Business class not available? Disappointing Viking Air

[FlyerTalker]

9 minutes ago, chaunceyb said:

Please show me a major airline that has one flight number for two connecting flights. The United flight was an example. 

 

You are missing the discussion completely.  Try reading the complete thread.

 

 

[Colt0708]

Did they charge you the upgrade price for your air portion??  We just got back from Reykjavik to Bergen in September. We did pay $4995 each for business class flights. There is a contradiction of wording on MVJ about whether only transcontinental only will be business. We had long segments domestic that were coach. We too knew many business seats were available, but not within their contract. They couldn’t get us business seats on the international flights but we’re not willing to reimburse our upgrade fees. After 6 hours of phone conversations, they refunded and we booked our own business seats. We are doing Antarctica and the Americas in February, 2024. Again, we requested using a stairs upgrade our points to upgrade our domestic flight. They refused unless we paid $149 each for air plus. E are taking a few hundred dollars here on a multi thousand dollar itinerary (42 days). I stuck to my guns and after a long fight they got us over to air plus without a few. I had to elevate the call to a supervisor bc the first agent would repetitively read the script. SMH 🤦‍♀️. Finally, in a couple jet strokes, she upgraded our flight and we were done. The air department is the only part of Viking that is severely lacking in customer service. We have our air for the cruise. We purchased a pre cruise extension to Rapa Nui. There are several flights involved. One is over the water and over 5 hours. Those arrangements don’t show up on MVJ. We were told they would be given to us at the hotel in Santiago prior to departing the next day.  I like planning these things out in advance

[CCWineLover]

17 hours ago, Colt0708 said:

Did they charge you the upgrade price for your air portion??  We just got back from Reykjavik to Bergen in September. We did pay $4995 each for business class flights. There is a contradiction of wording on MVJ about whether only transcontinental only will be business. We had long segments domestic that were coach. We too knew many business seats were available, but not within their contract. They couldn’t get us business seats on the international flights but we’re not willing to reimburse our upgrade fees. After 6 hours of phone conversations, they refunded and we booked our own business seats. We are doing Antarctica and the Americas in February, 2024. Again, we requested using a stairs upgrade our points to upgrade our domestic flight. They refused unless we paid $149 each for air plus. E are taking a few hundred dollars here on a multi thousand dollar itinerary (42 days). I stuck to my guns and after a long fight they got us over to air plus without a few. I had to elevate the call to a supervisor bc the first agent would repetitively read the script. SMH 🤦‍♀️. Finally, in a couple jet strokes, she upgraded our flight and we were done. The air department is the only part of Viking that is severely lacking in customer service. We have our air for the cruise. We purchased a pre cruise extension to Rapa Nui. There are several flights involved. One is over the water and over 5 hours. Those arrangements don’t show up on MVJ. We were told they would be given to us at the hotel in Santiago prior to departing the next day.  I like planning these things out in advance

Hard to follow your words, but get the gist.

Sadly, this seems to be the case for SO many people (Viking Air experiences).

Happened to us, and that is why we DON'T use Viking Air anymore.  Not worth the hassle, stress, and giving up control!!    But I know that for some people it gives them comfort - but you sure do pay a lot in $$'s and headaches!.

[bison2013]

17 hours ago, Colt0708 said:

...There is a contradiction of wording on MVJ about whether only transcontinental only will be business. We had long segments domestic that were coach... 

This is often the case with these excursion contract tickets. We have even had to be very careful with mainline airlines esp with code shares and/or when using award points. The dreaded 'mixed cabin'...

 

Diligence and persistence like you demonstrated is what is needed on the part of the traveler.

[Mike07]

19 hours ago, chaunceyb said:

Please show me a major airline that has one flight number for two connecting flights. The United flight was an example. 

•  

 

If I understand what you are thinking, Southwest is the biggest offender that I know of.

For example, below is Flight 1304 from DAL to LGA on Monday, October 16. It's considered a direct flight even though it has two stops (LIT and STL). You could also take Flight 1304 from DAL to STL... and it would also be a direct flight, with a single stop at LIT.

 

 

• 1304
  • Depart: Dallas (Love Field), TX (DAL)3:20 PM
  • Arrive: Little Rock, AR (LIT)4:30 PM

  1st stop, no plane change 0h 45m layover

• # 1 3 0 4#1304
  • Depart: Little Rock, AR (LIT)5:15 PM
  • Arrive: St. Louis, MO (STL)6:35 PM

  2nd stop, no plane change 1h 0m layover

• # 1 3 0 4#1304
  • Depart: St. Louis, MO (STL)7:35 PM
  • Arrive: New York (LaGuardia), NY (LGA)

 

 

And you can absolutely book this flight from Dallas, and you should be able to stay on the same plane the entire time (unless Southwest changed policy in the last six months) and not have to get off in the layover city.

 

Edited October 12, 2023 by Mike07

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, CCWineLover said:

Hard to follow your words, but get the gist.

Sadly, this seems to be the case for SO many people (Viking Air experiences).

Happened to us, and that is why we DON'T use Viking Air anymore.  Not worth the hassle, stress, and giving up control!!    But I know that for some people it gives them comfort - but you sure do pay a lot in $$'s and headaches!.

Yep.  I have had to pay a lot of attention to flights Viking offers.  It’s enough of a hassle in that it needs to be a really good price break (like free business class for the WC) for me to consider it, and deal with the hassles of making changes.

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, Mich3554 said:

Yep.  I have had to pay a lot of attention to flights Viking offers.  It’s enough of a hassle in that it needs to be a really good price break (like free business class for the WC) for me to consider it, and deal with the hassles of making changes.

 

Please don't think of this as "free".  The cost of the air is baked into the cruise price, but marketed as "free air".

 

Always look at the total costs, not that one portion looks "cheap" or "free".

 

(Just like "free" award air tickets.  They aren't free, they are just using the accumulated rebate that your FF points have been storing)

 

 

[Mich3554]

12 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Please don't think of this as "free".  The cost of the air is baked into the cruise price, but marketed as "free air".

 

Always look at the total costs, not that one portion looks "cheap" or "free".

 

(Just like "free" award air tickets.  They aren't free, they are just using the accumulated rebate that your FF points have been storing)

 

 

Yeah, I know.  Same with the included Silver Spirit package, generous OBC and included gratuities.  

[PasadenaDave]

On 10/12/2023 at 12:46 PM, Mike07 said:

•  

 

If I understand what you are thinking, Southwest is the biggest offender that I know of.

For example, below is Flight 1304 from DAL to LGA on Monday, October 16. It's considered a direct flight even though it has two stops (LIT and STL). You could also take Flight 1304 from DAL to STL... and it would also be a direct flight, with a single stop at LIT.

 

 

• 1304
  • Depart: Dallas (Love Field), TX (DAL)3:20 PM
  • Arrive: Little Rock, AR (LIT)4:30 PM

  1st stop, no plane change 0h 45m layover

• # 1 3 0 4#1304
  • Depart: Little Rock, AR (LIT)5:15 PM
  • Arrive: St. Louis, MO (STL)6:35 PM

  2nd stop, no plane change 1h 0m layover

• # 1 3 0 4#1304
  • Depart: St. Louis, MO (STL)7:35 PM
  • Arrive: New York (LaGuardia), NY (LGA)

 

 

And you can absolutely book this flight from Dallas, and you should be able to stay on the same plane the entire time (unless Southwest changed policy in the last six months) and not have to get off in the layover city.

 

Offended? Technically yes, but they do provide routing when you book your flight.  I travel Southwest about six round trips annually including a few days ago Burbank to Sacramento which is a one hour flight.  I always pay the $20 extra to change the flight home as my meeting often concludes early.  There are four earlier return flights that fit my schedule but three go to Vegas or Phoenix first…no thanks.  If the one direct nonstop is full, I sit around and read rather than fly the extra distance 

[Mike07]

3 minutes ago, PasadenaDave said:

Offended? Technically yes, but they do provide routing when you book your flight.  I travel Southwest about six round trips annually including a few days ago Burbank to Sacramento which is a one hour flight.  I always pay the $20 extra to change the flight home as my meeting often concludes early.  There are four earlier return flights that fit my schedule but three go to Vegas or Phoenix first…no thanks.  If the one direct nonstop is full, I sit around and read rather than fly the extra distance 

 

 

For sure, Southwest is up front about routing

[Codecow]

On 10/12/2023 at 3:23 PM, Mich3554 said:

Yeah, I know.  Same with the included Silver Spirit package, generous OBC and included gratuities.  

Silver spirit was so worth what I paid for it with many sea days.  Unlimited alcohol saved the trip for me!

[Mich3554]

1 hour ago, Codecow said:

Silver spirit was so worth what I paid for it with many sea days.  Unlimited alcohol saved the trip for me!

We actually got an accounting of our alcohol use on the world cruise, since they kept track of it.  Viking made money off of us, as we did not drink 1/2 of what the package would have cost us had we paid fo4 it a la carte.  

[SJD117]

2 hours ago, Codecow said:

Silver spirit was so worth what I paid for it with many sea days.  Unlimited alcohol saved the trip for me!

 

You evaluate a cruise based on how much alcohol you consume?

[Mike07]

1 minute ago, SJD117 said:

 

You evaluate a cruise based on how much alcohol you consume?

 

If there are a lot of sea days, why not?

 

If there are a lot of port days, I'm not buying a package on any line.

[SJD117]

8 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

If there are a lot of sea days, why not?

 

If there are a lot of port days, I'm not buying a package on any line.

Two points. First, you don’t need the SSP to consume unlimited alcohol on a Viking cruise. You can drink around the clock by paying a la carte, too.

 

Second, I can’t imagine spending an entire day at sea (or anywhere else) in an alcohol-induced fog. But that’s just me. Others’ mileage may vary. 

[vnb2003]

On 9/29/2023 at 3:23 PM, CCWineLover said:

The key is: as long as seats are available  under the contract the airlines current have with Viking, and that can change constantly.  Your ability to get Biz via Viking air depends solely on how many of Biz seats the airlines want to release to Viking.  They could release 2, 4, even zero even though there are plenty to buy die t thru airlines.

 

when you understand this you wil know why it is often not worth it to use Viking Aor.  Don’t be penny wise pound foolish. Saving $49 transfer fees is not logical if you can do better air on your own. We always do our own

 

slso the Biz only applies to the overseas flight, not the USA-USA portions.  That is in coach. So paying Biz you could still have a 6 hour flight cross country in back of the plane,  not worth it.

Sorry this is incorrect. We bought Viking Air Plus and are flying business in 3 weeks to 

Los Angeles and back USA portion. Had preferred flights, times and seats. The price was good as well.

  

[Mich3554]

20 hours ago, vnb2003 said:

Sorry this is incorrect. We bought Viking Air Plus and are flying business in 3 weeks to 

Los Angeles and back USA portion. Had preferred flights, times and seats. The price was good as well.

  

So you are flying within the US, business class?  That’s not the problem being discussed.  If you book a business class in the US to another US city, this doesn’t seem to be a problem.  The issue about business class seats is when you are flying overseas and booking (and paying for) business class.  Viking tends to book ‘mixed class’ seats overseas where the overseas portion is business, but will book you in economy seats to fly from the west coast to the hub for the international flight.  Almost half my flight distance for an overseas flight is in economy, and that’s not what I paid for.  
My experience is much like @CCWineLoverso after dealing with this so frequently, we just don’t try anymore and book ourselves.

[vnb2003]

34 minutes ago, Mich3554 said:

So you are flying within the US, business class?  That’s not the problem being discussed.  If you book a business class in the US to another US city, this doesn’t seem to be a problem.  The issue about business class seats is when you are flying overseas and booking (and paying for) business class.  Viking tends to book ‘mixed class’ seats overseas where the overseas portion is business, but will book you in economy seats to fly from the west coast to the hub for the international flight.  Almost half my flight distance for an overseas flight is in economy, and that’s not what I paid for.  
My experience is much like @CCWineLoverso after dealing with this so frequently, we just don’t try anymore and book ourselves.

We returned from our last cruise in January 2020 and didn’t fly since then. All our international business class with Viking was business on all legs - domestic and international.

[Mich3554]

14 minutes ago, vnb2003 said:

We returned from our last cruise in January 2020 and didn’t fly since then. All our international business class with Viking was business on all legs - domestic and international.

This has been my experience…..3x since Covid.  I have pretty much stopped using Viking air to book because of it.  If I am going to have to do the legwork (and since we always deviate, I’m not looking for ground transport), the only benefit is cost, and usually have done much, much better than Viking for cost.  When I have to go online, find alternatives and contact Viking to rebook them….in the proper class…..then what’s the advantage?  

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, vnb2003 said:

We returned from our last cruise in January 2020 and didn’t fly since then. All our international business class with Viking was business on all legs - domestic and international.

Agree with Michelle though - we've been on 14 Viking cruises and always check the Viking Air (Plus) and it has ALWAYS been economy for the USA portion (we live in CA) and Business from the leaping off point to Europe.  Even Montreal, Bermuda, and San Juan qualified for only economy.  And they always seemed to want to route us to NY or Atlanta or DFW.  So obviously your situation is more unique. (You didn't identify the itinerary or airports).

I do seem to remember before COVID they did have some very infrequent specials with Biz class all the way but haven't seen that myself ever.

Edited October 22, 2023 by CCWineLover

[vnb2003]

2 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

Agree with Michelle though - we've been on 14 Viking cruises and always check the Viking Air (Plus) and it has ALWAYS been economy for the USA portion (we live in CA) and Business from the leaping off point to Europe.  Even Montreal, Bermuda, and San Juan qualified for only economy.  And they always seemed to want to route us to NY or Atlanta or DFW.  So obviously your situation is more unique. (You didn't identify the itinerary or airports).

I do seem to remember before COVID they did have some very infrequent specials with Biz class all the way but haven't seen that myself ever.

Our airports are Washington Dulles and Reagan National

itineraries are below in the signature box

[Codecow]

On 10/15/2023 at 6:14 PM, SJD117 said:

Two points. First, you don’t need the SSP to consume unlimited alcohol on a Viking cruise. You can drink around the clock by paying a la carte, too.

 

Second, I can’t imagine spending an entire day at sea (or anywhere else) in an alcohol-induced fog. But that’s just me. Others’ mileage may vary. 

I am scum and my preference would be to go on a cruise with drinking and gambling.  My wife is way higher class and enjoys enrichment and all Viking has to offer.  So it works out!

[Codecow]

On 10/15/2023 at 5:46 PM, SJD117 said:

 

You evaluate a cruise based on how much alcohol you consume?

More like the combination of food, alcohol, and gambling.