Viking Air questions please...

We booked our first River cruise with Viking and it came with air from Dallas. I am wanting to check into upgrading the Economy flight to the Economy Plus on United. This is where my confusion and questions begin.

About how far out do they actually ticket the flight? We have an itinerary on our flights but they are not "ticketed" so I can't contact United, amazingly I was able to change the seats online but not upgrade.

Also, what kind of fee range can I expect to just upgrade to Economy Plus?

And can I just upgrade one "leg" of the flight or the entire itinerary?

Is it possible that once I pay for upgrade can Viking change the flight itinerary and would I lose my upgrade?

Any answers would be truly appreciated!!

Call Viking and ask them to ticket the flight.

As the previous post stated you can call Viking or your TA and ask them to ticket the flights. Some fares through Viking are not eligible for paid upgrades. Don't know if your fare falls into that category however Viking can tell you.

Cost for upgrades vary widely. They typically increase the closer you get to flight time. You can select which flight segments you want to upgrade so you can just do the long transatlantic segments if you wish.

We paid $69/pp to upgrade on Delta for Detroit to Amsterdam. It is now $99/pp ( for a Dec flight). Atlanta to Amsterdam is $119 now to upgrade. I would expect it might be more from DFW.

Beware that United is infamous for ignoring selected seats. Your current seat assignments are likely to change when the flights are ticketed so be sure to get on UA's website again after you are ticketed and recheck your seats. I would also suggest checking back in with them periodically right up to your departure date to keep an eye on your seat assignments.

As the previous post stated you can call Viking or your TA and ask them to ticket the flights. Some fares through Viking are not eligible for paid upgrades. Don't know if your fare falls into that category however Viking can tell you.

Cost for upgrades vary widely. They typically increase the closer you get to flight time. You can select which flight segments you want to upgrade so you can just do the long transatlantic segments if you wish.

We paid $69/pp to upgrade on Delta for Detroit to Amsterdam. It is now $99/pp ( for a Dec flight). Atlanta to Amsterdam is $119 now to upgrade. I would expect it might be more from DFW.

Beware that United is infamous for ignoring selected seats. Your current seat assignments are likely to change when the flights are ticketed so be sure to get on UA's website again after you are ticketed and recheck your seats. I would also suggest checking back in with them periodically right up to your departure date to keep an eye on your seat assignments.

Thank you so very much for your reply....great information and I will follow your suggestions!

About how far out do they actually ticket the flight? We have an itinerary on our flights but they are not "ticketed" so I can't contact United, amazingly I was able to change the seats online but not upgrade.

I was told by Viking that once you paid your trip in full, you can ask for the air to be ticketed. I also wanted to upgrade and did successfully 8 months prior to my trip.

We booked our first River cruise with Viking and it came with air from Dallas. I am wanting to check into upgrading the Economy flight to the Economy Plus on United. This is where my confusion and questions begin.

 

About how far out do they actually ticket the flight? We have an itinerary on our flights but they are not "ticketed" so I can't contact United, amazingly I was able to change the seats online but not upgrade.

 

Also, what kind of fee range can I expect to just upgrade to Economy Plus?

And can I just upgrade one "leg" of the flight or the entire itinerary?

 

Is it possible that once I pay for upgrade can Viking change the flight itinerary and would I lose my upgrade?

 

Any answers would be truly appreciated!!

I have a friend waiting to upgrade to business and they were told Viking usually doesn't ticket until 6 weeks prior to the cruise. However, if you have Air Plus the reservation has been made and you should have you confirmation code. If Viking Air can't help you now, try calling the airline using the confirmation and ask how it works with a third party reservation. If you have to wait until ticketed, as soon as you receive your ticket/s call the airline with confirmation # to request upgrade. They will make the change, if available, for you.

Once you have your seat assignment, the only way you lose an upgrade is if there is a change in aircraft. check http://www.united.com

I was told by Viking that once you paid your trip in full, you can ask for the air to be ticketed. I also wanted to upgrade and did successfully 8 months prior to my trip.

Oh wow! I paid my trip in full the day I booked but twice I have called and both times they have said they will charge to do that and then if I make any voluntary changes they will charge us $350 each! So I have been a bit leery to ask them to ticket.

I have to say when I have spoken with Viking thay are very nice and helpful.

Oh wow! I paid my trip in full the day I booked but twice I have called and both times they have said they will charge to do that and then if I make any voluntary changes they will charge us $350 each! So I have been a bit leery to ask them to ticket.

I have to say when I have spoken with Viking thay are very nice and helpful.

When is your cruise?

Oh wow! I paid my trip in full the day I booked but twice I have called and both times they have said they will charge to do that and then if I make any voluntary changes they will charge us $350 each! So I have been a bit leery to ask them to ticket.

I have to say when I have spoken with Viking thay are very nice and helpful.

Once again Viking applying the "do you want fries with that" marketing. It seems from all the posts over the years that Viking will do anything you want them to do as long as you are prepared to pay extra for them to do what others do for no additional cost.

We just upgraded our Viking flights to Economy Plus. Trip is in late November - over two months from now. We asked Viking to cut tickets and then dealt strictly with carrier to upgrade. I would not get Viking involved after tickets are cut - not helpful.

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When is your cruise?

Our cruise is November 12, 2015, about 75 days.

We just upgraded our Viking flights to Economy Plus. Trip is in late November - over two months from now. We asked Viking to cut tickets and then dealt strictly with carrier to upgrade. I would not get Viking involved after tickets are cut - not helpful.

 

 

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Thanks!

Following up. I mentioned my friend wanted to upgrade her seat assignment to business. She waited until she had her Viking eticket # and called to arrange but could not do. She was told the deep discount Viking negotiates is not upgradable to business by either points or cash. She upgraded to premium economy seating instead and now has to check at the gate if business is available to move up to.

Following up. I mentioned my friend wanted to upgrade her seat assignment to business. She waited until she had her Viking eticket # and called to arrange but could not do. She was told the deep discount Viking negotiates is not upgradable to business by either points or cash. She upgraded to premium economy seating instead and now has to check at the gate if business is available to move up to.

That's too bad. I have my tickets and have been thinking of trying upgrade to business....I noticed when choosing seats if I clicked on Business it would not give me a price. Your post explains why, thank you! I do at least have the premium economy.

That's too bad. I have my tickets and have been thinking of trying upgrade to business....I noticed when choosing seats if I clicked on Business it would not give me a price. Your post explains why, thank you! I do at least have the premium economy.

If you still would like to upgrade to business class be sure to ask at the counter when you check in for your flight. If seats are available they will usually offer them at a discount. Usually $450-650/pp on a transatlantic leg which is a pretty good price when added to your base fare.

I highly suggest that you check in at the Cruise Air forum here at CC. Lots of folks with deep knowledge on air travel.

A couple of points to follow up on many posts above:

1) Because upgrading to Economy Plus is a paid upgrade, it requires a paid ticket to process. Compared to selecting a "free" seat, which can be done with just a reservation. Big difference - until you get your 13 digit ticket number, you are NOT ticketed. The six character locator is NOT a ticket.

2) Most cruiseline air tickets are in fare buckets that cannot be upgraded to business or first. The specific fare rules for the ticket govern upgrade rules. So YMMV depending on what the cruiseline has provided. My general advice is that you should never expect to be able to upgrade cruise tickets, with either miles and/or money.

3) United does not have a "premium economy" product. The have Economy Plus, which merely provides a bit more legroom and recline. Premium Economy is a completely different animal, generally involving different seating with both increased pitch, recline and seat width. In fact, no USA airline offers Premium Economy.

I highly suggest that you check in at the Cruise Air forum here at CC. Lots of folks with deep knowledge on air travel.

 

A couple of points to follow up on many posts above:

 

1) Because upgrading to Economy Plus is a paid upgrade, it requires a paid ticket to process. Compared to selecting a "free" seat, which can be done with just a reservation. Big difference - until you get your 13 digit ticket number, you are NOT ticketed. The six character locator is NOT a ticket.

 

2) Most cruiseline air tickets are in fare buckets that cannot be upgraded to business or first. The specific fare rules for the ticket govern upgrade rules. So YMMV depending on what the cruiseline has provided. My general advice is that you should never expect to be able to upgrade cruise tickets, with either miles and/or money.

 

3) United does not have a "premium economy" product. The have Economy Plus, which merely provides a bit more legroom and recline. Premium Economy is a completely different animal, generally involving different seating with both increased pitch, recline and seat width. In fact, no USA airline offers Premium Economy.

She has Permium Eco with foreign airline. Booking with the Cruiseline just does not to then upgrade. Only why to upgrade to Business/First is arranging your own air.

She has Permium Eco with foreign airline. Booking with the Cruiseline just does not to then upgrade. Only way to upgrade to Business/First is arranging your own air.

FlyerTalk usually knows what he is talking about. See his good advice on the Flight threads.

I am on KLM next month and have had my PNR (Pax Number Record) for months. I wanted to upgrade but my travel partner did not want to pay for Premium Economy and I saw the cost on the KLM website; however my travel partner did not want to but I chose 2 aisle seats across from one another. I just need to keep checking in case there is an equipment change. :mad:

I really do not understand whatever it is you were trying to say above :confused:; however, buying the Viking Air was a good price and, yes, we are able to upgrade to PE on KLM! ;)

FlyerTalk usually knows what he is talking about. See his good advice on the Flight threads.

I am on KLM next month and have had my PNR (Pax Number Record) for months. I wanted to upgrade but my travel partner did not want to pay for Premium Economy and I saw the cost on the KLM website; however my travel partner did not want to but I chose 2 aisle seats across from one another. I just need to keep checking in case there is an equipment change. :mad:

buying the Viking Air was a good price and, yes, we are able to upgrade to PE on KLM!

KLM does not offer a Premium Economy product. What they do offer is Economy Comfort, seating with more legroom and preferred seating.

Now, this may seem to be semantics, but it is important. The KL product, like that of DL/UA/AA is the standard coach seat but with a bit more pitch and/or recline. Details HERE. But this is very different than "Premium Economy" which involves different seating with both increased pitch and width, and often upgraded soft product. An example is their corporate partner, Air France. You can see their "Premium Economy" product HERE. For example, on a 777, instead of 9 across in coach, PE has 8 seats. On a 330, instead of 8 it has 7.

The reason for emphasizing the difference is so the buyer knows what they are getting and why pricing may seem out of whack. If you are just expecting the "plus" product and see pricing that is high, you may not realize that you are getting more than just some more pitch/recline. And the flip side as well - if you expect the upgraded seating and service and just get "plus/comfort", you will be severely disappointed. Also, PE is a distinct different ticketing class of service, in between coach and business. So, on AF and carriers with PE, class upgrades (not seating upgrades) go from coach to PE to business to first. You don't have the smooth one-class bump from coach to biz.

So....to summarize: Economy Comfort/Economy Plus/Main Cabin Extra (DL/UA/AA) are basically standard coach seats with a bit more pitch and recline, and sometimes have some soft product benefits tossed in. Premium Economy is a separate class of service with different seats, much more pitch/recline AND seat width. The soft product is most definitely different (better pillow/blankets, often better meals and benefits), often with a separate cabin or curtained off area. Premium Economy is a "term of art" in the airline industry and is not interchangable with the "plus" seating options.

FlyerTalk usually knows what he is talking about. See his good advice on the Flight threads.

 

I am on KLM next month and have had my PNR (Pax Number Record) for months. I wanted to upgrade but my travel partner did not want to pay for Premium Economy and I saw the cost on the KLM website; however my travel partner did not want to but I chose 2 aisle seats across from one another. I just need to keep checking in case there is an equipment change. :mad:

 

I really do not understand whatever it is you were trying to say above :confused:; however, buying the Viking Air was a good price and, yes, we are able to upgrade to PE on KLM! ;)

Between your shouting and FlyerTalker's signature picture, I feel like I'm in a bar fight.

Good luck with upgrading air, if you let Viking purchase it ! My husband and I recently booked an ocean cruise with them, "Empires of the Mediterranean" . We bought a pre-cruise excursion from them that pretty much takes off after we land, so we thought it best to let them schedule the flight because then we knew we would be on-time for the optional days before the cruise. We only asked for the economy seats, thinking that we would upgrade to Economy plus for the international flight directly through the airlines after Viking bought our tickets. (The cost to upgrade to Premium Economy through Viking was $1095/person and this would ONLY be an upgrade on the international flight.... NOT the other 3 flights.)

Well, that doesn't work because Viking buys the tickets from the airlines, in our case, Delta as "restricted tickets". What that means is that if Viking bought your ticket, Delta isn't allowed to upgrade a specific flight. All upgrades have to go through Viking!

The Delta representative told me that the upgrades that I wanted could be anywhere from $99 - $200/ person... NOT the $1095 that Delta wants to suck out of you.

So basically, what would have cost me $800 AT MOST from Delta for 2 people to upgrade on 2 flights would cost me $2,190 from Viking!!!! That's $1,390 cash in their pocket!

I already paid for this trip or I would probably just forget about Viking. As it is, we are just going to make do with the economy seats they bought and let them enjoy the LAST dollars they will get from us.

So basically, what would have cost me $800 AT MOST from Delta for 2 people to upgrade on 2 flights would cost me $2,190 from Viking!!!! That's $1,390 cash in their pocket!

Not exactly an apples to apples comparison.

All the cruise lines use a range of options when booking airline tickets, from the bulk consolidator fares that you cannot upgrade to normal fare types which you can upgrade and on the whole, Viking seems to use the low cost consolidator fares less often than some other cruise lines.

You are also mixing up Premium Economy and Economy+ (Comfort+ in Delta terms), they are not the same on Delta, Premium Economy is generally a lot more expensive than Economy+ (typically around $1,000) and is offered on different aircraft.

So you can't compare the cost of ticketing you into Premium Economy which would have required a different flight, from the cost of upgrading to Economy+ on the flight you are on (if that is indeed the case).

The comment from the Delta Agent is also unhelpful as it misses the ticket cost out of the equation. The reason that the cruise lines use consolidator fares is the low cost. Yes, if they had used a more expensive fare bucket for your ticket then it might have cost less to upgrade to Economy+, but from the restrictive fare you are on, the upgrade could be considerably more expensive as it would have to include a change to a more costly fare bucket as well as the upgrade.

Also as an aside, you won't usually find Economy Plus options on the shorter flights within Europe which is at least in part why Viking may not have offered you the option...

We only asked for the economy seats, thinking that we would upgrade to Economy plus for the international flight directly through the airlines after Viking bought our tickets. (The cost to upgrade to Premium Economy through Viking was $1095/person and this would ONLY be an upgrade on the international flight.... NOT the other 3 flights.)

Well, that doesn't work because Viking buys the tickets from the airlines, in our case, Delta as "restricted tickets". What that means is that if Viking bought your ticket, Delta isn't allowed to upgrade a specific flight. All upgrades have to go through Viking!

The Delta representative told me that the upgrades that I wanted could be anywhere from $99 - $200/ person... NOT the $1095 that Delta wants to suck out of you.

So basically, what would have cost me $800 AT MOST from Delta for 2 people to upgrade on 2 flights would cost me $2,190 from Viking!!!! That's $1,390 cash in their pocket!

Premium Economy is neither Economy Plus or Premium Bysiness/First. Premium Economy is a separate class, and falls between the two. It's "semi-premium" with more amenities than plus, 2 seats across vs 3, has leg rests and extra recline, is pricey and comparable to business class on US domestic flights without flat bed seats. International carriers offer this class as an upgrade from economy and is usually half the cost of business.

Delta, however, is the only US airline that books this class on select flights which contributed to the mixup. Other US carriers do not ticket Premium Eco even on their codeshare carriers, but this international Delta flight (may have been KLM, AF, etc) offered Premium Comfort class rather than the preferred seating in the main cabin you wanted.

Economy Plus seats can always be arranged though on planes configured with them in the main cabin even with the bulk fare "if available". The trick is to use Viking's Air Plus Dept, trained agents who can recommend how to book to get exactly what you want. They also can issue tickets early, by request, so you soon have your confirmation code available to upgrade yourself to Plus seating. I have no problems upgrading online early when plenty of the plus seats are still available.

Good luck with upgrading air, if you let Viking purchase it ! My husband and I recently booked an ocean cruise with them, "Empires of the Mediterranean" . We bought a pre-cruise excursion from them that pretty much takes off after we land, so we thought it best to let them schedule the flight because then we knew we would be on-time for the optional days before the cruise. We only asked for the economy seats, thinking that we would upgrade to Economy plus for the international flight directly through the airlines after Viking bought our tickets. (The cost to upgrade to Premium Economy through Viking was $1095/person and this would ONLY be an upgrade on the international flight.... NOT the other 3 flights.)

Well, that doesn't work because Viking buys the tickets from the airlines, in our case, Delta as "restricted tickets". What that means is that if Viking bought your ticket, Delta isn't allowed to upgrade a specific flight. All upgrades have to go through Viking!

The Delta representative told me that the upgrades that I wanted could be anywhere from $99 - $200/ person... NOT the $1095 that Delta wants to suck out of you.

So basically, what would have cost me $800 AT MOST from Delta for 2 people to upgrade on 2 flights would cost me $2,190 from Viking!!!! That's $1,390 cash in their pocket!

I already paid for this trip or I would probably just forget about Viking. As it is, we are just going to make do with the economy seats they bought and let them enjoy the LAST dollars they will get from us.

I would be interested in knowing your routing particulars, as it is possible this is a Delta ticket with some legs being handled by a code share partner. In the case of many foreign airlines, SAS for example, you buy Premium Economy as a ticketed fare at a higher price rather than buy Economy and upgrade your leg room. If you want the best hope of getting the additional leg room on a Premium Economy flight, you'll want all of your legs to be on US carriers (Delta, United especially; American it usually ends up as just bulkhead seating or exit row). In the example of Lufthansa, you can't even select a regular Economy seat in advance unless you call them and pay their seat fee of approximately $35 pp, or you wait until check in to get one assigned for free.

Your course of action currently may be limited to no options, but if you have code share partners involved, go onto each airline's site and pull up your route and check the possible upgrade options. Helps to have the main Viking air record locator, or to have your ticket number. I do this for client's often and sometimes it takes a bit of delving further to access and see all the options.

Your course of action going forward, if you do this again, would be to obtain the routing you want focusing on flights that are US carriers, and being "operated" by US carriers, and then go online to bump up.

By the way, Premium Economy, Economy Plus, etc are all some form of upgraded Economy, and each airline calls it by a different name. On some, like United, you are getting a few more inches of leg room and free cocktails; on some, like SAS, you are getting a separate area, better seat, more legroom, better meal service, and a Club Access before boarding, so it is important to understand the different airlines and their different services, each one is slightly different.

I don’t know. It seems to me that people just don’t think things through.

When you purchase air through Viking with your cruise, you either pay nothing (free air) or you pay a very low price. Of course they are going to bulk buy the cheapest seats available. That’s their deal with the airlines. And after accepting the cheapest rate, the airlines aren’t going to be too happy about upgrading the very cheapest seats for the same price that they would allow someone to upgrade, who had paid regular fare - even in economy. They have contracts they are dealing with, and you get what their contracts allow for both from the airlines and Viking. You can’t put all the blame on Viking. Well, you can, but you shouldn’t [emoji41]

We always pay the $50 pp for Viking Air Plus which gives you a lot more leeway to choose airlines flights and schedules.

On our first river cruise we had flights in business/first on Delta from JFK to Amsterdam and return from Zurich to JFK. I think the total for these non-stop, direct flights was $2000-$2500 pp. I don’t recall off the top of my head, but that’s what comes to mind. We did a lot of changes - all through Viking - of carriers and flights to avoid a stop in CDG to change planes, so there were some extra charges and credits along the way.

For our next river cruise, the Viking deal was “free” air - sweet! Free air for multiple stop flights, probably at odd times in the lowest economy [emoji12]

We paid for Air Plus upfront when we booked and requested the price for business/first. They quoted $3000 pp (approximately-again I don’t have the exact number in my head) for business/first from JFK to Budapest (with a stop in Amsterdam) and from Amsterdam to JFK for the return. All flights in business/first. We had to pay an extra $175 to get direct flights home and IMO well worth it for direct, non-stop. They wanted to route us through Frankfurt - no thanks!

For our upcoming West Indies Explorer cruise the Viking deal was $45 pp from NY to San Juan. Air Plus was not available because these are domestic flights. I wasn’t wild about leaving the choice of flights to Viking. I imagined several connecting puddle jumper flights in the middle of the night crammed in the cheapest economy flights. No, sorry - I don’t fly that way [emoji12]. I waited, hoping they would allow Air Plus, while I did some research on my own.

I found flights on Delta - JFK to San Juan in Delta Comfort. I would have booked the same for the return, but Delta Comfort was sold out for the flight I wanted. Delta One was only $50 pp more - SOLD! Total for the flights for both of us was $1397.

When I called Viking to cancel the air portion, the rep put me on hold. We got our $45 pp back and the $100 pp deviation fee (we were flying in a day early) plus an air allowance (which I didn’t know about) for a total of $697 credited to my account. So we ended up paying $700 total for 2 people in Delta Comfort going down and Delta One coming back. Good deal!

You can’t go into these things blind and trust that ANY business is going to do what’s right for you. They are always going to do whatever works best for them. You have to do independent research BEFORE you commit to make sure what you’re getting also works for you.

Viking does what they do very well. They give you a great cruise and they take good care of you, but they are still a business and when it comes to the bottom line, like any business they are looking out for #1. I’m also looking out for #1, so I do the homework and I don’t just accept what I’m told. I ask questions and check things out!

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