Viking Air

[wendyp247]

Newbie to Viking Air. We just got our flight assignment for October.  They’ve only allowed 1:40 minutes between flights,  we are not comfortable with anything less than 2 hours between flights.How can I get flights with at least 2 hours  between flights. 
Flights are Orlando  to Newark to Barcelona.  The return flight is Buenos Aires to Miami to Orlando 

 

[Hanoj]

Have you logged onto to your MVJ account? From reading past comments, I believe you may have some ability to select other flights with Viking Air through your MVJ account. 

 

 

[OneSixtyToOne]

1 hour ago, wendyp247 said:

Newbie to Viking Air. We just got our flight assignment for October.  They’ve only allowed 1:40 minutes between flights,  we are not comfortable with anything less than 2 hours between flights.How can I get flights with at least 2 hours  between flights. 
Flights are Orlando  to Newark to Barcelona.  The return flight is Buenos Aires to Miami to Orlando 

 

You can see if there are alternate flights by checking MVJ and go to the “Manage My Air” page.  I do it all the time. You can also change your departure airport if another is close by and has better connections.

 

Until you are actually ticketed, you can change flights and seats.

Edited May 25 by OneSixtyToOne

[wendyp247]

21 minutes ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

You can see if there are alternate flights by checking MVJ and go to the “Manage My Air” page.  I do it all the time. You can also change your departure airport if another is close by and has better connections.

 

Until you are actually ticketed, you can change flights and seats.

 

[wendyp247]

I did check alternate flights and there’s an up charge of $1200+ to change flights.   I’ll never make the connection in Miami with only 1:45 minutes, since I need to go through customs. 
What is the Viking Plus Air ? 

[CDNPolar]

4 hours ago, wendyp247 said:

I did check alternate flights and there’s an up charge of $1200+ to change flights.   I’ll never make the connection in Miami with only 1:45 minutes, since I need to go through customs. 
What is the Viking Plus Air ? 

 

Viking Air Plus is a service that you pay for to Viking.

 

If you cannot find flights that you like that do not have this upcharge, then you can opt for Viking Air Plus.

 

Viking Air Plus will cost you per person and that can be either $100pp or $150pp.

 

What we do now is we wait like you have to see the flights chosen and alternative offered.  If there is no alternative that we like, then we go to Google Flights and airline websites and we research what we want in flights.  We have 2 or even 3 options.  Then we call Viking Air Plus (different number from Viking reservations, but they can connect you.)

 

Give Viking Air department your top choice and let them look it up.

 

Using Viking Air Plus does NOT eliminate the possibility of an Up-Charge.  

 

The flights you have been given now are part of Viking's air contract with specific airlines.  Some of the alternate choices with an Up-Charge are outside of Viking's air contract so that is why there is an additional charge.

 

Flights you choose yourself may come with Up-Charges.

 

We also before calling Air Plus, look at our choices and decide if we want to book the air ourselves.  If the price is comparable, or we can get the flights we want and Viking are asking for an Up-Charge, then we book ourselves.

 

If you book yourselves, you lose the included Viking transfers to and from the airport.

[Deb922]

Since the flight is in October, would it help to apply for and get global entry?

 

We recently applied, got conditional approval and were able to schedule our interview. It looks like Orlando is one of the airports that have interviews. Or you can interview when returning to Miami. 
 

Should cut down the time needed to get through customs and get to your next flight. 

[CDR2001]

46 minutes ago, Deb922 said:

Since the flight is in October, would it help to apply for and get global entry?

Global entry only applies when you return to the US, and from our experience, sometimes there is no special entry line. In the case of the original poster, I’d check independent flights and also call Air Plus. International flights often board one hour prior to scheduled departure. 

[Deb922]

Maybe I misunderstood. 
 

An hour and a half should be plenty for transfer in  Newark? No customs or security to go through. 
 

I thought they were referring to the outbound flight when they would have to clear customs and TSA in Miami. That flight had a layover of 1.5 hours. 
 

It’s not optimal but I wondered if global entry would cut down the time needed considerably. 
 

Since we are new to global entry, I thought that there was a dedicated line in Miami (the airport we clear customs in). I wasn’t aware that it wasn’t an option sometimes. 

Edited May 25 by Deb922

[Jjg34219]

Miami is a crap shoot

Sometimes we sit on the tarmac waiting for a gate

We use Mobile Passport Control and usually get thru Customs in less than 10 minutes

But then baggage claim is hell…have waited 45 mins for bags

Then you have security again…no pre check…one long line…usually another 30 minutes

[mariners]

Caveat, I don't know how Viking Air works so this might not be possible, but this is what I would try to do if I was not comfortable with the connection time:

 

If your arrival in Miami from Buenos Aires is early enough, if possible, have Viking Air switch your flight from Miami to Orlando to a later time.  Or, if possible, keep all of the flights except for the last segment from Miami to Orlando, and book that one yourself for times that work for you?

 

I find it hard to believe that if all other flights remain the same that there is an upcharge of $1200+ for that one segment. 

 

For those posters who use Viking Air, or Viking Air Plus, are either of these options possible?

 

[island lady]

2 hours ago, Deb922 said:

Since the flight is in October, would it help to apply for and get global entry?

 

We recently applied, got conditional approval and were able to schedule our interview. It looks like Orlando is one of the airports that have interviews. Or you can interview when returning to Miami. 
 

Should cut down the time needed to get through customs and get to your next flight. 

 

Filled out forms for Global entry early June last year.  Conditional approval took six months.  No appointments available at any time for Orlando (though we live 35 miles away).  Had to travel 2 hours south to Ft. Pierce.  Took another few months to get interview appointment.  Once that was done though, it was only a couple of weeks before we got our cards earlier this month.  

 

Total time from application to receiving cards:  Almost 12 months.  

[janetcbl]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Viking Air Plus is a service that you pay for to Viking.

 

If you cannot find flights that you like that do not have this upcharge, then you can opt for Viking Air Plus.

 

Viking Air Plus will cost you per person and that can be either $100pp or $150pp.

 

What we do now is we wait like you have to see the flights chosen and alternative offered.  If there is no alternative that we like, then we go to Google Flights and airline websites and we research what we want in flights.  We have 2 or even 3 options.  Then we call Viking Air Plus (different number from Viking reservations, but they can connect you.)

 

Give Viking Air department your top choice and let them look it up.

 

Using Viking Air Plus does NOT eliminate the possibility of an Up-Charge.  

 

The flights you have been given now are part of Viking's air contract with specific airlines.  Some of the alternate choices with an Up-Charge are outside of Viking's air contract so that is why there is an additional charge.

 

Flights you choose yourself may come with Up-Charges.

 

We also before calling Air Plus, look at our choices and decide if we want to book the air ourselves.  If the price is comparable, or we can get the flights we want and Viking are asking for an Up-Charge, then we book ourselves.

 

If you book yourselves, you lose the included Viking transfers to and from the airport.

Exactly! Could not have said it any better myself!

[Deb922]

Global Entry is so strange. 
 

By comparison, we applied in February, got conditional approval a week later. 
 

We don’t live in Florida but went to a border crossing in Michigan, could get an interview any time we wanted. I know the interview process is different at the airports. 
 

We could have waited until our trip in June but decided to get the interview over with. 
 

Happy to get the information that Miami is a bit of a crapshoot as far as getting through customs and TSA. It will be the first time we’ve connected through that particular airport 

[OneSixtyToOne]

3 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

 

Viking Air Plus is a service that you pay for to Viking.

 

If you cannot find flights that you like that do not have this upcharge, then you can opt for Viking Air Plus.

 

Viking Air Plus will cost you per person and that can be either $100pp or $150pp.

 

What we do now is we wait like you have to see the flights chosen and alternative offered.  If there is no alternative that we like, then we go to Google Flights and airline websites and we research what we want in flights.  We have 2 or even 3 options.  Then we call Viking Air Plus (different number from Viking reservations, but they can connect you.)

 

Give Viking Air department your top choice and let them look it up.

 

Using Viking Air Plus does NOT eliminate the possibility of an Up-Charge.  

 

The flights you have been given now are part of Viking's air contract with specific airlines.  Some of the alternate choices with an Up-Charge are outside of Viking's air contract so that is why there is an additional charge.

 

Flights you choose yourself may come with Up-Charges.

 

We also before calling Air Plus, look at our choices and decide if we want to book the air ourselves.  If the price is comparable, or we can get the flights we want and Viking are asking for an Up-Charge, then we book ourselves.

 

If you book yourselves, you lose the included Viking transfers to and from the airport.

This is exactly what we do. Great concise, thoughtful answer.

 

We always check google first to see what flights go where and what equipment is typical. On our upcoming trip to Iceland, I changed flights to a different carrier and type of plane because it was a 2-4-2 seat configuration, eliminating the dreaded middle seat issue for LAX to JFK. Did it all through MVJ at no additional charge.

Edited May 25 by OneSixtyToOne

[Mike07]

7 hours ago, wendyp247 said:

I did check alternate flights and there’s an up charge of $1200+ to change flights.   I’ll never make the connection in Miami with only 1:45 minutes, since I need to go through customs. 
What is the Viking Plus Air ? 

 

 

Honestly.... would not worry about it. There is only so much you can do to control flights.

 

If you're trying to make MIA --> MCO, there should be multiple AA flights per day and if you miss one, at worst, you stand by another plane and maybe have to take a middle seat.

 

In my short, but active Viking Air, I have had Lufthansa have a one our delay on a like a 60 minute connection and still made the flight in Frankfurt. I have had what was to be a 5 hour layover turn into me running to the international gate and boarding after my number had been called and mid-way to two-thirds through the boarding process.

 

Also, while I was not personally on this flight, I have seen the flight into Santiago, Chile, from United, arrive on the ground 14 hours late... and considering United has a massive operation in Santiago with one single flight from there every day... yeah, that was fun.

 

While 1:45 is cutting it short, it is a valid connection, and if you miss the flight b/c of immigration, talk to AA or call the Viking Air Emergency telephone number.

 

You ask a valid question OP, and I'm not trying to belittle you with this final thought, but we're about to enter one of the busiest, if not busiest air travel seasons of all time.... Worrying about a valid, 1:45 hour connection with everything else going on... don't waste your time. Re-read my sentence above where I had a 5 hour layover turn into me running to the gates.

[island lady]

19 minutes ago, Deb922 said:

Global Entry is so strange. 
 

By comparison, we applied in February, got conditional approval a week later. 
 

We don’t live in Florida but went to a border crossing in Michigan, could get an interview any time we wanted. I know the interview process is different at the airports. 
 

We could have waited until our trip in June but decided to get the interview over with. 
 

Happy to get the information that Miami is a bit of a crapshoot as far as getting through customs and TSA. It will be the first time we’ve connected through that particular airport 

 

Ironically...there were a long list of available appointments for interviews for Michigan.  Guess I could have flown up there and visited my old "stompin' grounds".  😄   Born and raised "Michigander" here.   Populace in Florida....ugg...getting more packed all the time.  But at least I am not shoveling snow any longer.  😉 

 

Nice thing we will appreciate is the TSA select being included in GE.  Our home airport is Orlando...always very long lines in the regular boarding.  That airport is nuts with crowds all the time.  Will love using it for the first time this Tuesday.  

 

Coming back from Viking river cruise through Montreal this last year was totally crazy.  Over an hour wait to get our face to face with Customs.  Global Entry pax walked right up immediately.  That is when I finally told myself...we are getting that!  

[wendyp247]

6 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Filled out forms for Global entry early June last year.  Conditional approval took six months.  No appointments available at any time for Orlando (though we live 35 miles away).  Had to travel 2 hours south to Ft. Pierce.  Took another few months to get interview appointment.  Once that was done though, it was only a couple of weeks before we got our cards earlier this month.  

 

Total time from application to receiving cards:  Almost 12 months.  

 

[tarhoosier]

I was searching for Global Entry interview times and sites three years ago and nothing within reason was available. Then I learned that (at that time) appointments reset on the morning of the first day of each month. Open the site early that morning and plenty of choices. "Interview" was apparently to determine that I was a real person. Less than five minutes.

[taiwan_girl]

On our Viking cruise over the New Year, we had a tight connection in Frankfurt.  We were quite surprised to see a Viking rep (Im sure a contractor) just after we exited the gangway with a Viking sign with our names on it who helped guide us to our connecting gate.  We had Viking Air and he said the service was provided by Viking since we had a tight connection.

[Deb922]

11 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Nice thing we will appreciate is the TSA select being included in GE.  Our home airport is Orlando...always very long lines in the regular boarding.  That airport is nuts with crowds all the time.  Will love using it for the first time this Tuesday.  

 

Coming back from Viking river cruise through Montreal this last year was totally crazy.  Over an hour wait to get our face to face with Customs.  Global Entry pax walked right up immediately.  That is when I finally told myself...we are getting that!  

Same for us. A horrible experience in Chicago in December from a river cruise. Long waits. Rude TSA agents. Husband got pulled aside for more screening. Which I hear can still happen with TSA Precheck. 
 

After that trip, I was adamant that we do global entry. 
 

Enjoy your trip!

[AveSaloon]

1 hour ago, Deb922 said:

 Rude TSA agents. Husband got pulled aside for more screening. Which I hear can still happen with TSA Precheck.

 

And which can still happen with Global Entry.

 

 

[CDNPolar]

8 hours ago, Deb922 said:

Same for us. A horrible experience in Chicago in December from a river cruise. Long waits. Rude TSA agents. Husband got pulled aside for more screening. Which I hear can still happen with TSA Precheck. 
 

After that trip, I was adamant that we do global entry. 
 

Enjoy your trip!

 

6 hours ago, AveSaloon said:

 

And which can still happen with Global Entry.

 

 

 

Absolutely.  No advance clearance protects you from random - or dare I say targeted - screenings.

 

We were transiting through Atlanta and if any of you have seen "Border Security", we were stopped by these two random guys in plain clothes but a badge hanging around their neck, and taken into a screening room.  

 

We have Nexus (Global Entry) and TSA Pre-Check... it does not matter.

 

Same when we arrive back in Canada and go through the final Customs check once we get our luggage - this status does not stop us from being pulled aside and having all our bags searched.

[island lady]

10 hours ago, AveSaloon said:

 

And which can still happen with Global Entry.

 

 

 

Though in a much shorter line.  😉 

[island lady]

12 hours ago, Deb922 said:

Same for us. A horrible experience in Chicago in December from a river cruise. Long waits. Rude TSA agents. Husband got pulled aside for more screening. Which I hear can still happen with TSA Precheck. 
 

After that trip, I was adamant that we do global entry. 
 

Enjoy your trip!

 

Thanks.  At least this one is all domestic.  No passports required.  😉