by Lufthansa Flyer | Sep 21, 2012 | Airlines |
With the launch of Apple’s iOS 6 operating system, Lufthansa passengers can now use the ‘Passbook’ App to retrieve and store their boarding passes.
Gone are the days of needing to be connected to the internet to retrieve mobile boarding passes moments before passing through security or boarding. Now, when you check-in online for your flight you can choose to have your boarding passes sent to ‘Passbook’ for retrieval at anytime, anyplace regardless of internet connectivity. The app is intuitive enough to know your flight information and will automatically bring your boarding pass to your ‘lock’ screen at the appropriate time.
To start using the App for Lufthansa boarding passes, use the Passbook app to download the Lufthansa Passbook ‘plug-in’.
In a planned update set for later this year, Lufthansa will add an ‘Update’ feature that will automatically update your boarding pass should gate or other departure information change. This ‘Update’ feature will be automatic and not require you to do anything.
The timing of this is perfect, in a few days I’ll be flying to Germany and Slovakia with the new iPhone 5 that I got today, so I’ll be able to see just how well this app works!!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Sep 21, 2012 | Airlines |
Swiss has quietly launched their Business Class fare sale for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and the fares are among the lowest that I’ve seen in perhaps 2 years or so.
For those of you who have not experienced SWISS before, this fare sale is a great opportunity to experience their fantastic hospitality. Having had flow Swiss’ Business Class product on various occasions, I can honestly say it is among the best business class products that you’ll find anywhere. In my opinion, their Business Class service to Europe is better than most US Airline’s First Class product.
The fares are fantastic. From New York to destinations such as Zurich, Venice, Barcelona and Berlin you can fly roundtrip from $1650 to about $1780. From Chicago to the same destinations the fares range from the low $2000 to $2500 range. From San Francisco, fares range from $2500 to $3000. For those on the west coast, it may make sense to position yourself to the east coast to benefit from the lowest fares.
Availability is plentiful and the vast majority of flights are operated on Swiss Aircraft (so you won’t be forced to fly a carrier that you would rather not!).
As far as terms and conditions, the only one that I had seen was that departures need to happen between November 18 and 23. When I looked at some sample itineraries, the best prices for return dates were for November 28 and 29.
This is a great chance for you to experience one of the best Business Class products in the industry. Flying SWISS’ Business Class is as much a part of a vacation as the destination itself!
Book and see for yourself! 🙂
For specific fares and additional details, please visit the SWISS Business Class Fare Sale Website.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Sep 19, 2012 | Airlines |
Being reported by Reuters today, Lufthansa will finally consolidate Regional and European operations into a new Low Cost Carrier (LCC) next year. The decision was made in a Supervisory Board meeting held Wednesday in Germany. The move is designed to create a better competitive environment for itself as it faces competition from LCC airlines such as EasyJet and Ryanair.
The plan calls for the new airline to operate all flights (currently through Lufthansa Regional and Eurowings) within Germany and Europe that do not serve Frankfurt and Munich. In addition, Lufthansa’s existing LCC, Germanwings, will be merged into the new airline. This consolidation should lead to operational efficiencies since Lufthansa will only be dealing with one LCC within the airline group.
I really do like this move as it finally takes the various components of Lufthansa’s Regional, Eurowings and Germanwings operations and combines it into one division and more importantly under one brand.
A name has not yet been selected, but an announcement is expected to take place in the coming months. The “new” LCC will operate approximately 90 aircraft and expects to carry 18 million passengers annually.
‘Direct-4-You’ has been used internally as a “code name” for the project primarily because Germanwings’ IATA airline code is 4U. The name has actually grown on me and actually does make marketing sense. But we’ll see what the folks in Frankfurt decide….
The plan calls for the newly organized LCC to begin operations on January 1, 2013.
