by Lufthansa Flyer | May 9, 2015 | Boeing, Featured, Fleet Update, Frankfurt, Lufthansa, Munich |
Over the past week Lufthansa Group made 3 separate announcements concerning the fleet, including new orders and an update for existing orders.
The first announcement dealt with SWISS and their decision to order 3 additional 777 aircraft. These 777-300ERs will join the 6 777s already on order from Boeing and will begin to show up in the fleet during 2016. The 777 aircraft will allow SWISS to start retiring a portion of the 15 A340-300 aircraft currently in service.
SWISS now has 9 777-300ER aircraft on order.
Next, Lufthansa provided an update on their A350 order. Beginning at the end of 2016, the first of 25 A350s will start showing up in the fleet with the first handful of the type operating out of Munich and will allow for the gradual phase out of A330 and A340 aircraft. Ultimately Lufthansa will have 25 A350s in the fleet based in Frankfurt and Munich. One outstanding feature of the A350 is the fact that it will only take 3/4 of a gallon of fuel to carry one passenger 62 miles (2.9 liters per 100km). That equates to a 25% increase in fuel efficiency over most new aircraft today AND it’s 30% quieter.
LH’s new A350 will bring a distinct new look to the fleet in Frankfurt and Munich.
To round out the busy week of announcements, SWISS announced that it will be the first operator of the new Bombardier CS series beginning in the first half of 2016. In 2009, SWISS was announced as the launch customer for the type.
SWISS’ new Bombardier CS100
For those of you attending the Paris Air Show, Bombardier will have a CS100 on display in SWISS colors. Bombardier also plans to bring the SWISS CS100 to Zurich after the air show as part of its tour. Hopefully, all of the delays are behind the program and we can finally start seeing these new planes replace the aging Jumbolinos!
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 8, 2015 | Austrian, Brussels, Business Class, Featured, Lufthansa, Swiss |
Lufthansa is currently running a Business Class fare sale between the US and Europe that has fares starting as low as $2699. It’s been a little while since the last Biz Class fare sale, so it’s nice to finally see attractive pricing again!
The best deal appears to be travel between Houston and Stockholm, with fares running at only $2699. Otherwise fares start at the $2800-3200 range for departures from East Coast and Midwest gateways, while west coast departures range from the mid $3000 to low $4000 range.
Granted that these are not the lowest Business Class fares that we’ve ever seen but they’re better than typical Business Class fares. Also, please note that these fares are booking as ‘P’ fares and will earn 100% of miles flown.
I think with the new Premium Economy seats and their pricing levels that the days of $2000 Business Class fares may very well be behind us and fares from the high $2000 to low $4000 may become the new normal for Biz Class fares when they go on sale.
Keep in mind that the flights may be operated by Air Canada, United, Austrian, Lufthansa, SWISS or Brussels so pay attention when booking your ticket! My recommendation would be to stick with the LH Group, just make sure that your LH flights have the new Business Class cabin on your routes.
Terms and Conditions of the fare sale are as follows:
Tickets must be purchased by June 30, 2015.
Departures must take place between June 26 and August 29, 2015
Return travel must take place between July 7 and November 29, 2015
Tickets must be purchased 28 days prior to departure.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 7, 2015 | Featured, Fleet Update, Lufthansa, Premium Economy |
Lufthansa announced this week that it will delay the Premium Economy retrofit for their 747-400 aircraft until October 1. Initial plans called for the 744 fleet to have been completed by August 11. The LH reservation system has been updated to reflect this change.
Once completed, the 747-400 fleet will operate as a 3-cabin aircraft with the new Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy and will operate on the following routes:
Frankfurt – Boston (Only flight LH420 and LH421)
Frankfurt – Denver
Frankfurt – Mumbai
Frankfurt – Osaka
Frankfurt – Seattle
Frankfurt – Shanghai (Only flight LH732 and LH733)
Frankfurt – Tokyo
Frankfurt – Toronto
Frankfurt – Vancouver
Frankfurt – Washington (Only flight LH416 and LH417)
