by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 9, 2015 | Austrian, Featured, On Board Experience, Passenger Experience |
AUSTRIAN has quietly introduced extremely strict monitoring of Carry On luggage at their hub in Vienna and at gateways throughout Europe. According to OS, this is in direct response to the new fare concepts (Light/Classic/Flex) that were launched on October 1 that are specific to the European market.
Specifically in Vienna, enforcement of the carry on policy will take place just before the Boarding Pass Control Gates in Terminal 3. Similar methods will be put in place throughout OS’ Euro network. The scrutiny will be ‘Pass/Fail’. Either your bag fits and you can proceed, or it doesn’t and you will be forced to check the bag for a cost if your fare class does not allow for a free checked bag.
OS says this is being done to ensure cabin safety and expedited boarding. However looking through those comments, it comes down to revenue. I have no doubt that the ‘Light’ fare option will by far be the most popular fare class under the new program. ‘Light’ is the only fare class out of the 3 that has a fee for checking a bag, so it only makes sense that OS wants to stop people circumventing the luggage policy by having ‘slighty’ non compliant carry on luggage taken on board. If it was about safety and expedited boarding the policy would have been strictly enforced for years.
Regardless of class, any passenger wishing to board an OS flight for travel within Europe will be forced to comply. The policy for baggage size has always been there, but now it looks as though revenue models are forcing it to be enforced. In short, EVERY bag is now subject to the scrutiny.
Be mindful if you are arriving to VIE from a transcontinental destination. Your bag might have been allowed on a 777 or 767 but it will be subject to the new scrutiny if you are connecting onward on an OS flight from VIE, you’ll need to pay to check the bag if it doesn’t fit the carry on luggage sizer.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 6, 2015 | Austrian, Featured, Miles & More |
After being away for over a week on an African Safari trip, I come back to a bit of a backlog of deals and opportunities that have come from the LH Group.
Perhaps the most exciting one is news of the availability of Mileage Bargain deals for Business Class award redemption on Austrian through Miles & More.
Typically, Miles & More offers great deals each month that allow for Business Class award bookings for nearly 50% less miles than the normal schedule. This translates into booking a Biz Class seat for only 55,000 miles instead of 105,000 miles.
But this deal is a bit different from the others….
For the rest of the year, Miles & More members can redeem their miles on Austrian for Business Class travel between the USA and a variety of Austrian destinations for only 55,000 miles. The deal seems to be available in both directions: Ex-USA and Ex-Austria and is available for travel between mid-October and end of December. Inventory is fairly good and widely available throughout the next 3 months.
You won’t find this deal on the Meilenschnappchen website.
Just log into your Miles & More account and search for travel between US and Austrian destinations and you’ll see the 55k deal come up in the search results.
H/T: FlyerTalk’s Oliver2002
by Lufthansa Flyer | Sep 20, 2015 | Austrian, Brussels, Business Class, Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa, Swiss |
LUFTHANSA’s current Business Class fare sale covers travel to Europe between late November and early December and is time perfectly for the opening of the Christmas Market season.
As most of you know, Cities, Towns, and Villages throughout Europe show their Christmas spirit by converting their Plazas and Squares into places where you can enjoy local crafts, great food and mulled wine. It’s one of my favorite times of year to be in Europe.
The fare sale shows fares as LOW as $2300 between New York and Frankfurt. Other east coast departures range between $2300 and $2800 to a variety of German cities. West coast fares start in the low $3000 range. Fares to European cities within LH’s network start in the low $3000s and range up to about $3700.
In past sales, the prices were valid for travel throughout most of November and December, however in the case of this fare, the travel period is only a week long.
Departures must take place between November 21 and November 27, while return travel must take place between November 26 and December 2 and tickets must be purchased 60 days in advance of your departure. The sale ends on September 28.
Pay attention when booking your ticket. Lufthansa, Air Canada, United, SWISS, Austrian and Brussels are all eligible to operate your flights and the miles you earn can vary depending on which airline you fly.
