Standard Air

For your convenience, you can purchase roundtrip trans-oceanic air travel directly from Viking in conjunction with your river cruise or cruisetour. Viking’s air packages are a great value because they include your transfers between airport and ship or hotel. Plus, when you reserve your air with Viking, you get the best routes available, assistance from a dedicated airline sales team, after-hours support and travel protection coverage when you purchase Viking’s all-inclusive policy. Select from more than 165 different gateways (additional gateways available); once a reservation has been made, we will confirm your flight schedules 75 days before departure.

Viking Air Plus Program

Viking Air Plus is our exclusive custom air department, for guests who have specific travel needs or special requests. Depending upon your travel schedules, requests and flexibility, our team of experienced Viking Air Plus agents will work with you and can assist with the following services for both coach and business class air:

• Deviate to an alternate destination city or stay extra time before or after your cruise or cruisetour (click here to see a list of destinations offered)
• Stop over in another destination such as Paris, Hong Kong, Jerusalem or a U.S. gateway
(click here to see list of other stopovers)
• Nonstop flights or the most direct air service available
• Reservations with airlines that accept frequent flyer mileage
• Travel on specific airlines or air routing
• Confirmation of flight schedules at time of reservation—no waiting once deposit and Passenger Information Forms are received
• Coordination of family, friends or groups traveling together from the same or different cities
• Premium economy class for greater comfort and amenities, where available

Please note: A $50-per-person nonrefundable fee applies, as well as any additional airline-imposed charges for premium air carriers and services, date and city deviations and stopovers. Transfers are not included for date or city deviations.

Inquire about Viking Air Plus services when making a reservation.

Frequent Flyer Upgrades

For your convenience, Viking River Cruises Air Plus department can upgrade your flight using your frequent flyer miles for a $100-per-person service fee (which includes the $50 Air Plus service charge). A few details to keep in mind:

• The average transoceanic flight upgrade requires 35,000–50,000 frequent flyer miles per passenger, per direction (see your specific airline mileage plan for details)
• Additional airline fees may apply, and you may need to pay a higher airfare to qualify. You will be advised of any and all additional charges prior to ticketing
• The frequent flyer program must be U.S. registered and applied to travel from a U.S. gateway
• The program applies to airline frequent flyer programs only; airline-affiliated credit card mileage programs do not qualify

Once the service is requested and Passenger Information Form (PIF) completed, a Viking Air Plus agent will contact your airline and investigate the availability of such an upgrade. The service is guaranteed—if we are unable to obtain an upgrade your $100 service fee will be refunded in full. For an upgrade request on an existing booking, please contact Viking Air Plus toll-free at 1-877-523-0580 Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Pacific Time.

Click on a Partner Logo to Learn More

Premium Economy Air

Viking is the only river cruise line to offer Premium Economy class air accommodations. Available on transoceanic flights, Premium Economy offers a more comfortable seat and additional amenities—all for a significantly lower add-on price than that of Business Class. Premium Economy is available for many Viking destinations on flights by Air France, All Nippon, British Airways, Scandinavian Airlines and United Airlines.

Premium Economy Amenities - Up to 22% More Legroom

Amenities vary by airline and may include the following:
• Up to 22% extra legroom, 9% extra seat width, 60% extra seat recline*
• Adjustable headrests, legrests or lumbar support
• Personal entertainment system, laptop power port, noise-reducing headset
• Premium food service and/or complimentary bar drinks
• Private airport waiting area or lounge
• Fast-track security clearance (where available)
• Special check-in counter
• Additional baggage allowance
• Specially designed seats or special seating configuration

Premium Economy Class is an Air Plus service for which a nominal fee is charged.

*Please note United Airlines Premium Economy only offers extra legroom.

Paid Business or Premium Economy class travel is guaranteed on trans-oceanic flights only; travel in economy class may be required within the United States, Europe or Asia. The option to pay for an upgrade on these flights is available through Viking’s Air Plus department. Call for details.

Additional Gateway Cities

For travel to Europe, Russia or Egypt, please click on the appropriate link below and add the amount to the New York air price for your selected itinerary and departure date. For travel to China, add the amount to the Los Angeles air price for your selected itinerary and departure date.

For cities not listed, inquire about Viking Air Plus services.

Click here for 2010 Additional Gateway Cities

Click here for 2010 Additional Gateway Cities for Egypt

PIF & Flight Reservations

For security reasons, Viking River Cruises must have your completed Passenger Information Form (PIF) on file. The PIF is also required to make your flight arrangements and may be needed to obtain an immigration visa for some countries. We strongly suggest you complete and submit all PIFs the same day you make your reservation. For your convenience, you may download and print a PDF version of the form or fill it out online:

Download and print the Passenger Information Form

Fill the Passenger Information Form out online

PLEASE NOTE: The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has implemented a new policy, Secure Flight Program, that requires specific passenger data to be collected and provided prior to your flight departure. Under Secure Flight, airlines will gather a passenger’s full name, date of birth and gender when making an airline reservation to determine if the passenger is a match to the No Fly or Selectee lists. It is very important that your full name matches your passport exactly, including any middle names. By providing this information in advance, most passengers will not experience any differences from the way they traveled before. It is important to ensure the data provided exactly matches the document presented at time of check-in. This information will be required in order for a boarding pass to be issued by the airline; if this data is not provided or is incorrect, it could cause a delay during the check-in process. For more information about this new policy, please visit the TSA website here.

Confirming Your Flights

Flights can be reserved up to 320 days prior to departure, and flight schedules will be released 75 days prior to departure. Viking River Cruises utilizes contracted block space as outlined by each specific carrier; therefore, not all flights and routings may be available. Flight schedules/seat assignments may be changed or cancelled without prior notice at any time. Viking River Cruises attempts to accommodate guests traveling together; however, this can only be guaranteed by our Viking Air Plus service.

Our Air Department often secures auto-generated seats; should you want to make a change, please contact the airline directly. Flight schedules, seat assignments, and luggage restrictions (fees may apply) are subject to change by the airlines at any time. Viking River Cruises will make every effort to notify guests of these changes to flight schedules or luggage restrictions. However, we recommend that you contact your airline directly via website or phone at least 72 hours prior to your departure to confirm current policies for how much time to allow prior to check-in, carry-on or checked luggage restrictions, whether you can lock your bags, prohibited items, and luggage count and weight allowances for flights to and from your destination.

Paid Business or Premium Economy class travel is guaranteed on trans-oceanic flights only; travel in economy class may be required within the United States, Europe or Asia. The option to pay for an upgrade on these flights is available through Viking’s Air Plus department. Call for details.

Special Requests

Airline arrangements such as seat assignments, special meal requests, and frequent flyer credit may be determined by the airline. It is recommended that you or your travel agent contact your airline to make these requests.

Flights & Forced Overnight

Due to airline schedules beyond our control, international flights may require a hotel overnight at a U.S./international gateway. Viking River Cruises can assist with hotel reservations, but all associated costs for the overnight, including hotel and food costs, are at the guest's expense.

Luggage Restrictions

Until recently, most international airline baggage restrictions allowed each passenger two free checked bags of up to 50 or 70 pounds each and one carry-on. Several air carriers have recently adopted policies of charging passengers an amount, in addition to the fare already paid, for any checked baggage or for more than one checked bag. While airline reservations are made when deposits and Passenger Information Forms (PIFs) are received, Viking River Cruises air department generally issues airline tickets 45 days prior to departure and many of the new baggage restrictions apply based on when your air ticket is issued.

Each airline has its own rules and restrictions for domestic and international travel; we suggest you contact your airline(s) directly to verify checked luggage and carry-on restrictions for your flights to and from your home airport, as there may be fees for additional or overweight luggage. It is possible a domestic airline ticket may be issued in conjunction with your international ticket. Domestic travel is within or between the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada. Domestic luggage restrictions often differ from international ones.

Click on the link below to see the most up-to-date restrictions we have received from each of our partner airlines.

Click here for Luggage Restrictions

China Travelers

You will travel on domestic China flights during your trip. Viking River Cruises monitors luggage restrictions for these intra-China flights and luggage allowance is very limited and strictly enforced. On intra-China flights, a guest may carry on 1 piece only; with dimensions not to exceed 8 x 16 x 22 inches (20 x 40 x 55 cm) and the total weight not to exceed 11 lbs. (5 kg). There are no size or piece restrictions for checked luggage allowance for intra-China flights; however guests are allowed a total of 44.2 pounds (20 kilograms) for all pieces. Any item in excess of the above restrictions must be checked and excess charges range from $100 - $200 per piece based on weight and distance travelled. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted in carry-on luggage.

On intra-China flights, it is currently recommended to lock checked luggage. Therefore, we suggest you bring a luggage lock for each bag you will be checking.

Viking Preferred Airline Links

Viking River Cruises Air Accommodations

Transfers are included with roundtrip airfare purchase. Transfer vouchers and other details will be provided approximately three weeks before your departure in your final document package.

Purchasing Your Own Air Accommodations

If air is not purchased from Viking River Cruises, transfers between the airport and ship/hotel may be purchased separately at an additional cost per person, per direction, and are available to guests whose flights arrive or depart on embarkation/disembarkation day only. Embarkation (ship) check-in is generally at 3:00 p.m.; earlier arrivals may relax in the lounge or leave your luggage aboard while you explore the port. Check-in time at most hotels is often in the early afternoon and if you arrive earlier the hotel may allow you to check in if your room is ready or will store your luggage so you can explore on your own. On departure day, guests disembarkation (ship) is generally at 10:00 a.m. and hotel check-out is generally at 12:00 p.m.

If you made your own flight arrangements and purchased our transfers separately or would like to book/purchase our transfers you can request assistance by phone or click on the link below.

Transfer Request Form