Which airline(s) does Viking use within Europe?

[tom_uk]

Hello the forum - my first post here.

 

We've booked our first cruise with Viking for September 2025, just 7 nights from Rome to Venice, and we're prefacing it with 3 nights in Tuscany (also booked with Viking). We live in the UK, and our flights will be from Heathrow to Florence, and back from Venice to Heathrow. Obviously this far out the flights aren't booked so we don't know anything about times or even airlines.

 

I understand that it's way too early to worry about flight times, but I'm wondering which airlines Viking might use for flights like these. We were told that they would be with a scheduled airline rather than a low cost carrier. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience as which airlines Viking might use within Europe?

[Hobson1754]

We’ve always been booked with KLM and other British passengers we’ve spoken to have also used KLM.  Think they may also use BA. Whilst we’ve not been not overly impressed in recent years with BA, our experiences over our last 2 VO cruises flying with KLM have been less than satisfactory so think I would have preferred BA. Our difficulty will and has always been our need for connection from Newcastle so think KLM is their preferred option.

[natshala]

I see you’re in the UK. We’re from the US and just returned from Rome. In our case, Viking used Air Canada. 

[tom_uk]

1 hour ago, Hobson1754 said:

We’ve always been booked with KLM and other British passengers we’ve spoken to have also used KLM.  Think they may also use BA. Whilst we’ve not been not overly impressed in recent years with BA, our experiences over our last 2 VO cruises flying with KLM have been less than satisfactory so think I would have preferred BA. Our difficulty will and has always been our need for connection from Newcastle so think KLM is their preferred option.

Thanks for that. We live in Sheffield so for us the nearest airport is Manchester, but we were told that flying from there would involve a connection. So we've chosen to fly from Heathrow - we can make a day of it on the way down and drive straight home on the way back.

[Peregrina651]

 

 

In truth, no matter where you are coming from and where you are headed, the airlines used will depend on which airlines Viking currently has contracts with, which may be different from what was used on past flights.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

38 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

In truth, no matter where you are coming from and where you are headed, the airlines used will depend on which airlines Viking currently has contracts with, which may be different from what was used on past flights.

 

Absolutely.  In addition, passengers on the same cruise, flying from A to B, may have different flights from one another.  Much depends on the inventory that Viking (or any cruiseline) has available to them for any particular flight and date.  And FWIW, the inventory available is usually NOT the same as what you would find from the airline directly.

 

2 hours ago, tom_uk said:

We were told that they would be with a scheduled airline rather than a low cost carrier.

 

The "low cost" carriers ARE scheduled airlines.  Do not confuse them with charter operators.

 

 

[kcpvwill]

Tom-UK
 

We are in the UK and our 20th cruise with Viking is coming up soon.  We are 20 mins from Manchester Airport and in Europe we have had flights with KLM, Air France, and BA.  Also Lufthansa,  Air Malta,  Vueling and SAS depending on the destination.  

 

Each involved a change which is tedious, especially as we are not getting any younger.  (Started with Viking in 2013) 
 

For our next cruise we found direct flights at times to suit from Manchester  with SAS to Stockholm and back from Oslo with SAS.  We asked Viking to book us on them and they have done that for us.  
 

We hope that you will come to enjoy Viking as much as we do.
 

 

[shipboy]

If you are flying from Heathrow, you will probably be booked on BA (direct). As you are from Sheffield you may choose to fly from Manchester, but this would involve a transfer either in Heathrow with BA, or Amsterdam with KLM

[scotchbonnet]

We are just half an hour away from Heathrow, are about to embark on our 8th Viking cruise and have nearly always had direct flights with BA. In fact, for this latest cruise which starts in Barcelona the Viking rep first suggested flights from and to Gatwick but readily agreed to change them to from and to Heathrow at our request.  

 

[Mike07]

5 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Absolutely.  In addition, passengers on the same cruise, flying from A to B, may have different flights from one another.  Much depends on the inventory that Viking (or any cruiseline) has available to them for any particular flight and date.  And FWIW, the inventory available is usually NOT the same as what you would find from the airline directly.

 

 

 

 

 

Within Viking's inventory, is Ryan Air (or another European ULCC) an acceptable provider?

 

[Mike07]

8 hours ago, tom_uk said:

 

I understand that it's way too early to worry about flight times, but I'm wondering which airlines Viking might use for flights like these. We were told that they would be with a scheduled airline rather than a low cost carrier. Does anyone have any suggestions or experience as which airlines Viking might use within Europe?

 

 

People like to bark around here especially about airlines. FWIW, on a route from CONUS to CDG, I see: KLM, BA, Virgin, Air France, Lufthansa and of course Delta/United/American. Granted, because you originate from the UK, that could change everything.

Edited April 8 by Mike07

[shipboy]

24 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

 

 

Within Viking's inventory, is Ryan Air (or another European ULCC) an acceptable provider?

 

There are no budget airlines in Viking’s UK preferred list, hopefully the link below works:

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/my-trip/preferred-airlines/index.html

Edited April 8 by shipboy

[Mike07]

9 minutes ago, shipboy said:

There are no budget airlines in Viking’s UK preferred list, hopefully the link below works:

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/my-trip/preferred-airlines/index.html

 

 

Well, that should solve OP's question then. It could be any one of those. Probably not Air China, Emirates, Cathay, and a number of others though!

Edited April 8 by Mike07

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, shipboy said:

There are no budget airlines in Viking’s UK preferred list, hopefully the link below works:

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/my-trip/preferred-airlines/index.html

 

Don't forget one key word on that website (bolded for emphasis):

 

"For your convenience, here are links to many of our air partners’ websites. "

 

Which means that the list is not all-inclusive.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Mike07 said:

People like to bark around here especially about airlines. FWIW, on a route from CONUS to CDG, I see: KLM, BA, Virgin, Air France, Lufthansa and of course Delta/United/American. Granted, because you originate from the UK, that could change everything.

 

KLM, BA, Virgin and Lufthansa do not fly non-stop between the USA and CDG.  What you are seeing are code-shares on flights actually operated by Air France, American, Delta and United.

 

Or you are seeing connections through AMS, LHR, FRA or MUC.

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

2 hours ago, Mike07 said:

Within Viking's inventory, is Ryan Air (or another European ULCC) an acceptable provider?

 

Acceptable to whom?  And in what ways are you asking "acceptable"?

 

 

[Mike07]

11 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Acceptable to whom?  And in what ways are you asking "acceptable"?

 

 

 

 

Hey man, I'd take the toilet seat if it could be exclusively issued to me.

 

 

[tom_uk]

9 hours ago, shipboy said:

There are no budget airlines in Viking’s UK preferred list, hopefully the link below works:

 

https://www.vikingcruises.co.uk/oceans/my-trip/preferred-airlines/index.html

Thanks! - that's pretty much the information I was looking for. So no Ryanair, etc, thank goodness; and no TUI either. I've nothing against any of those airlines - I've used them, and others like them, in the past and had perfectly good flights. However, their baggage policies don't fit with a 10-night land/cruise package.

 

I take the point mentioned by FlyerTalker that this may not be a complete list, and it's also the case that it's rather out of date: Alitalia no longer exists, and ITA (Alitalia's sort-of replacement) isn't in the list. But it gives a general picture that I'm happy with.

 

Many thanks to all who answered.

[portisheadblue]

We live near Bristol and always prefer to fly from there …. Viking have been very happy to route us from Bristol via Amsterdam on KLM to almost anywhere in the world. We don’t mind the connection in AMS as the opposite is 2 to 3 hour taxi ride each way to/from LHR plus an extra £400 cost to us.

 

We did ask Viking several times to fly us with Easyjet but they politely declined.

 

Also, we find the U.K. flight office to be very helpful.

[island lady]

23 hours ago, natshala said:

I see you’re in the UK. We’re from the US and just returned from Rome. In our case, Viking used Air Canada. 

 

We as well, but was mostly on their sister airline...Lufthansa.   

[FlyerTalker]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

We as well, but was mostly on their sister airline...Lufthansa.   

 

Not sure why you say "sister".  Lufthansa and Air Canada have completely separate ownerships, unlike Lufthansa's ownership of Austrian, Brussels, Swiss, Edelweiss, Discover and Eurowings.  Those are the sister companies of LH.

 

Now, they are together in the same alliance, but that is far from being tied together.  There isn't even a joint operating agreement.

 

 

[island lady]

13 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Not sure why you say "sister".  Lufthansa and Air Canada have completely separate ownerships, unlike Lufthansa's ownership of Austrian, Brussels, Swiss, Edelweiss, Discover and Eurowings.  Those are the sister companies of LH.

 

Now, they are together in the same alliance, but that is far from being tied together.  There isn't even a joint operating agreement.

 

 

 

OK...so why did we have to check in at the Air Canada desk for our Lufthansa flight out of Amsterdam after our 3 week European Sojourn?   I would say there is a bit of relationship there.  In fact it was a bit confusing as we actually walked down to the Lufthansa to check in and then was directed to the Air Canada check in instead for our flight on Lufthansa.    

 

Or would you rather I call them "cousins"?     🙃 

 

 

[FlyerTalker]

3 minutes ago, island lady said:

OK...so why did we have to check in at the Air Canada desk for our Lufthansa flight out of Amsterdam after our 3 week European Sojourn?   I would say there is a bit of relationship there.  In fact it was a bit confusing as we actually walked down to the Lufthansa to check in and then was directed to the Air Canada check in instead for our flight on Lufthansa.    

 

Or would you rather I call them "cousins"?     🙃 

 

 

 

You were likely on a code-share flight.  And you ALWAYS check in with the operating carrier.  Who's airplane was it?  Just because it has an LH flight number doesn't make it a Lufthansa flight.

 

You don't specify the routing, so it's conjecture on my part.  And it is only confusing if you don't follow the airline instructions which tell you where to check in.

 

 

[island lady]

1 hour ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

You were likely on a code-share flight.  And you ALWAYS check in with the operating carrier.  Who's airplane was it?  Just because it has an LH flight number doesn't make it a Lufthansa flight.

 

You don't specify the routing, so it's conjecture on my part.  And it is only confusing if you don't follow the airline instructions which tell you where to check in.

 

 

 

Sorry, but there were no instructions of the sort.   And the jet had large printed letters on the side of it as being "Lufthansa" plus we were directed to the Lufthansa first class lounge during our lay over, as we were told at the Air Canada lounge entrance.  

 

Routing:   Amsterdam to Montreal, Montreal to Orlando.  

 

So you can call it anything you want....but for me:  If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck... 😉 

 

Please .....let's stop splitting hairs here, OK?  It was a jet, it got me home, and that was what was important.  

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9 by island lady