Viking Free Airfare

[LP987]

We are planning to book Viking Grand European Tour for May.  Viking is currently offering free airfare. Reading through forum it appears air arranged by Viking is not always easiest most direct route. Can I upgrade the free air to air plus?  Wondering if others have used free air and if it was ok?  I can use points and get good flights but hate to pass up free air. This is our first river cruise and first time on Viking (we were booked on Crystal). Thanks for advise!!

[CCWineLover]

Remember there is no "free" lunch.  Free Viking Air is not worth $0.  You can add Air Plus for $50 pp at any time, sooner the better.  Some have said they had no issues without Air Plus, but it is truly plain luck.  If you wish to have at least SOME control and input into the flights you get, then spend the $50.

 

In our opinion, however, don't set your expectations too high.  With Covid times, the airlines have been changing flights constantly, and have been giving and taking away seats and flights that go under contract to Viking.  So you may not get the seats or flights you want through Viking Air, but that is not Viking's fault.  Just setting expectations.

Be prepared with about 3 or 4 itineraries that you would like and work with them =- hopefully you'll be able to have at least one of those available in the Viking contract.  Be persistent and don't give up!

You'll have fun.

 

What River Cruise are you going on?  and when?

[longterm]

13 minutes ago, LP987 said:

We are planning to book Viking Grand European Tour for May.  Viking is currently offering free airfare. Reading through forum it appears air arranged by Viking is not always easiest most direct route. Can I upgrade the free air to air plus?  Wondering if others have used free air and if it was ok?  I can use points and get good flights but hate to pass up free air. This is our first river cruise and first time on Viking (we were booked on Crystal). Thanks for advise!!

Not sure if you’ll get a discount if you don’t use their air arrangements, but if you don’t, it would be expensive to pay yourself (even if with points). Viking seems to always offer free air for the Grand European—we did it 2 years ago and would do it again, it’s wonderful. We paid $100 each to go to Amsterdam 3 days early—seems overpriced but it’s what they do. 

[Squawkman]

CC - a lot depends where you’re flying to and from. We live in NJ 35 minutes from EWR. All of our cruises had reasonable flights - including 2 during covid (one last November, the other ticketed for early April). 
 

We used Air Plus once  on our first Viking cruise in 2015. We got nothing different from it. Then again, we’re always one plane to Europe which may not be the case for other parts of the US.

[Baron Barracuda]

We're booked on the Grand European for July 2nd with free air.  Booked the cruise directly with Viking and paid the $50 pp air upgrade fee.  Researched the flights we wanted and checked seating availability before calling Viking Air.  There is only one daily nonstop from EWR to AMS and they got us on it with no additional charge.  Upgraded to comfort plus, told them the seats we wanted and they got them for us.  Also got us the flights and seats we requested for return flight.  Couple of months later though Lufthansa switched return flight to a different plane and despite plane being half empty they put all 4 of us in middle seats.  By this point we had transferred booking to our TA so she had to call Viking Air for us to get seats fixed.  They took care of this no problem.  At this point very satisfied with their service.  Hopefully plane doesn't change again.  

[Peregrina651]

24 minutes ago, longterm said:

Not sure if you’ll get a discount if you don’t use their air arrangements, but if you don’t, it would be expensive to pay yourself (even if with points). Viking seems to always offer free air for the Grand European—we did it 2 years ago and would do it again, it’s wonderful. We paid $100 each to go to Amsterdam 3 days early—seems overpriced but it’s what they do. 

 

Viking prices air fare and cruise fare separately; therefore, no discount on the cruise if you don't book your air through Viking. Sometimes it is worth taking the Viking offer on airfare and other times it isn't.

 

Viking air pricing is for arrival on the day of the cruise or cruisetour package and departure on the last day. If you wish to have some say in your flight plan, there is $50pp fee. If you wish to deviate from the arrival and/or departure days, there is a fee of $100pp plus the possibility of additional airfare being charged by the airlines.  You also lose the Viking transfers on any deviated arrival or departure since Viking does transfers only on arrival day and departure day. There is also a stopover fee if you want to spend a few days somewhere along your route.

[Pegct]

Although Covid restrictions are starting to be lifted, booking own air can be a little risky if departure and arrival ports are changed at all. I have used Viking Air Plus several times and had no real issue. I remember one time  requesting  specific non stop flights and the agent said " I am so sorry that flight does not fit in Viking price point and is much more expensive. She priced it out and it was only $50pp more which we were more than willing to pay. Now scheduled to do a Northern Europe cruise in May 2022 and used Viking Air Plus and flights have been  changed three times. One the airline cancelled and the two others depart at 6am at end of cruise and have almost 5hr layover in Frankfurt and 3 hr layover in Chicago.  Couldn't find better flights and layovers include going through immigration which have much longer times to pass through due to checking vaccination status and other covid test results. Also have to take into timing of return Covid test to meet regulation. Just a little more planning needed  these days arranging your own flights.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, LP987 said:

We are planning to book Viking Grand European Tour for May.  Viking is currently offering free airfare. Reading through forum it appears air arranged by Viking is not always easiest most direct route. Can I upgrade the free air to air plus?  Wondering if others have used free air and if it was ok?  I can use points and get good flights but hate to pass up free air. This is our first river cruise and first time on Viking (we were booked on Crystal). Thanks for advise!!

 

 We booked a Grand European when aboard the Viking Sun that came with "Included" economy flights. When we got home, I requested our TA to work with Viking Air to upgrade the flights to First or Business using our BA Avios. While Viking used to offer this service, they no longer do.

 

I then asked which fare class they would book, to confirm that the economy tickets could be upgraded with points. They could not confirm the fare class, so I had planned to book our own flights. We did not receive a discount for not using Viking Air.

 

Since World Cruises have "Included" business flights, we pay the premium for Viking Plus and have always received our preferred flights. 

[The Other Tom]

11 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

I then asked which fare class they would book, to confirm that the economy tickets could be upgraded with points. They could not confirm the fare class

I think they book consolidated tickets.  I'm not sure which fare class that is, but it's pretty low on the totem pole.

[Moonlion]

We've used Viking Air twice - and added Viking Air Plus both times - on a 2019 Viking river cruise and again on our January '22 ocean cruise.  We had no real issues either time and were able to get the flights we wanted.  However, as @Squawkman mentioned, it may depend on where your home airport is located, and where you are going.  We live near Dulles IAD and have many options for direct flights to Europe.  I researched flight options, came up with two or three, called Viking Air and got our first choice on both trips.  On our January '22 cruise, the airlines cancelled our flights a couple of times and we had to rebook through Viking Air.  The advantages of using Viking Air is that if something goes wrong (flight or cruise is cancelled, your luggage is lost - which happened to us on our 2019 river cruise), Viking is responsible.  The disadvantage is that you can often find cheaper flights on your own (or use points).

[CCWineLover]

17 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

We've used Viking Air twice - and added Viking Air Plus both times - on a 2019 Viking river cruise and again on our January '22 ocean cruise.  We had no real issues either time and were able to get the flights we wanted.  However, as @Squawkman mentioned, it may depend on where your home airport is located, and where you are going.  We live near Dulles IAD and have many options for direct flights to Europe.  I researched flight options, came up with two or three, called Viking Air and got our first choice on both trips.  On our January '22 cruise, the airlines cancelled our flights a couple of times and we had to rebook through Viking Air.  The advantages of using Viking Air is that if something goes wrong (flight or cruise is cancelled, your luggage is lost - which happened to us on our 2019 river cruise), Viking is responsible.  The disadvantage is that you can often find cheaper flights on your own (or use points).

You won the VAP lottery 😉.  No doubt from the west coast it becomes harder.  Less choices.  The other issue is if you want to upgrade it often is difficult.

rightly so, the big advantage suiting these turbulent times is they take care of you when the airlines screw up.  That one thing makes us grit our teeth, accept all the bad things about VAP, and use it until things get better.

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

I think they book consolidated tickets.  I'm not sure which fare class that is, but it's pretty low on the totem pole.

 

And one more thing to remember.  Even within the same fare "bucket", there can be multiple "fares", each with different fare rule.  The fare bucket (class) is indicated by the first letter of the fare, with the other letters and numbers differentiating the specific fare for the ticket.

 

Also note:  the word "fare" in the industry refers to the specific rules, conditions and pricing for a ticket.  It is indicated by the letter of the bucket, then by any further designators.

 

Unfortunately, the word "fare" has often been corrupted to be synonymous with "price".  One can easily have tickets with the same prices, but with different fares - and with different fare rules.

 

Just some info for everyone's use.

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, Moonlion said:

The advantages of using Viking Air is that if something goes wrong (flight or cruise is cancelled, your luggage is lost - which happened to us on our 2019 river cruise), Viking is responsible. 

 

You may want to check the terms and conditions of Viking (or any other cruiseline) air.  You will find it full of disclaimers that belie the image of responsibility.

 

The only way that Viking would be responsible for "lost luggage" is if it was under the control of Viking or their contracted representatives.  Once the airline has it, responsibility transfers to them - and away from them once it is delivered to baggage claim.

 

Now, Viking may, and I note may, choose to accept responsibility.  However, their legal obligations to do so are slim, so it's mostly if they choose it's the PR thing to do.

[Moonlion]

5 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

You may want to check the terms and conditions of Viking (or any other cruiseline) air.  You will find it full of disclaimers that belie the image of responsibility.

 

The only way that Viking would be responsible for "lost luggage" is if it was under the control of Viking or their contracted representatives.  Once the airline has it, responsibility transfers to them - and away from them once it is delivered to baggage claim.

 

Now, Viking may, and I note may, choose to accept responsibility.  However, their legal obligations to do so are slim, so it's mostly if they choose it's the PR thing to do.

Very true regarding legal responsibility for lost luggage.  However, Viking did "take over" in working with airlines to track down our luggage, offer us compensation until luggage could be retrieved, and arranged with airline for luggage to be transferred to the next port on our river cruise.  

[FlyerTalker]

2 minutes ago, Moonlion said:

Very true regarding legal responsibility for lost luggage.  However, Viking did "take over" in working with airlines to track down our luggage, offer us compensation until luggage could be retrieved, and arranged with airline for luggage to be transferred to the next port on our river cruise.  

 

You were fortunate.  But no one should expect this kind of service.

[Moonlion]

4 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

You were fortunate.  But no one should expect this kind of service.

At least pre-pandemic, Guest Services on our river cruise said this was their standard operating procedures. 

[pegdit]

Has anyone had a good experience with using Viking Air Plus?   The trip we are looking at for next year has included airfare.  I have always made our own arrangements and I am a little leery of having someone else do it.

[sharkster77]

53 minutes ago, pegdit said:

Has anyone had a good experience with using Viking Air Plus?   The trip we are looking at for next year has included airfare.  I have always made our own arrangements and I am a little leery of having someone else do it.

We've used Viking Air Plus for both our river cruises and got the exact flights we asked for.  Caveat, we fly out of Boston, so there are lots of nonstops to Europe from there.  We did get the nonstops we asked for.

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, pegdit said:

Has anyone had a good experience with using Viking Air Plus?   The trip we are looking at for next year has included airfare.  I have always made our own arrangements and I am a little leery of having someone else do it.

I would hazard a moderate generalization your success may depend on:

-The specific itinerary and time of year you are going

-The specific airport you leave from

-If you are traveling Biz/Prem Economy or just coach

 

If you live near a large East coast airport - and going to Europe, you are likely better off.  More flights, more airlines, more competition.  Likely fewer connections and more choices on flights that are under Viking contract.

 

If you live west of the East Coast and/or utilize a commuter/feeder airport, your success chances fall dramatically.  That is why we stopped using Viking Air, even with Air Plus.  3 connections is too much to Europe.

 

There may also be more alternatives available if you are just flying back of the plane.  Viking seems to get less possible seats/flights under contract for Biz/Prem Economy  (probably because the airlines would rather have them for themselves)

 

We've mostly made our own arrangements as I feel very comfortable from many years of DIY, but I do see why many may wish to have the "hand holding" of Viking Air.  I like our flexibility, ticketing early, as much control as possible.  And more access to Biz class.

[dd57]

CCwinelover said it well; it all depends.

 

We live near Denver and sometimes Viking Air Plus works for us and sometimes it doesn't.  For example, next week we are flying to France and returning from Amsterdam.  The upgrade to Business class cost us $500 per person above economy, on the airline we wanted, with the single connection we wanted. A real steal. We called about 300 days before the return flight and asked for immediate ticketing.  On the other hand, for our flight next January, we were able to get a better deal ourselves and so dropped the Viking Air.  In our experience, calling Viking Air Plus early will give you more options than waiting to see what Viking Air assigns much later.

[PasadenaDave]

15 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

I would hazard a moderate generalization your success may depend on:

-The specific itinerary and time of year you are going

-The specific airport you leave from

-If you are traveling Biz/Prem Economy or just coach

 

If you live near a large East coast airport - and going to Europe, you are likely better off.  More flights, more airlines, more competition.  Likely fewer connections and more choices on flights that are under Viking contract.

 

If you live west of the East Coast and/or utilize a commuter/feeder airport, your success chances fall dramatically.  That is why we stopped using Viking Air, even with Air Plus.  3 connections is too much to Europe.

 

There may also be more alternatives available if you are just flying back of the plane.  Viking seems to get less possible seats/flights under contract for Biz/Prem Economy  (probably because the airlines would rather have them for themselves)

 

We've mostly made our own arrangements as I feel very comfortable from many years of DIY, but I do see why many may wish to have the "hand holding" of Viking Air.  I like our flexibility, ticketing early, as much control as possible.  And more access to Biz class.

Spot on with your answer which follows our experience.

 

We tried to use Viking Air next May for LAX-LHR four days in London and then LHR-Lisbon and then return Barcelona-LAX.  Viking had no opportunities to fly London to Lisbon and returning from Barcelona we were to be routed via Chicago.  Much better flights on our own and less money.-LAX.

 

Next month we fly LAX-Tokyo and then Hong Kong-LAX.  We used Viking Air and had better pricing than on our own.

 

As always Your Mileage may Vary.

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, PasadenaDave said:

Next month we fly LAX-Tokyo and then Hong Kong-LAX.  We used Viking Air and had better pricing than on our own.

 

As always Your Mileage may Vary.

Thx Dave!  (I grew up in Pasadena, now live up the coast off 101).  

Interested in the Tokyo/Hong Kong info - we are doing that Viking cruise in Oct 2025, so will follow you.  We did put Viking Air on the initial booking just in case, until we check our own pricing.  Likely fly out of LAX and leave car at my cousins in Torrance.

What airlines did Viking put you on?

Kent

[PasadenaDave]

48 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

Thx Dave!  (I grew up in Pasadena, now live up the coast off 101).  

Interested in the Tokyo/Hong Kong info - we are doing that Viking cruise in Oct 2025, so will follow you.  We did put Viking Air on the initial booking just in case, until we check our own pricing.  Likely fly out of LAX and leave car at my cousins in Torrance.

What airlines did Viking put you on?

Kent

Kent,

Outbound American to Haneda and return on United.  Tokyo is sufficiently foreign to us that we are not going early.  I know that I hear so much great information about Asia, but for us, I think that we will see enough cultural temples etc. that we will see enough without the need for extra time.  Having said that friends were there in March and said it was the best trip ever.

 

When we booked the cruise onboard last December there was no capacity for spring 2025 on this itinerary (reverse) and limited in 2025.  I think I read that one of the new ships will sail in this area in the future, but we are stoked for this cruise.

[rizello]

We have used the included Viking Air on all three of our Viking cruises (2 river, 1 ocean).  In 2 instances, we paid the $100 deviation fee to either come in earlier or stay later.  We have had no issues at all.

 

Our connecting flight on the last trip was delayed and we missed our final connection, but I notified Viking in advance and they booked us on the next flight that day.  In this instance, I had booked us coming in on same day of cruise (not something I would recommend), but it all worked out as ship wasn't leaving port that day.

[Mich3554]

On 9/5/2024 at 11:43 PM, CCWineLover said:

I would hazard a moderate generalization your success may depend on:

-The specific itinerary and time of year you are going

-The specific airport you leave from

-If you are traveling Biz/Prem Economy or just coach

 

If you live near a large East coast airport - and going to Europe, you are likely better off.  More flights, more airlines, more competition.  Likely fewer connections and more choices on flights that are under Viking contract.

 

If you live west of the East Coast and/or utilize a commuter/feeder airport, your success chances fall dramatically.  That is why we stopped using Viking Air, even with Air Plus.  3 connections is too much to Europe.

 

There may also be more alternatives available if you are just flying back of the plane.  Viking seems to get less possible seats/flights under contract for Biz/Prem Economy  (probably because the airlines would rather have them for themselves)

 

We've mostly made our own arrangements as I feel very comfortable from many years of DIY, but I do see why many may wish to have the "hand holding" of Viking Air.  I like our flexibility, ticketing early, as much control as possible.  And more access to Biz class.

All of this!  Some of the routings I have gotten out of SEA are absolutely ridiculous.  There have been as many as 4 flight changes, which is ridiculous out of 2 major airports (we can fly out of SEA and YVR).  Added to this that we fly business class and every flight booked to Europe is mixed class, despite us paying for BC fare.  To get BC across the US, I’ve had to ante up more $$.  
I have pretty much given up on using Viking air.  We also come in early enough and leave late enough that we leave ourselves sufficient slush.  I know I will have to use them again as we are booked on the 25-26 WC.  I’ll do what I did last time and pay for a deviation and Air+.  We got a direct, nonstop flight out of SEA TO FLL and just about every single connection airport was having weather issues.  Friends of ours got rerouted to 3 different airports out of SEA to get to FLL.