SWISS Specials from STUTTGART to Mid-East and China

Invalid request error occurred.Waiting in my email this morning was a new fare sale from SWISS on flights originating ex-STUTTGART(From STUTTGART). These fares are a bit lower than normal for this time of year so they afford a great opportunity to experience fantastic SWISS hospitality.

Of the fare sale, one destination stands out as a great bargain. From 5 January to 21 March, Stuttgart-Beijing is only €597 which makes it generally €100-150 lower than competitor fares for the period.

Other attractive fares as part of the fare sale:

Traveling from 15 October to 19 December:

Stuttgart-Mumbai €597
Stuttgart-Nairobi €597
Stuttgart-Dubai €496

Traveling from 5 January to 21 March:

Stuttgart-Tel Aviv €350
Stuttgart-Dar es Salam €594
Stuttgart-Beijing €597

For more information on the fare sale including additional destinations, please visit SWISS’ fare sale website.

Star Alliance Route Announcements

BRUSSELS:

Brussels-Mombasa effective November 2 is CANCELED. This was the route’s originally planned start date.
Brussels-Krakow effective for Winter Timetable, 4x/week service is CANCELED.
Brussels-Warsaw effective for Winter Timetable, 1x/day service is CANCELED.

LUFTHANSA:

Berlin-Istanbul effective December 19 to January 6 will operate 4x/week.

SA EXPRESS (SOUTH AFRICAN):

Durban-Harare effective October 3 will BEGIN 3x/week service.

SAS (SCANDINAVIAN):

Copenhagen-Bangkok effective April 7, 2013 is CANCELED.

THAI:

Bangkok-Mumbai effective October 1 is reduced from 10x/week to 1x/DAY.

UNITED:

Guam-Okinawa effective October 31 is CANCELED.

PREVIOUS STAR ALLIANCE ROUTE ANNOUNCEMENTS

Courtesy: www.AirlineRoute.net

Lufthansa Decides To NOT Bid For Portugal’s TAP

After speculation that Lufthansa may have been a suitor for Portugal’s national carrier, Lufthansa has decided to not pursue the acquisition of TAP from the government of Portugal.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Portugese were gathering preliminary bids that were due last Friday and Lufthansa confirmed that it did not submit a bid. According to Lufthansa, they want to focus on their existing business and challenges and not bring on any other distractions at this time. At this point in their business cycle, I think it’s a wise decision.

Earlier this year, rumors had circulated that both Lufthansa and IAG (British Airways/Iberia parent) were interested in adding TAP to their collection of airlines. IAG also confirmed that it did not present a bid by Friday’s deadline.

The Portugese government committed that it would sell/privatize TAP by the end of the year and is under pressure to do so in light of economic challenges that Portugal is facing.

I’m not sure if this means the REAL end of the process or if it is just an opening gambit in order to get a better deal on the TAP assets. TAP does have a lot of value for the right price because of it’s existing routes to South America that Lufthansa and British Airways have always coveted.