Lufthansa Expands Automatic Check-In Program

As a result of a successful rollout of Automatic Check In for Miles & More passengers in Germany and Italy Lufthansa today announced the expansion of the program to more countries within the Schengen area. This expansion will cover 400 routes.

Under the program Miles & More members can elect at time of booking to be automatically checked into their flights 23 hours in advance and receive their seat assigment.

The press release went on to say that Lufthansa expects to expand this program in the near future to non Miles & More members as well.

I’m hoping other carriers are looking at this. I see it as a huge convenience to be automatically checked in and having my boarding passes emailed to me or sent to my mobile device.

Here is Lufthansa’s Press Release:

Lufthansa offers automatic check-in
New service now available on approximately 400 Lufthansa routes

East Meadow, NY, January 27, 2012 – As a new service, Lufthansa is expanding its automatic check-in service and now offering this perk on approximately 400 routes within the Schengen Area – an area comprised of 26 European countries that operate very much like a single state for international travel. The service, which already exists in Germany and Italy, has already proven to be very popular because of the time savings and convenience it offers passengers.

Passengers with an existing booking are automatically checked in 23 hours prior to their departure and will receive an electronic boarding pass with their reserved seat number shortly after, which they can choose to have sent to them by email or to an Internet-enabled mobile phone. The service is available to all members of the Miles & More frequent flyer program who have selected the automatic check-in option under “Travel services” in their customer profile. In the event of a change in travel plans, passengers with a re-bookable ticket have the option of cancelling their online check-in at lufthansa.com or by calling the Lufthansa Service Center.

Passengers traveling with luggage can check in their bags at a baggage drop-off counter or at a check-in kiosk on presentation of their boarding pass. Seats can also be changed online via a mobile phone or at a self-service check-in kiosk.

In the coming months, Lufthansa expects to expand the automatic check-in service across its global route network and make it available for all flight bookings, thus allowing passengers who are not Miles & More members to take advantage of this popular service.

About Lufthansa
One of the world’s largest and most prestigious airlines, Lufthansa currently flies to 211 destinations in 84 countries, with hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, and with its recent acquisition of Austrian Airlines and SWISS – Vienna and Zurich. From its 22 North American gateways, Lufthansa— recently voted by Fortune as one of the five most admired airlines in the world— and its partners serve over 450 destinations in more than 120 countries. An industry innovator, Lufthansa has long been committed to environmental care and sustainability, operating the most technically-advanced and fuel-efficient fleet in the world. Its long-haul fleet to and from North America includes the Boeing 747-400, as well as the Airbus A300 sub fleet. Currently, Lufthansa has over 150 new aircraft worth about $18 billion on order. It will be the largest European operator of the A380 and is also the launch customer for the new Boeing 747-8, the industries’ two most fuel-efficient passenger aircraft. Known for its premium services, Lufthansa continues its $150 million program earmarked for building new or upgrading existing lounge facilities across its worldwide network and will spend more than $1.4 billion in new onboard products and services by 2015. In 2010, Lufthansa re-launched its broadband wireless Internet service onboard, FlyNet. For more information or reservations, visit www.lufthansa.com.

Star Alliance and Skyteam Timetable Updates

In this installment of Timetable updates:

Star Alliance: Air Canada reintroduces service to JFK and Thai reduces some service to europe.

Skyteam: Air France is reducing service to India and Aeroflot is increasing service to US, Cuba and China and South Korea.

STAR ALLIANCE:

AIR CANADA:

Toronto(YYZ)-New York(JFK): Effective May 3 will begin 3x/day service.
Toroton(YYZ)-New York(LGA): Effective May 1 will add additional daily service bringing total to 14x/day.

THAI:

Bangkok(BKK)-Copenhangen(CPH) effective between May 1 and June 15 is being reduced from 1x/day to 5x/week.
Bangkok(BKK)-Paris(CDG) effective between April 21 and June 30 is being reduced from 10x/week to 1x/day.
Bangkok(BKK)-Milan(MXP) effective March 25 is being reduced from 4x/week to 3x/week.
Bankkok(BKK)-Stockholm(ARN) between May 1 and June 15 is being reduced from 1x/day to 5x/week.

SKYTEAM:

Air France (all effective for summer timetable):

Paris(CDG)-Bangalore(BLR) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.
Paris(CDG)-Delhi(DEL) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.
Paris(CDG)-Mumbai(BOM) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.

Aeroflot:

Moscow(SVO)-New York(JFK) effective June 1 is increasing from 1x/day to 2x/day.
Moscow(SVO)-Beijing(PEK) effective August 31 is increasing from 14x/week to 16x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Havana(HAV) effective August 4 is increasing from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Los Angeles(LAX) effective May 30 is increasing from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Seoul(ICN) effective June 1 is increasing from 4x/week to 1x/day.

US Air Getting Serious About Potential Bid For American Airlines

It was reported on Wednesday that US Air has retained a team of advisor to explore possible options for acquiring American Airlines. I had written a little bit about this a few days ago when rumors first emerged.

Reuters had confirmed that US Airways did in fact retain Barclays Capital, Millstein & Co. and Latham & Watkins. This according to US Airways CEO Doug Parker.

In recent weeks there has been speculation that either Delta or US Air would attempt to acquire American Airlines which is currently under bankruptcy protection while it is being restructured. An acquisition of this size would obviously send shock waves through the industry and give regulators plenty of things to consider to ensure that the acquisition is fair to the marketplace.

For passengers, the much more important piece would be the implications such an acquisition would have to the airline alliances. American being a keystone member of Oneworld is critical to that alliance’s success. Would Oneworld be able to survive without a US based carrier? I have my doubts.

BUT…

On the other hand, an acquisition of American by US Air makes a lot of sense if US Air is going to use American as a conduit to remove itself from the Star Alliance where it seems to frequently play the role of Rodney Dangerfield and “doesn’t get any respect”. From this perspective, US Air making a move to Oneworld would be a stroke of genius and balance the power of alliances in the USA and give US Airways much stronger footing as an influential alliance member. Currently, United is by far and away the dominant Star Alliance carrier in the US and US Air will never have a chance to play a leading role in Star Alliance as long as the balance of power stays the way it is.

I can easily see US Air following this path and using American to change alliances. I don’t think there would be any hard feelings between Star Alliance and US Air.

Delta as a suitor makes less sense to me since they’ve already merged with Northwest and have plenty of market share and are a major part of Skyteam. Adding American to their “hangar” would certainly raise regulatory eyebrows. I can’t imagine that Delta would be allowed to combine 3 major airlines into one Mega-Airline.

This developing drama will continue to unfold and I’m sure there will be surprises along the way. But that makes it all the more interesting…….Keep in mind these are my opinions and nothing more!

Here is the excerpt from the Reuters article providing additional details:

Jan 25 (Reuters) – US Airways Group (LCC.N) confirmed on Wednesday that it hired advisers to explore a deal with bankrupt carrier American Airlines but said consolidation was no longer “imperative” for the industry’s health.

The news came the same day US Airways and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, buoyed by higher ticket prices and curtailed capacity.

US Airways hired Barclays Capital, Millstein & Co and Latham & Watkins to explore its options related to American parent AMR Corp, which filed for bankruptcy in November, US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker said during a conference call.

“We expect AMR will remain in bankruptcy and we anticipate that we and our advisers will be studying the situation for quite some time,” Parker, a long-time advocate of consolidation to cure the industry’s ills, told analysts and reporters.

People familiar with the matter have said US Airways and Delta are each exploring a merger with AM. Private equity firm TPG Capital TPG.UL is also considering a deal.

During a separate earnings call, Delta declined to comment on industry consolidation or a possible deal with AMR Corp.

The airline industry is two years into a recovery aided by capacity cuts and higher fares after a decade-long downturn that cascaded into a series of bankruptcies and airline mergers.

Parker pointed to the flurry of recent large-scale airline mergers as evidence that industry is no longer as fragmented as it was in the middle of the last decade.

In 2010, United Airlines and Continental Airlines combined to form United Continental, while Delta bought Northwest Airlines in 2008.

Shares of both airlines shot up on the New York Stock Exchange. Delta shares rose more than 6 percent, while US Airways stock jumped more than 17 percent.