Viking Air Plus problem

[Calgal]

Has anybody had a Problem with their Air booking using Air Plus thru Viking?

I paid $ 19,770 to Viking Febr.1 to upgrade 7 persons in our family.

we had great itineraries, now I get a change to my Flight Itinerary and three of the bookings were changed to Red Eye flights, layovers of 10 hours and getting into London at 9pm on day of embarkation and more unacceptable changes. Was told by Viking making the Air Plus Reservation is only a REQUEST!

[FlyerTalker]

Well, since you don't bother to tell us your cities, dates, times, airlines or flight numbers.....

 

The amount of useful assistance from me will be limited.

[beauty1492]

We had a similar experience with Viking for a June Oberammergau river cruise.  We paid the Air Plus charge plus the extra fare costs to pick the flights we wanted into Munich and out of Amsterdam.  However, due to a change which Delta made with our first outbound flight, Viking totally changed our Munich flights to another carrier and changed our return flights to an earlier time with a 1 hour layover in Atlanta (going from international to domestic).  

 

We called Viking air and after going from an agent who was uncooperative to a an supervisor who went out of her way to be accommodating, we were able to get our original flights back and the supervisor also had the tickets issued at the same time.  The supervisor said that Viking used to outsource the flight changes but has now brought this process in-house.  Right now, they are letting the computer determine the necessary changes whenever an airline makes an itinerary change but they are working on getting a better handle of the process.

 

The supervisor also said that until the flights are ticketed, you are subjected to the whims of the computer and not guaranteed the flights you requested and/or paid for.  Once ticketed, a human and not a computer has to get involved with the changes.

 

Call Viking air and ask for a supervisor.

[moatenote]

We used Air Plus for our upcoming May 2023 Med Odyssey cruise because of the vouchers given us by Viking when they canceled a previous cruise for 2022.  We initially had great flights and times, but the Air Dept. would not ticket the flights and Delta made many bad changes in schedules (and seats).  Until you are actually ticketed, you have nothing but a worthless reservation, and the airline seemingly can do whatever they want to your flight schedule, seats, etc.  We tried many times to get Viking to ticket the flights we wanted, but they refused, saying they would not do it until much closer to flight time.

[lackcreativity]

I am curious if the ticketing of the flights does not take place until after final payment is made. That is my suspicion.

 

The computer taking over if changes are made would perhaps explain why I received a notice of a change of flight itinerary that had us returning to the US by way of Dulles International. Aside from hating Dulles with a blind passion, that would also have left us in a bit of a pickle since our car would have been at the Baltimore airport where we would have left it upon departure. Someone needs to update the program on that computer! 

[dreamercruise]

4 hours ago, moatenote said:

We used Air Plus for our upcoming May 2023 Med Odyssey cruise because of the vouchers given us by Viking when they canceled a previous cruise for 2022.  We initially had great flights and times, but the Air Dept. would not ticket the flights and Delta made many bad changes in schedules (and seats).  Until you are actually ticketed, you have nothing but a worthless reservation, and the airline seemingly can do whatever they want to your flight schedule, seats, etc.  We tried many times to get Viking to ticket the flights we wanted, but they refused, saying they would not do it until much closer to flight time.

If that nothing is guaranteed until ticketed and that ticketing does not take place until much later (closer to sail), then what benefits do I get for paying nonrefundable Air Plus? Note that I do not need to extend my trip by arriving early or departing late.

[FlyerTalker]

No cruiseline tickets air travel until it is paid for.

[The Other Tom]

17 hours ago, moatenote said:

We tried many times to get Viking to ticket the flights we wanted, but they refused, saying they would not do it until much closer to flight time.

Yep, that's a problem.  I had to insist that they ticket right away.  They "warned" me several times that once ticketed, my credit card would be charged, and I couldn't change flights without a penalty. Maybe that's the trick to making it happen...tell them to ticket the flight and charge your credit card.

Of course, after being ticketed, any changes are between you and the airline.  I don't think Viking air will be much help, if any, in making changes.

Edited March 15, 2022 by The Other Tom

[vslparis]

A few points  to understand a bit how these changes come about -

 

1. no matter how you book a plane ticket ( thru Viking Air Plus or just on your own) , if there is a schedule change made by the airline you can easily wind up with a schedule you don’t like , but generally there are

options ( such as leaving earlier may allow you to make a connection or connecting thru a different city).  

2. Even if your flights are ticketed, a schedule change by the airline will invalidate what you have booked. You can’t fly on a flight that is not operating. 

3. When there is a schedule change, a computer looks for the alternative that its’ programming tells it is the closest to what you had.  Sometimes it can be a major change which could be a 10 hour layover or change of airport ,or even a change of day ( for instance if your airline  is no longer flying non stop to Budapest on Tuesdays, the computer will rebook you to Monday).  Again, it doesn’t mean that what the computer found is the best option for you. You need to either look for alternatives with your chosen airlines ( so you can request those from Viking ) or from another airline which hopefully Viking uses or keep at the Viking air department to find a good alternative.

4. The reason that Viking is not wanting to ticket early is so that if your chosen airline does not have a good alternative for that crazy schedule change, they will be able to offer something on another airline that they use .Once the ticket is ticketed, that option goes out the window and you are stuck with trying to find an alternative with your chosen airline or one of their partners .

5. It is not that Viking is arbitrarily making your schedule change, it is all generated by the airline ( and because of the world situation with Covid, this is happening so much more than before ) .  I guarantee you that Viking would greatly prefer not to have to deal with making any changes 😉.  It doesn’t matter if your flights are ticketed or not; the effects of a schedule change will still happen.

[mhb1757]

We used the air plus service several times precovid. Always had knowledgeable agents, good service etc. we always felt it was well worth the additional cost. However working with them this year was a nightmare. Found out later that Viking (along with most other cruise lines, according to my TA) had outsourced Air and Air Plus to a foreign agency. The agency agents were very poorly trained and many problems occurred. Someone posted above that Viking has now brought it back in house. I sure hope this is correct because they made a shambles of our air for our June Baltic cruise (which I ended up canceling anyway, since the itinerary changed significantly). 
 

I sure hope by the time we book air for our next cruise they have managed to find agents that know what they are doing. 

[vslparis]

54 minutes ago, mhb1757 said:

We used the air plus service several times precovid. Always had knowledgeable agents, good service etc. we always felt it was well worth the additional cost. However working with them this year was a nightmare. Found out later that Viking (along with most other cruise lines, according to my TA) had outsourced Air and Air Plus to a foreign agency. The agency agents were very poorly trained and many problems occurred. Someone posted above that Viking has now brought it back in house. I sure hope this is correct because they made a shambles of our air for our June Baltic cruise (which I ended up canceling anyway, since the itinerary changed significantly). 
 

I sure hope by the time we book air for our next cruise they have managed to find agents that know what they are doing. 

I agree, dealing with new and not very knowledgeable agents this last year was a big problem. Unfortunately, Viking is not the only company to outsource to a foreign agency ( a trend that has been around for several years but seems to be increasing) as they continue to try and get more help while also trying to cut costs. This is when a good TA really comes in handy . 

I have learned to ask for an agent in the US and even then there are no guarantees that they will know what to do beyond the set script. That is where a supervisor has to be called. 

Even as in the past, I always think that it is a good idea to have a few flight schedules that you would like written down before you call or if not doing air plus, then after Viking sends your flight schedule. 

[Calgal]

On 3/14/2022 at 12:35 PM, FlyerTalker said:

Well, since you don't bother to tell us your cities, dates, times, airlines or flight numbers.....

 

The amount of useful assistance from me will be limited.

 

On 3/15/2022 at 6:23 AM, The Other Tom said:

Yep, that's a problem.  I had to insist that they ticket right away.  They "warned" me several times that once ticketed, my credit card would be charged, and I couldn't change flights without a penalty. Maybe that's the trick to making it happen...tell them to ticket the flight and charge your credit card.

Of course, after being ticketed, any changes are between you and the airline.  I don't think Viking air will be much help, if any, in making changes.

Our credit card has been charged. But was told ticketing would not happen til about 65 days out from cruise date.

[Calgal]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:12 PM, FlyerTalker said:

No cruiseline tickets air travel until it is paid for.

It’s been paid for.

[Calgal]

On 3/15/2022 at 9:14 AM, mhb1757 said:

We used the air plus service several times precovid. Always had knowledgeable agents, good service etc. we always felt it was well worth the additional cost. However working with them this year was a nightmare. Found out later that Viking (along with most other cruise lines, according to my TA) had outsourced Air and Air Plus to a foreign agency. The agency agents were very poorly trained and many problems occurred. Someone posted above that Viking has now brought it back in house. I sure hope this is correct because they made a shambles of our air for our June Baltic cruise (which I ended up canceling anyway, since the itinerary changed significantly). 
 

I sure hope by the time we book air for our next cruise they have managed to find agents that know what they are doing. 

Hope so too!

[Calgal]

On 3/14/2022 at 12:35 PM, FlyerTalker said:

Well, since you don't bother to tell us your cities, dates, times, airlines or flight numbers.....

 

The amount of useful assistance from me will be limited.

After writing a letter to Management, I was contacted by a Supervisor and Viking apologized for not catching this major change on our Reservation. We got it all straightened out and I hope there won’t be any more surprises! 

[Calgal]

On 3/14/2022 at 11:27 AM, Calgal said:

Has anybody had a Problem with their Air booking using Air Plus thru Viking?

I paid $ 19,770 to Viking Febr.1 to upgrade 7 persons in our family.

we had great itineraries, now I get a change to my Flight Itinerary and three of the bookings were changed to Red Eye flights, layovers of 10 hours and getting into London at 9pm on day of embarkation and more unacceptable changes. Was told by Viking making the Air Plus Reservation is only a REQUEST!

Thanks everybody for your input.

[The Other Tom]

10 hours ago, Calgal said:

 

Our credit card has been charged. But was told ticketing would not happen til about 65 days out from cruise date.

Maybe things have changed from a few years ago, but it used to be that once the ticket was paid for, then it could be ticketed.  Personally, I'd call back and talk to another agent, and a supervisor if necessary.  But that's just me.

[vslparis]

1 hour ago, The Other Tom said:

Maybe things have changed from a few years ago, but it used to be that once the ticket was paid for, then it could be ticketed.  Personally, I'd call back and talk to another agent, and a supervisor if necessary.  But that's just me.

It was that way but since the massive schedule changes due to the Covid situation  , Viking , along with other companies that offer airfare with their cruises and tours, have been delaying their ticketing until closer to the sail

date . It prevents a good bit of extra work by the air department if they don’t have to reissue tickets 3 or 4 times . 

[The Other Tom]

1 hour ago, vslparis said:

It prevents a good bit of extra work by the air department if they don’t have to reissue tickets 3 or 4 times

Thanks, that makes sense.  But, once ticketed, any changes are really between you and the airline. At least that's how I've always looked at it.   I suppose Viking tries to help with those situations, but they really aren't obligated to do so.  I guess people get mad and upset if they don't help, which is why they delay ticketing.  

[vslparis]

2 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

Thanks, that makes sense.  But, once ticketed, any changes are really between you and the airline. At least that's how I've always looked at it.   I suppose Viking tries to help with those situations, but they really aren't obligated to do so.  I guess people get mad and upset if they don't help, which is why they delay ticketing.  

Well, that it not necessarily true. Once ticketed  Viking can and should help with schedule changes made by the airlines  ; it just has to be with the same airline . I have had them do that for me.

One  other reason they are holding off ticketing these days is that if there is a major schedule change ( one that causes very long layover for

instance )on the airline that they have on hold , they still have the option to put you on different airline that they have a contract with if that schedule is better. 

Once ticketed , you don't get the option to change airlines which , as you mentioned , upsets people. 

[crimmj]

Viking air problem today. Trying to check in for flight to San Juan tomorrow and Delta wouldn’t let me check in and get a boarding pass. No electronic ticket. They showed the return flight from Barcelona but not outbound to SJU. Contacted Delta and they said there was a problem - Viking would need to reissue the ticket!!! What??? After an hour with Viking they said there was some glitch with Delta and they were reissuing the ticket - email with updates to come. I hope so!!! Less than 24 hours before flight!!! Not sure what happened between Viking and Delta. ☹️

[crimmj]

2 1/2 hours later and no update from Viking. Called and spent another hour with Viking Air - no further progress. They can’t get through to Delta. So I am to go to the airport at 6 AM and hopefully check in. Not how I wanted to start my long overdue vacation- I won’t sleep a wink tonight. First time using Viking Air. Might be the last ☹️  .

[Azulann]

11 hours ago, crimmj said:

2 1/2 hours later and no update from Viking. Called and spent another hour with Viking Air - no further progress. They can’t get through to Delta. So I am to go to the airport at 6 AM and hopefully check in. Not how I wanted to start my long overdue vacation- I won’t sleep a wink tonight. First time using Viking Air. Might be the last ☹️  .

 Not seeing  an update, hope that means  you are in the air flying to San Juan. 

 How stressful to being your vacation like this. 

I did this TA some years ago. it was one of the most relaxing cruises I have ever taken. Enjoy. 

[crimmj]

We made it to Puerto Rico!! Delta flight check in was fine after all that anxiety - but was delayed 6 hours ☹️ . Let the cruise begin !!

[FlyerTalker]

Simple rule -- unless you have a 13 digit number, you do NOT have a ticket.  That six character locator is not a ticket, nor does it indicate that you were ticketed.

 

Further, you need to be sure that you are ticketed for EVERY segment of your itinerary.  Many cruiseline tickets are cobbled together, and you can very easily have separate tickets for the outbound and return portions of your trip.  Or, as noted, you may have only one direction actually ticketed.

 

Sad to say, it really is the responsibility of the traveler to be sure they are properly ticketed and ready with all the necessary requirements for their flight.  No one should expect it to be just dropped in perfect condition into their lap, and those who do need to face the realities of air travel.

 

Caveat emptor.