Viking Air suddenly feels like a Bait & Switch...

[OnTheJourney]

On 7/17/2022 at 11:11 PM, Heidi13 said:

the 2 inside seats,

Andy...assume you're referring to the two pairs of D-H that appear closest together?  Could all be moot of course depending on what's available. Still nothing arranged with Viking yet. Thanks....

[hutch1994]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:15 AM, MarkTapley said:

Disagree.  In my experience of flying in and out of ORD for 45+ years (and over 4 million flight miles on United alone), summer thunderstorms have a much bigger overall impact on flight schedules in Chicago than snowstorms.  Just my opinion. YMMV.

Still a relatively easy airport to fly in and out of.

[OCA REP]

On 7/17/2022 at 2:34 PM, Peregrina651 said:

IF you are going to be upgrading with points, remember that not all ticket classes can be upgraded -- and not all all classes of tickets are necessarily available through Viking. Let Viking know you plan to upgrade so that they can steer you in the right direction.

Wish I had know this a few months back!

We’re in a quandary now with DL as we’re Diamond Medallion and Viking early ticketed us for no charge and we planned to use DL GUCs to upgrade to D1, only to be told by DL that the fare was a bulk fare even though it displays as an ‘X’ fare on the DL app… which should be upgradable. This is an awful learning curve and we’re less than 30 days out now and availability is getting severely limited! 

 

On 7/17/2022 at 3:31 PM, keokukjoe said:

1. No cost for early ticketing yesterday.

2. Viking will tell you what booking code you are reserved under - just ask. Some codes allow upgrades (via cash or miles), some don't. These are published and easily accesible  via Google. Also depends on your status with the airline in question. Frankly, I upgraded to Premium Economy (Premium Select) on Delta because the booking code for that service allows us to easily upgrade to Delta One via Delta not Viking. Just need to decide whether to use miles or cash.

Correct; we were not charged an early ticketing fee two months ago. 
We’re rather bummed that we were not aware of the booking code issue and didn’t know to inquire before having the flights ticketed. We’re sitting on DL GUCs and they’re not helping us one bit in this situation. 

 

[purpleally]

Does Viking ever do one way air?  We have flights booked to, but coming home is proving to be more difficult 

[hsheffield]

On 7/15/2022 at 10:05 PM, SantaFe1 said:

We all need to be proactive now.  Go online and check. You are your best advocate.  If you have air plus, tell them what you want.  If you don’t have it, this is the year to splurge for it!

We are presently sailing with Silversea this fall. Their SilverAir service has been a nightmare. I'm considering booking with Viking in the future and would appreciate feedback in general re: recent experience with Viking Air. I would especially be interested in the ability to specify Delta Airlines (Skymiles member.).  It sounds like everyone is having issues....

[Haqdeluxe]

17 minutes ago, hsheffield said:

It sounds like everyone is having issues....

Yes! 😀  I would only place so much blame on the cruise company at the moment. It is the airlines that are the primary issue. All of them.

[SantaFe1]

49 minutes ago, hsheffield said:

would appreciate feedback in general re: recent experience with Viking Air. I would especially be interested in the ability to specify Delta Airlines (Skymiles member.).  It sounds like everyone is having issues....

We have used Viking Air Plus on about half our cruises.  We have had everything from beyond belief excellent to not really very good.  The extremes were when VA+ flew us out a day early because we were between two blizzards. They called us, said get ready to leave in 18 hours.  We were on the WC so that was a challenge.  But great service.  Then last summer when we were on the inaugural Iceland cruise, they could not find us a single flight!  We booked our own.  But we have been booked on Delta flights when we asked.  Most recently, for our Mediterranean Antiquities cruise, I called with the flights I wanted at 207 days out.  They didn’t have those flights, but told me to keep checking.  The next week I had my TA call at 200 days out, and she got those same flights and the seats we wanted.  So I think things do sometimes open up that were closed before.  And using VA+  saved us almost $2000 pp for those business class flights!

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, hsheffield said:

We are presently sailing with Silversea this fall. Their SilverAir service has been a nightmare. I'm considering booking with Viking in the future and would appreciate feedback in general re: recent experience with Viking Air. I would especially be interested in the ability to specify Delta Airlines (Skymiles member.).  It sounds like everyone is having issues....

I realize that I’m an n= 1, but this past spring we used Viking Air plus to book flights.  The initial flights we were booked on were impossible.  Also being a Delta Skymiles member, I called back with several replacement Delta flights that had better connections.  There were absolutely NO problems in rebooking one of those.

However, our trip was in April/May and we were booking in December.  We missed the flight cancellations mess that occurred afterwards.  We were also booking business class seats, not sure if this matters.  
Other than a few minor glitches from the airlines (there were several flight time changes, but largely inconsequential), everything went very smoothly.  
Summer is not our travel season, so we have avoided the combination of increased passengers, fewer flights and other problems that are happening now.  I suspect in the fall, things will be better (or I hope so, our next trip is in Sept!).

[hsheffield]

thanks to everyone for the feedback!!

 

sounds like Viking is doing a better job than Silversea. looks like we may become Viking travelers!

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

So my TA called Viking and got a price on business class for our January trip. However, she also said "and then we can request your particular requests.  Seats will not be issued until ticketed however, I can say I want aisles, aisle next, window next etc."

 

Business class seating, however, due to the pod arrangements doesn't readily fall into the usual "aisle", "window" configuration, so I'm concerned about what we might wind up with. When I agree to pay and book, can I then suggest specific seats (as some people on either this or other threads mentioned that they were able to do)? Hate to shell out the money and then wind up not even sitting together. Can't imagine they'd do that. 

Edited August 4, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[Not a Georgia Peach]

I haven't booked Viking air in several years.  I have had occasion to book air through Silver Sea twice in the last year.  The first time I was not happy with the flights, and I paid for a deviation and I got the flights I wanted.  The ticket was issued and I was able to verify seats.  The next time the air has been booked, but tickets are not issued yet.  At this point I do not have any complaints about Silver Sea Air.

[Peregrina651]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

So my TA called Viking and got a price on business class for our January trip. However, she also said "and then we can request your particular requests.  Seats will not be issued until ticketed however, I can say I want aisles, aisle next, window next etc."

 

Business class seating, however, due to the pod arrangements doesn't readily fall into the usual "aisle", "window" configuration, so I'm concerned about what we might wind up with. When I agree to pay and book, can I then suggest specific seats (as some people on either this or other threads mentioned that they were able to do)? Hate to shell out the money and then wind up not even sitting together. Can't imagine they'd do that. 

 

I have booked tickets on codeshare flights and not been able to select seats until I got to the airport. Now I avoid codeshares.

 

We chose our flights in May for our January trip and seats were assigned at that time. It is not a codeshare. We have not been ticketed yet and have not requested it.  We had our first of what I expect to be many changes of flight plan in July.  The airline changed the departure time on the first leg of our journey giving us 30 minutes to make the connecting flight. Six months out changing to a different flight was not a problem; there were still plenty of seats in Business. Hope subsequent changes are as easy to deal with.

[OnTheJourney]

22 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

I have booked tickets on codeshare flights and not been able to select seats until I got to the airport. Now I avoid codeshares.

I know...you mentioned this, and I remembered it. I was finally able to access a seat map for one of my two long-haul flights and a good number of B-class seats are already taken. So now I guess my TA must finish this process? Or  can I call (she actually told them that I have her permission to call and speak with the air dept. - so I guess worth a try. )  Just seems like a pain to do everything through a 3rd party. I need to move on this since now only 12 seats are left for the one flight. 

 

Any idea what time the air department opens? I can try to call or just have my agent do it - just hope nothing would get screwed up in the translation. 

Edited August 5, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

21 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

Hope subsequent changes are as easy to deal with.

Yeah, I imagine I can expect some changes, although there are a very limited number of non-stop overnight flights going across the pond for my date (which is not flexible). 

Edited August 5, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[mikew8]

Can you get a booking now? I have Viking Air + and wanted to make reservations to get preferred flights.  My Viking Air page states that Viking is only working on a 60-day window right now. Tickets for my January cruise will be available 10/20. My TA called and got nowhere with Viking.

[OnTheJourney]

3 hours ago, mikew8 said:

My TA called and got nowhere with Viking.

All I know is what she told me - that the Viking agent seemed to be able to make a booking at the present time for January. 

[Peregrina651]

4 hours ago, mikew8 said:

Can you get a booking now? I have Viking Air + and wanted to make reservations to get preferred flights.  My Viking Air page states that Viking is only working on a 60-day window right now. Tickets for my January cruise will be available 10/20. My TA called and got nowhere with Viking.

 

Yes. Ignore what it says on MVJ and ignore what the pre-recorded message says when you call. We are flying in January. We, that is our TA, took care of our flights in May.

 

 

[OnTheJourney]

1 hour ago, Peregrina651 said:

ignore what the pre-recorded message says when you call.

I didn't get far. Was on hold for quite awhile and then the lady was extremely hard to understand. The general jist of it, however, was that my agent needs to do this. My TA apparently only talked to a Viking agent - not someone in the air department - so she will call again. She confirms that the people can be very hard to understand and that Viking, in her experience, is not easy to work with for air. She was hoping that the agent would transfer her to the air desk but I guess that didn't happen. Said she dreads calling them every time cause they "farm out their air department calls" (?) and, again, she can't understand their employees. I had little problem when making flights arrangements for the Chairman's cruise, but that was such a unique situation. There was a dedicated air phone number just for that sailing.

 

I don't anticipate doing too many trips with Viking in the future unless I somehow take care of my own air. Perhaps will be easier IF this current booking / staffing / etc. mess ever settles down. Once all our rebookings of various cancelled trips are done I suspect we'll be concentrating mostly on domestic travel. So much easier to just book my own air within the US AND be able to see the seats that are available. I had zero trouble booking flights for a trip in October. I know what seats I have as soon as I booked them. So...I'll see what she finds out but I've been spending hours looking at the seating configurations on seatguru and trying to communicate choice preferences to the TA. All might be for naught anyway if nothing's available, in which case we'll have to settle for premium economy. Getting too old for some of this crap.

 

We'll probably do most of our cruises out of either Baltimore or Bayonne...NO flying involved and just less stressful.  

Edited August 5, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

5 hours ago, mikew8 said:

My TA called and got nowhere with Viking.

Mine is dreading the exact same thing.....

[OCA REP]

4 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

*the lady was extremely hard to understand.

*She confirms that the people can be very hard to understand and that Viking, in her experience, is not easy to work with for air.

*Said she dreads calling them every time cause they "farm out their air department calls" (?) and, again, she can't understand their employees.

 

All of the above!

 

Called yesterday and after finally being transferred to Air+, she had a very strong accent and English was not her first language.  After a back and forth, she transferred me to the Air Resolutions Desk and the lady there was great, but again a very strong accent that required most everything being repeated.

 

We still have no understanding of the fare class the DL tickets supplied by Viking.  They do appear as 'X' fare on DL, but DL insists they are a bulk rate and cannot be used with the DL GUCs for upgrade.  The Air Resolutions Desk insisted that if I asked for a supervisor at the DL Diamond Medallion Line that they should be able to sort things out for us... but that has not been the case.

 

No one (at Viking) seems to understand that a valid (minimum) fare class is required to use a DL GUC and if I can get the minimum fare class ticketed, DL can take it from there.  This is all so frustrating... there has got to be a better way!

 

Please do share any insight if you are a DL flyer that might have ever been caught in this quandary.  Thanks!

 

[tcuprof]

Based on my experiences, I will not let Viking book my air again. 

 

1) When Viking books your air, you pretty much give up control. They can change your flight as they see fit - EVEN IF YOU HAVE Air+. (see example below)

2) Viking air can appear to offer a good price, but that is often because they're going to give you a routing you do not want. To get the routing you DO want (e.g., non-stop), you'll have to pay the fare difference, thus eliminating what seemed a good price.

3) If you want to cancel the Viking air, Viking will not refund your money. They will only give you credit.

4) If it matters to you, you will not get credit towards an elite program (e.g., AA loyalty points) for your flight, because YOU did not buy the ticket.

 

A recent incident:

We had Air+ AND paid an extra $1900 to get the AA business class seat we wanted for a  direct flight DFW-CDG. During the night and without asking us, Viking changed us to Air France. When I called, Viking first said the AA flight (AA48) was cancelled. It was not. Then, they said our AA reservation was probably cancelled because the flight was oversold. If the flight was indeed oversold, I rather doubt AA would start by kicking off an executive platinum elite. More importantly, I quickly established that the flight was not oversold and in fact there are seats available now. Finally, the agent said "I cannot get you on the AA flight. Would you like to book a different flight and pay the fare difference?" 

 

Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing why I lost my AA reservation. Since the Air France business class seats are cheaper than AA, the cynic in me suspects Viking took the opportunity to make a few thousand $ profit by changing our flight. 

 

One last note:

You are very unlikely to get any help from the Viking Air agent who answers your call. That person is essentially a human “bot” who types in your question or complaint and then reads you the pre-programmed scripted reply. They have NO authority to do anything beyond that scripted reply. Don’t waste your time, just request a supervisor.

 

[mtnestr2011]

I tried to use Air+ for an upcoming trip and very quickly realized they are hampered by contractual agreements they have with different airlines. They could book me immediately on United, but hey, I start from Atlanta, and Delta is our #1 choice for non-stop flights. An agent let it slip that their contract with Delta did not allow them to book so early. I had always booked my own air, but thought I’d give cruise-air a try. Forget it. I paid the extra, called twice to insist on immediate ticketing, but after a week of still not seeing the actual ticket #, cancelled and was refunded the $. I think it may have worked better for many people in the old pre-pandemic days. But right now all airlines are flying as lean as they can, and it is not the best time to be flying on a bulk-purchased ticket. 

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, tcuprof said:

To get the routing you DO want (e.g., non-stop), you'll have to pay the fare difference, thus eliminating what seemed a good price.

Exactly what just happened to my TA today. I feel bad  for her. She really tried hard. Called them, and then while on hold called me to verify the correct flight info that I'd like, talked to Viking again and once she mentioned the non-stop I want to Rome, she was told that these (non-stop) flights are not something they are contracted with (?) and so the price suddenly shot up an extra $1800 pp, winding up being a total of more than what I find on expedia for the entire itinerary. So much for the 'good' price that they initially quoted my TA for B-class. Like dangling the carrot.

 

Totally frustrated at this point. TA advised that I at least explore other options over the weekend (unless I want to pay the revised amount they quoted her...not my first choice) including one-stop.Then, she'll try again on Monday. I hate stops for international flights, especially for the overnight. No idea what to do at this point. DW is to the point where she doesn't want to do many more international flights. Can't say I blame her. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, tcuprof said:

3) If you want to cancel the Viking air, Viking will not refund your money. They will only give you credit.

Under risk-free, I was told that the air, along with any other monies spent, will all become part of credit towards a future cruise. Like many of us, I'm SO tired of accumulating and trying to use credits. Can't wait till all these rebookings are over and done with, so we can go back to a more relaxed approach of choosing where we want to go without the extra stress of feeling like we have to 'fit in' extra trips that have been canceled and rebooked as many as 3 times. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by OnTheJourney

[FetaCheese]

Can someone tell me what  a GUC is?