Viking Air Question

[Laurie S.]

I have a question about the Viking Air service. I always have arranged for my own flights all over the world. In 2019, I set up 11 separate flights for a round-the-world adventure and had no problems. My friend and I are doing a Mediterranean ocean cruise in September-October. I have read reports of other people having problems with their flights and am concerned. What are the benefits to having Viking arrange our flights, and more importantly, what are the disadvantages?

[TayanaLorna]

I always did our own flights until last Fall when the airfare was free with Viking.  Used Iberia and all was good.  I am resumed booking our own flights because I can do it cheaper for our next cruise.

 

Pre Covid there rarely was an all out flight cancellation and if there were changes it was a minor time difference.  In the past year, with crew and pilot shortages, the airlines have been cancelling and changing flights a lot.  That's not Vikings fault.

 

The advantage of using Viking is often times the fare is cheaper.  The other reason is if your flight is changed or cancelled while you are already cruising, if you miss a connection or have any trouble with your flights, Viking will help you.

 

The disadvantage is it's harder to upgrade and you can't use FF miles.  Viking just gives you an itinerary and you have no say unless you get Air Plus.  You lose the included transfers if you fly in days early or stay days after plus have to pay a Deviation fee if you do.   You can't get a firm seat assignment until Viking tickets which is usually 60 days before the cruise.  

[NanciEA]

We have four couples traveling in early September. We still had unused airline credits so I booked our own flights directly with the airline. (I have added the transfers from Viking.) Our six friends paid for Air Plus so they could talk with Viking about their flights. They called Viking in early February and booked the flights and seats they wanted. Yesterday, one couple received a notice from Viking their flights had been changed. They thought it was the usual airline time changes which happen now on a regular basis. No. They were changed to a completely different airline and instead of one stop it is now two. The other two couples were unaffected. They called Viking and were told there is now a "60 day policy". Unless your flight is within 60 days, they are too busy to talk with you! There are still plenty of seats available (per the airline) on their original flights. They are afraid the seats will be gone 60 days out. I think if you paid extra to be able to talk with Viking about your flights, you should be able to do that! I told them to cancel the air with Viking and book their own, but we are all using 125% vouchers and they would lose a lot of money. Our original trip was for June 2020. Lesson learned for all the rest of our group - never use Viking Air Plus, or Viking Air in general unless you are willing to take whatever they give you in terms of connections, seats, changes, etc. The Viking agent offered to give them their $50 each back since no one will talk them, but still it is very poor service. This is not our first time with Viking, but it is for the other couples, and so far they are not impressed. 

Oh and we all have the risk free guarantee and will cancel and take a voucher once again (This is our third attempt at going!) if Viking doesn't stop the daily testing of healthy travelers by late summer.

[LindaS272]

5 hours ago, NanciEA said:

We have four couples traveling in early September. We still had unused airline credits so I booked our own flights directly with the airline. (I have added the transfers from Viking.) Our six friends paid for Air Plus so they could talk with Viking about their flights. They called Viking in early February and booked the flights and seats they wanted. Yesterday, one couple received a notice from Viking their flights had been changed. They thought it was the usual airline time changes which happen now on a regular basis. No. They were changed to a completely different airline and instead of one stop it is now two. The other two couples were unaffected. They called Viking and were told there is now a "60 day policy". Unless your flight is within 60 days, they are too busy to talk with you! There are still plenty of seats available (per the airline) on their original flights. They are afraid the seats will be gone 60 days out. I think if you paid extra to be able to talk with Viking about your flights, you should be able to do that! I told them to cancel the air with Viking and book their own, but we are all using 125% vouchers and they would lose a lot of money. Our original trip was for June 2020. Lesson learned for all the rest of our group - never use Viking Air Plus, or Viking Air in general unless you are willing to take whatever they give you in terms of connections, seats, changes, etc. The Viking agent offered to give them their $50 each back since no one will talk them, but still it is very poor service. This is not our first time with Viking, but it is for the other couples, and so far they are not impressed. 

Oh and we all have the risk free guarantee and will cancel and take a voucher once again (This is our third attempt at going!) if Viking doesn't stop the daily testing of healthy travelers by late summer.

Try again to talk to Air Plus. What’s the acronym? HUCA (hang up & call again)? Air Plus was reported to be doing that last fall too and you just need to get a different agent.

[dd57]

I just called them last week.  Waited less than 5 minutes to be connected to a very nice agent who double checked my flights for one cruise, patiently answered my questions on my second cruise, upgraded our flights and spent as much time with me as I wanted without rushing.  I agree; call back.

[biggerbearmom]

If you have paid for Air Plus you do not need to call Viking to make a change.

Flights can be changed online in MVJ, I just did this two days ago for an upcoming trip in August.

[dd57]

Only after they are posted in MVJ, which happens closer to the cruise.  The 2nd cruise is over 150 days away and the flights don't show, even though the system has booked them.

[Vineyard View]

We generally use miles to travel internationally - or a combo that includes them. If you pay for Air Plus, are you able to use miles to upgrade? 

[Heidi13]

53 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

We generally use miles to travel internationally - or a combo that includes them. If you pay for Air Plus, are you able to use miles to upgrade? 

 

We also prefer to us miles/points when flying. When we booked the River/Ocean combo the Onboard Cruise Consultant advised that with Air Plus, Viking could book our flights using our points.

 

Unfortunately, that was old information and Viking Air no longer provide this service. Once Viking Air book your flights, depending on the Fare Class booked, you may be able to upgrade with miles/points. However, some Fare Classes do not permit any upgrades.

 

Best check at the time of booking what Fare Class they plan to book. If they have options, it may cost a premium to get an upgrade friendly Fare Class. Good luck.

 

BTY - I am planning to upgrade our flights back from Stockholm next year, so will have our TA go through the process of determining the Fare Class with Viking Air. If it works, we will upgrade from Business to First.

 

 

 

[biggerbearmom]

2 hours ago, dd57 said:

Only after they are posted in MVJ, which happens closer to the cruise.  The 2nd cruise is over 150 days away and the flights don't show, even though the system has booked them.

This has not been the case in my numerous experiences using Viking Air with Air Plus. As soon as the tickets are booked (not ticketed) they've shown up in MVJ. Our air was booked in February for our upcoming August cruise and the flights were in MVJ the same day. As soon as they show up you can change seats, flights, dates, etc.

Edited May 27, 2022 by biggerbearmom

[The Other Tom]

29 minutes ago, biggerbearmom said:

As soon as they show up you can change seats, flights, dates, etc.

I'm pretty sure you have to be ticketed to change seats, etc.

[Clay Clayton]

Responding to the OP, we have accepted Viking Air for our cruise in October. Two reasons-one it was free.  Second is because of the possibility that there may be changes in our cruise itinerary.  If for example, Hong Kong doesn’t allow ships to embark there and the cruise leaves from Taiwan instead, Viking will have to deal with rearranging our flights.  

[Moonlion]

1 hour ago, The Other Tom said:

I'm pretty sure you have to be ticketed to change seats, etc.

It depends on the airline and probably fare class.  We used Viking Air Plus and United allowed to to select and change seats as soon as we were booked (before ticketing).  For Lufthansa, we had to wait until ticketing to select seats. 

[dd57]

Hunh.  There isn't any consistency.  We chose our seats with Lufthansa several months ago for our trip in September.   It isn't ticketed yet.  The seat selection was thru Viking.  When I  check my reservation on Lufthansa, the seat assignments show up.

[shadowlover]

5 hours ago, dd57 said:

Only after they are posted in MVJ, which happens closer to the cruise.  The 2nd cruise is over 150 days away and the flights don't show, even though the system has booked them.

My November cruise is already showing my air in MVJ.  Not ticketed yet but it's the flights we asked for.

[biggerbearmom]

3 hours ago, The Other Tom said:

I'm pretty sure you have to be ticketed to change seats, etc.

I can only speak to my experience, I am currently 85 days out from my cruise in August, my flights are not yet ticketed, and I changed my flights two days ago because I did not want to fly Air Canada.

[Vineyard View]

5 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

We also prefer to us miles/points when flying. When we booked the River/Ocean combo the Onboard Cruise Consultant advised that with Air Plus, Viking could book our flights using our points.

 

Unfortunately, that was old information and Viking Air no longer provide this service. Once Viking Air book your flights, depending on the Fare Class booked, you may be able to upgrade with miles/points. However, some Fare Classes do not permit any upgrades.

 

Best check at the time of booking what Fare Class they plan to book. If they have options, it may cost a premium to get an upgrade friendly Fare Class. Good luck.

 

BTY - I am planning to upgrade our flights back from Stockholm next year, so will have our TA go through the process of determining the Fare Class with Viking Air. If it works, we will upgrade from Business to First.

 

 

 

Thanks for this tip. Our last Viking trip 10/19 we used Viking Air and could not use miles to upgrade. Paying for air plus if we can use miles could make a lot of sense. Based on all these responses, there is not a clear cut answer. So asking the fare class before booking makes good sense.