big concern is the COVID Regulations and not wanting to change planes for the trip of our lifetime.  Any thoughts or similar comments please help me understand.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Azulann]

Air plus is not a guarantee you  will have non stop flights. In your case you did get them. Great. But now you  outgoing flight  was changed from non stop to layover in Atlanta.  That can happen.  Did Delta cancel the non stop flight? Was your notification  by email or on your MVJ. or on Delta site itself?  And the reason given?

Air plus give you more control, like picking the airline  and the flights,  getting ticketed  sooner. Then you can upgrade if you like etc. 

But in this time of COVID , airlines are changing their flight and times all over the place. 

Call  your Viking agent or TA and find out why the change.  They can give you to  air resolution desk or ask themselves. 

What is the time of the layover in Atlanta? If it is over  hour and half you are ok.  I have flown  thru Atlanta many times  on way to Florida or a cruise.  Hope you are going in  a day ahead of time at least. 

 I have used Airplus  and like  a little more control  , but better than booking on my own  which in this day and age can be much more expensive. . 

 Your trip of a lifetime , I surmise is a Panama Canal  cruise. I have done that and it is a wonder of the world. You will love it. 

  

[MikeyB]

The short of it-

Just call the Air Plus Department.  Don't contact your Viking agent or TA for this.

Ignore the recording about 60 days.

Give the Air Plus person your booking number and ask what other flights are available.

They will speak to you and if available, make the change to your flights.

Before you call, check on Goggle flights or some other platform, what other flights are available.

The whole purpose of paying extra for Air Plus, is to have an input into selecting those flights you researched previously.

[JeriGail]

1 hour ago, Cruising in my mind said:

I tried contacting the AIR PLUS CUSTOMER SERVICE number but received a recorded message that stated I should return the call within 60 days of our departure. 

My flights changed too, so I ran another search to find new flights that I liked better.  I am also further out than the 60 days, but my TA was able to talk to an Air Plus agent and get our flights changed.

 

Find new flights, call Air Plus, and wait for an agent to help you.

[CILCIANRQTS]

38 minutes ago, JeriGail said:

My flights changed too, so I ran another search to find new flights that I liked better.  I am also further out than the 60 days, but my TA was able to talk to an Air Plus agent and get our flights changed.

 

Find new flights, call Air Plus, and wait for an agent to help you.

Likewise.

We got direct flights through Air Plus well outside the 60 day window.

[LisaDee]

Agree that you should ignore the 60-day limit.  Just this week my TA worked with Air Plus to book my December flights.

[SDHusker]

You are flying on Thanksgiving day and many airlines reduce their flights on the actual holiday.  Delta has done this.  They fly the nonstop the day before but not on Thursday.  this schedule may change again as has been mentioned, as many airlines are changing schedules routinely.  Find the best schedule you can if you must fly on Thanksgiving day, but check weekly (Monday for Delta) to see if the non-stop gets reinstated.

[Cienfuegos]

The Wall Street Journal had an article about airline rescheduling practices last week. The evidence suggests some carriers are changing flights, adding stops, and changing equipment to free up long sold discount seats.

 

One recent example involved a r/t non-stop booked last year from Atlanta to Rome for $2,000 in biz class. Super price!  Flight was moved up by two hours, and the unlucky flyer was booted over to a four hour layover in Amsterdam. The airline resold her non-stop seat for much more.  Deeply discounted tickets sold during the pandemic are being replaced by full fare tickets.

 

Vliking buys its tickets in bulk, deeply discounted. I would expect the airlines will rearrange the flights if it is in their interest.

[FlyerTalker]

Posting your actual flight numbers and times always helps folks who have excellent researching tools.  On the contrary, general questions get general answers.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by FlyerTalker

[Cruising in my mind]

Taking your comment above FlyerTalker the original Flight number non stop Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale was Delta Flight 1385.  We were switched to Flight number 473 Minneapolis to Atlanta and Delta Flight number 1671 Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale.  I hope this information is what you were referring too.

 

Thank you again,

 

I will follow any advise you may have.

[greydog]

Especially if winter weather disruptions We recommend going a day early which hopefully restores your preferred direct flights. Just start your vacation a day early. Bon voyage 

Edited August 14, 2021 by greydog

[SantaFe1]

19 hours ago, Azulann said:

Did Delta cancel the non stop flight?

We flew Delta to Iceland last month through MSP. They changed our flights six times in ten weeks.  We lost our nonstop and coming home we didn’t even fly to MSP but to JFK.  Air schedules right now are all over the place.  Not much Viking can do if the flight no longer exists.  But, like you, I was not happy about the changes.  As people keep saying, if you want to travel right now, pack your patience! (Not one of my virtues) 

 

[FlyerTalker]

14 hours ago, Cruising in my mind said:

Taking your comment above FlyerTalker the original Flight number non stop Minneapolis to Fort Lauderdale was Delta Flight 1385.  We were switched to Flight number 473 Minneapolis to Atlanta and Delta Flight number 1671 Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale.  I hope this information is what you were referring too.

 

I am assuming you are talking about November 25th.

 

You were switched to a connection in Atlanta because your original flight has been removed from the schedule.

 

As for why you don't have a non-stop Delta flight from MSP to FLL, the reason is simple.  Delta is not operating any non-stop flights between those two cities on that day.  So it would be impossible for Viking to put you on a flight that doesn't exist.

 

You could, of course, ask to be put on either Spirit or Sun Country if a non-stop is of primary importance.  However, there are other considerations you should think about before making that decision.  You could take the one DL non-stop to MIA on Thursday, though it would arrive in MIA even later than your arrival at FLL.

 

Also, there is the one DL non-stop from MSP to FLL that operates on the previous day.  However, considering that is the day before Thanksgiving, I doubt that Viking has any bulk tickets available, so you would likely pay a higher price for that option.

 

All in all, you have a very reasonable solution to the schedule change.  And to summarize - no, buying Air Plus does not assure that you will have non-stop flights.

[Mike981]

In these trying times it is hard to count on anything staying consistent. My wife and myself, two adult kids and their significant others are all flying out of Minneapolis to Jamaica this coming January, it is a direct flight. We all got a very good price (it is now double) and I am just waiting to get the email saying we have been moved to a less desirable non-direct flight. We have flown to Jamaica several times and have never had a direct flight, we shall see.

The other change I love is when they let me pick our preferred seats and then they move us to less preferred seats and not even next to each other.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, Mike981 said:

In these trying times it is hard to count on anything staying consistent. My wife and myself, two adult kids and their significant others are all flying out of Minneapolis to Jamaica this coming January, it is a direct flight.

 

Something to be aware of.  "Direct" is not a synonym for "non-stop" and they have very specific meanings in the aviation industry.

 

"Non-stop" means just that - there is no stop between origin and destination.  OTOH, "direct" does not mean no stops.  It means that there is no change in flight number.  There are numerous "direct" flights that have stops, and can have changes of aircraft.

 

Now all "non-stops" happen to also be "direct", but not all "direct" are non-stop.  Folks need to be aware of this so that they are not disappointed when their "direct flight" stops along the way.

 

For example, at one time Southwest had a "direct" flight from Baltimore to Oakland that made SEVEN stops along the way, all with the same flight number.  So someone could buy the "direct" flight from BWI to OAK and fly eight different segments between the two.  Also, many carriers have international flights with a domestic "tag" added on in order to have "direct" options show up in reservation system displays.  For example, DL had a "direct" flight from Miami to Tel Aviv - making it look super convenient.  However, the flight went from MIA to JFK on a narrow body, then changed aircraft for the flight to TLV.  But since it was all the same flight number, it was "direct", even with the stop and change of aircraft.

 

 

1 hour ago, Mike981 said:

The other change I love is when they let me pick our preferred seats and then they move us to less preferred seats and not even next to each other.

 

Two items:  First is that you may very well have gotten a different aircraft, or a different sub-fleet, so there could not be a straight across one-to-one swap of the seats.  For example, at one time, Delta had eight different configurations on their 757s, so one 757 didn't translate to others.

 

Second, be careful using "preferred seats" as that's a term of art in the industry, referring to more desirable seats on the aircraft - usually either reserved for elite level FFs or available at extra cost.

 

 

[Cienfuegos]

Flyer Talker, thanks for deciphering some of the industry lingo. It's unfortunate that billions in federal assistance produced so few benefits to airline customers.

[John5166]

FALSE PROMISES BY VIKING AIR PLUS. Viking Air Plus does NOT honor its promises. It FALSELY asserts "We will continue to monitor all schedule changes" and "You will be promptly notified of any such change." Both statements are FALSE. It does nothing to monitor schedule changes and does NOT advise you of any changes. My wife and I paid Viking Air Plus in Dec. 2023 to book Business Class seats next to one another in Row 2. However, in June 2024, two days before our departure, we learned from the Airline that Viking Air Plus had NOT reserved our seats. Thus, instead of Row 2, we were stuck in the row next to the galley. Several hours on the phone with Viking Air Plus as well as Viking's so-called "Customer Service" were a complete waste of time. As a result, we got zero sleep and were exhausted when we reached our destination. Then the exact same thing happened on our latest cruise. My seat, which Viking Air Plus promised me it has reserved suddenly "disappeared". Immediately, we started complaining to Viking Air ten days before our departure but Viking Air did NOTHING to fix the problem. When we return from our upcoming Viking trip (leaving in 2 days) we will cancel all of our future bookings with Viking.

[PasadenaDave]

John5166, if you use Air Plus, it is sometimes better and sometimes worse than booking on your own, always at the first opportunity go to the airline app and confirm seats etc.  This doesn't guaranty anything, but you will get notifications of changes directly from the airline.

[LindaS272]

Always double check your bookings well in advance and don’t rely on any agent to do it for you. Get the airline’s app on your phone and monitor your bookings—then the airline will (generally) notify you when there are any changes. But it’s the customer’s responsibility to know what’s been booked.

[SantaFe1]

Just now, LindaS272 said:

Always double check your bookings well in advance and don’t rely on any agent to do it for you. Get the airline’s app on your phone and monitor your bookings—then the airline will (generally) notify you when there are any changes. But it’s the customer’s responsibility to know what’s been booked.

You beat me to it, Linda.  I echo all of this.

[Mich3554]

33 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

You beat me to it, Linda.  I echo all of this.

Going to third this!  Go directly to the airlines as they will have the most up to date info.  

[John5166]

Actually, this is not entirely correct. I did everything you suggest (downloaded the airline app and checked directly with the airline to confirm my specific seat assignment). However, even after Turkish Air's app showed me with a specific reserved seat, a couple of weeks later Turkish Air unilaterally and with no notice to me, changed me to "no seat selected." Clearly Viking Air Plus did not properly reserve my seat. To compound their fault, Viking Air Plus (which did NOT monitor the flight and did NOT notify me of the change to "no seat selected") then did NOTHING to correct the problem. Bottom line: doing everything you suggest will not prevent you from getting SCREWED by Viking Air Plus. If you use Viking Air Plus after this warning, you are a fool.

[dd57]

And until you are ticketed, you do not really have a reserved spot on the plane or seat assignment.  If you deal with Viking Air Plus and do not ask them to ticket the flight, they wait until 90(I think) days in advance, running the risk of the airline assigning "your" seat to someone else, and in a worst case, getting changed to a different flight.

[MikeyB]

22 minutes ago, John5166 said:

 If you use Viking Air Plus after this warning, you are a fool.

No need to call yourself foolish John.

This is not a fault of Viking. Or Viking Air.  Or Viking Air Plus.

It's the "foolish" airlines.  In your, and my case it appears to be Turkish Air.

Same thing happened to me with Turkish AIr for my up coming river cruise.

Our seats in first class were changed earlier this week.  Complained to a supervisor and she gave me the usual speech how the airlines can change whatever they want, whenever they want.

The funny thing is the supervisor applied Air Plus to my booking explaining that this would prevent further changes.  I told her to ticket my flights to prevent this BS.

The end result is now I'm prevented from changing my seat assignment!  I must call Air Plus.

 

[John5166]

You miss my point: Viking Air Plus expressly promises: (1) "We will continue to monitor all schedule changes." (2) "You will promptly be notified of any schedule changes." Both of those  promises are FALSE. After booking via Viking Air Plus, you are totally on your own. Viking Air Plus will do nothing to help you, even if it is Viking's own error, such as in our case where Viking Air Plus (contrary to its promises) did not reserve our Business Class seat assignments with the airline. The problem is NOT the "foolish" airlines. It is the BLATANT LIES by  Viking Air Plus.