Interesting change to Viking Air

[ClevelandKid]

I was browsing MVJ and came across a tidbit I had not seen before:  In the past when you got your flights and you wanted to make changes you had a narrow window between when they made reservations and when they purchased the tickets.  If you wanted to make changes you had to go through your TA or Viking Air (and of course pay the additional fee).  What I came across under MVJ under air says that:

 

Thank you for choosing Viking Air, we are working on finalizing your flights. Once your air itinerary is available you will receive a confirmation email and will be able to view your flights below. At that time, you will be able to review and change seats, upgrade or change your flights, and more – all from here in My Viking Journey.

 

Allowing people to make changes online through MVJ is new (at least to me).  Great idea!  

 

So, has anyone used this feature?  How easy was it, especially if you wanted a different flight?  Did you pay a fee for making changes?

 

Thanks!

[TayanaLorna]

My Viking agent told me about this feature.  However i do not yet have flights so i cannot speak to its functionality.  Following.

[FetaCheese]

46 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

My Viking agent told me about this feature.  However i do not yet have flights so i cannot speak to its functionality.  Following.

Paid air+ a couple weeks after booking.  I have my flights and seats. Yes, new Viking Air has functionality as post #1 said.

 

Changed flights (myself) to arrive 2 days earlier, and departing from dif city.  Only paid $100 pp for deviation.

 

[ClevelandKid]

I guess my interest is this:  We have a cruise that leaves from Fort Lauderdale (Panama Canal).  There is a direct flight from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale on United, however, Viking seems to like Delta (a lot) which does not have a direct flight.  I am happy to know that I can change the flights myself if they do put us on Delta, but is that considered a deviation?  Same date, same cities, different airlines.

[TayanaLorna]

1 hour ago, ClevelandKid said:

I guess my interest is this:  We have a cruise that leaves from Fort Lauderdale (Panama Canal).  There is a direct flight from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale on United, however, Viking seems to like Delta (a lot) which does not have a direct flight.  I am happy to know that I can change the flights myself if they do put us on Delta, but is that considered a deviation?  Same date, same cities, different airlines.

A Deviation is when you fly to arrive earlier then the embarkation date or later then the date you disembark.  FYI if you have a Deviation you do not get a free Viking transfer with your Viking Air nor can you pay for one.

[Mountain Traveler]

I have used this new feature a couple of times over the past month to alter my flights for a cruise in November.

 

There are a few issues, however ... myvikingjourney will only show you flights that are contracted with Viking.  Some of the potential changes are at no additional cost, but they do show others that have additional fees, sometimes significant fees.  Also, the flights shown are always paired outbound and return.  It is very possible (because it happened to me) that the outbound you want is only connected to a return you don't want.

[FetaCheese]

2 hours ago, ClevelandKid said:

I guess my interest is this:  We have a cruise that leaves from Fort Lauderdale (Panama Canal).  There is a direct flight from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale on United, however, Viking seems to like Delta (a lot) which does not have a direct flight.  I am happy to know that I can change the flights myself if they do put us on Delta, but is that considered a deviation?  Same date, same cities, different airlines.

My advice:. Pay for air+ to be able to select your preferred airline, routing and times.  V most likely has a contract with UA:. I'm booked on UA to Europe for next cruise.  It was worth price, for me.

 

The sooner you add air+, the better chance you'll have with getting what you want.  Waiting for V to assign flights, may be too late to change.

 

Yes, V must have contract with airlines, but for only x# of seats, and if not, you'll likely pay more.  When they sell out their contract, you may have to pay more, and seats may not be desirable.

 

 

 

[keokukjoe]

2 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

My advice:. Pay for air+ to be able to select your preferred airline, routing and times.  V most likely has a contract with UA:. I'm booked on UA to Europe for next cruise.  It was worth price, for me.

 

The sooner you add air+, the better chance you'll have with getting what you want.  Waiting for V to assign flights, may be too late to change.

 

Yes, V must have contract with airlines, but for only x# of seats, and if not, you'll likely pay more.  When they sell out their contract, you may have to pay more, and seats may not be desirable.

 

 

 

Absolutely agree BUT really consider "early ticketing" as your flights, routing  and seating are not guaranteed until you are ticketed. A friend who advised me to get Air + AND early ticketing as on her last V trip, she had Air+ and a deviation (paid for both) but 2 months before the trip, Viking Air changed her flights even though the original flights were still available. She was on the phone for hours to try to get the original itinerary restored and wasn't totally successful. She didn't request early ticketing and paid the consequences. 

[The Other Tom]

27 minutes ago, keokukjoe said:

Absolutely agree BUT really consider "early ticketing" as your flights, routing  and seating are not guaranteed until you are ticketed. A friend who advised me to get Air + AND early ticketing as on her last V trip, she had Air+ and a deviation (paid for both) but 2 months before the trip, Viking Air changed her flights even though the original flights were still available. She was on the phone for hours to try to get the original itinerary restored and wasn't totally successful. She didn't request early ticketing and paid the consequences. 

Agree you should request early ticketing but note that sometimes the airlines change flights as well.  Most times they will email you, but you should check frequently just to make sure.  

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, Mountain Traveler said:

I have used this new feature a couple of times over the past month to alter my flights for a cruise in November.

 

There are a few issues, however ... myvikingjourney will only show you flights that are contracted with Viking.  Some of the potential changes are at no additional cost, but they do show others that have additional fees, sometimes significant fees.  Also, the flights shown are always paired outbound and return.  It is very possible (because it happened to me) that the outbound you want is only connected to a return you don't want.

Interesting.  Thank you.

[TayanaLorna]

3 hours ago, FetaCheese said:

My advice:. Pay for air+ to be able to select your preferred airline, routing and times.  V most likely has a contract with UA:. I'm booked on UA to Europe for next cruise.  It was worth price, for me.

 

The sooner you add air+, the better chance you'll have with getting what you want.  Waiting for V to assign flights, may be too late to change.

 

Yes, V must have contract with airlines, but for only x# of seats, and if not, you'll likely pay more.  When they sell out their contract, you may have to pay more, and seats may not be desirable.

 

 

 

You know my V agent advised not paying the extra for + based upon the fact that we can change things on MVJ.  However I find only 2 acceptable itineraries for our 2/23 cruise.  I do have some concern that Viking contracted seats will sell out so...  Thanks for your input.

[gr8-2travel]

On 8/8/2022 at 6:40 PM, ClevelandKid said:

I was browsing MVJ and came across a tidbit I had not seen before:  In the past when you got your flights and you wanted to make changes you had a narrow window between when they made reservations and when they purchased the tickets.  If you wanted to make changes you had to go through your TA or Viking Air (and of course pay the additional fee).  What I came across under MVJ under air says that:

 

Thank you for choosing Viking Air, we are working on finalizing your flights. Once your air itinerary is available you will receive a confirmation email and will be able to view your flights below. At that time, you will be able to review and change seats, upgrade or change your flights, and more – all from here in My Viking Journey.

 

Allowing people to make changes online through MVJ is new (at least to me).  Great idea!  

 

So, has anyone used this feature?  How easy was it, especially if you wanted a different flight?  Did you pay a fee for making changes?

 

Thanks!

I was able to changes seats on a couple of our flights.

[gr8-2travel]

On 8/9/2022 at 9:44 AM, Mountain Traveler said:

I have used this new feature a couple of times over the past month to alter my flights for a cruise in November.

 

There are a few issues, however ... myvikingjourney will only show you flights that are contracted with Viking.  Some of the potential changes are at no additional cost, but they do show others that have additional fees, sometimes significant fees.  Also, the flights shown are always paired outbound and return.  It is very possible (because it happened to me) that the outbound you want is only connected to a return you don't want.

I found this to be the case as well. We wanted a different return flight time from Florence (currently 6:20 a.m.) but would have had to change the other flights…which we don’t wish to do. 

[KTRaveller]

I tried to use the MVJ process but any change I tried would wipe out the whole itinerary, not just the flight I wanted to change, so we paid for Air Plus.   Early ticketing may be possible, but if you make any change after that point, I was told it would incur a fee of $350 per person.  I needed the early ticketing because without it Finnair would not assign us seats. BTW, when they did allow us to select seats (in coach) there was a fee just to select a seat and not wait until check in time!  This is for a TA flight so we didn't want to risk center seats so paid the $39 euro fee.  I know -- it's a drop in the bucket, but still very un-Viking so I'm going to let them know.  It's not their fault -- the original flights they had put us on (Lufthansa) where we had good seats were discontinued by the airline, but I think they should pay the fee to select seats.  Air Plus said they couldn't do it for us because  they had no way to pay the fee.  ?????  I wonder if Finnair is a "budget airline" like Norwegian.  Anyone know?

[junnipper]

On 8/20/2022 at 10:10 PM, KTRaveller said:

didn't want to risk center seats

Do you mean center of the row of 4 or center in the row of 3? Because from what I understand selecting the window and aisle is not allowed when booking as a couple. Can you clarify? If the window/aisle combo is allowed I would go for that and hope the center remains empty. 

[junnipper]

I don't see where I have the option to change my itinerary on MVJ Air, just change seats. Am I missing something? 

[KTRaveller]

15 minutes ago, junnipper said:

Do you mean center of the row of 4 or center in the row of 3? Because from what I understand selecting the window and aisle is not allowed when booking as a couple. Can you clarify? If the window/aisle combo is allowed I would go for that and hope the center remains empty. 

In MVJ under Air/Preferences, each traveler can select his/her favorite kind of seat.  If one of you selects aisle and one window, they should seat you that way.  My husband and I usually go for "aisle across" which is an option since we both like the aisle on long flights.  I wasn't referring to this situation though, but to the completely unprecedented one of having Viking Air Plus tell me that they were unable to book seats for us on Finnair and then have Finnair require a payment just to book any old seat now instead of waiting until check in!  

 

I just checked MVJ Air/Preferences and they have an option to select Aisle/Window for a couple.  If you go to MVJ Air/Itinerary that's where you might be able to adjust the itinerary, but be warned, you can't just play with one leg or even just one way -- the whole thing gets thrown out and you start over.

[FlyerTalker]

On 8/20/2022 at 6:10 PM, KTRaveller said:

there was a fee just to select a seat and not wait until check in time!  This is for a TA flight so we didn't want to risk center seats so paid the $39 euro fee.  I know -- it's a drop in the bucket, but still very un-Viking so I'm going to let them know.

 

That is a fee that Finnair charges for pre-selecting a seat.  Has nothing whatsoever with Viking (or any other cruiseline).  You can also find that with British Airways, even in business class.  And many other carriers worldwide.

 

Caveat emptor.

[KTRaveller]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

That is a fee that Finnair charges for pre-selecting a seat.  Has nothing whatsoever with Viking (or any other cruiseline).  You can also find that with British Airways, even in business class.  And many other carriers worldwide.

 

Caveat emptor.

Sure, but on our original itinerary, before the flights disappeared and we were rebooked with Finnair, Viking Air got us economy seats for no charge.  So, it's just an annoying additional expense.  

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, KTRaveller said:

Sure, but on our original itinerary, before the flights disappeared and we were rebooked with Finnair, Viking Air got us economy seats for no charge.  So, it's just an annoying additional expense.  

 

You are bound by the rules of the operating carrier.  Period.  Doesn't matter what you "had" before.

 

Same with luggage allowances and charges.  And every other operational factor.

 

Don't like how this is not the cruiseline's responsibility?  Then don't buy your air through the cruiseline.  Simple answer.

[Squawkman]

15 hours ago, junnipper said:

I don't see where I have the option to change my itinerary on MVJ Air, just change seats. Am I missing something? 

Most likely your flights have been ticketed. Look for ticket numbers in the flight detail.

[FlyerTalker]

47 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

Most likely your flights have been ticketed. Look for ticket numbers in the flight detail.

 

Actual ticket numbers are a 13 digit number, starting with the three digits that correspond to their IATA accounting code.  American is 001, Delta is 006 - others are available online.

 

Until that 13 digit number is part of your record, you are unticketed.

[Squawkman]

2 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Actual ticket numbers are a 13 digit number, starting with the three digits that correspond to their IATA accounting code.  American is 001, Delta is 006 - others are available online.

 

Until that 13 digit number is part of your record, you are unticketed.

Thanks for providing that detail. And thanks for your past posts which taught me to look for ticket numbers 🙂 .

[FlyerTalker]

8 minutes ago, Squawkman said:

Thanks for providing that detail. And thanks for your past posts which taught me to look for ticket numbers 🙂 .

 

Very welcome.  Here are some more codes for whomever may be curious:

 

Alaska  027

United  016

Southwest  526

Hawaiian  173

British  125

Air France  057

KLM  074

Lufthansa  220

Iberia  075

Cathay  160

Singapore  618

 

 

 

[junnipper]

9 hours ago, Squawkman said:

Most likely your flights have been ticketed. Look for ticket numbers in the flight detail.

I checked MVJ and the PDF copy of my Air Itinerary and it has nothing next to Airline Ticket #:. So I looked around MVJ, found FAQs and here is what they wrote:

Why can’t I customize my flights in My Viking Journey?

 

There are some flight itineraries where online customization is not possible. This includes, but is not limited to group bookings, World Cruise bookings, United Kingdom bookings, Australia/New Zealand bookings, as well as bookings with multiple stopovers or mixed air cabin classes. Please call 1-877-523-0580 to speak with a Viking Air Expert if online customization is not available.

 

Perhaps it is because of my 2-stopovers as all my seats are economy class?