by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 21, 2014 | Featured, Lufthansa |
Lufthansa’s 5000 pilots took to the polls this week to vote on the possibly of a strike after negotiations between the Airline and Pilot’s Union failed to reach an agreement. As a result over 95% voted in favor of a work stoppage. This includes pilots from Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and germanwings (Lufthansa’s LCC).
The union stated that in the event of a strike, it would provide 48 hours notice and thus far has committed not to strike during the Easter Holiday which tends to be a VERY busy time of year for air travel within Europe.
Lufthansa has already negotiated new agreements with Cabin crew and Ground staff, leaving the Pilots group as the remaining piece that needs to be resolved. The Pilots are asking for pay raises and better terms for ‘transition contracts’ when Pilots choose to retire before normal pension payments begin. Specifically, Pilots are asking for a 4.6% raise retroactive to May 2013 along with a raise of 5.2% retroactive back to between March 2012 & April 2013.
This obviously can cause widespread misery for a lot of travelers. With the unions commitment of providing 48 hours notice, this will hopefully give Lufthansa enough time to re-accommodate passengers to other airlines and to other means of travel such as Deutsche Bahn (DB).
Obviously we have not heard the last of this, so I’ll provide updates as they become available.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 20, 2014 | Featured, Swiss |
On a regular basis, SWISS likes to change up its on board dining experiences so that passengers can be exposed to a variety of Swiss inspired themes. Changes to the menu tend to happen every few months and are usually reflected in premium cabins on both short and long haul flights and are done in hopes of sharing a bit of native Swiss hospitality with their passengers.
The next iteration of unique dining experiences will take place between May 7 and May 20 and will focus of the Swiss tradition of ‘Alpaufzug’. In it’s simplest terms, Alpaufzug or ‘Alpine Cattle Drive’, is a tradition that celebrates the procession of cattle and goats to higher elevations for spring and summer grazing. During the spring, numerous festivals are held throughout Switzerland celebrating this rite.
The popular Alpaufzug is even depicted on a special livery on one of SWISS’ ‘Jumbolino’ aircraft.
To bring the celebration on board, passengers traveling in short-haul Business Class within Europe will have their own ‘festival’ thanks to an Alpaufzug inspired menu.
According to SWISS, onboard catering will include options such as Mostbröckli (cured beef), Appenzell cheese-carpaccio with cabbage salad and hazelnut vinaigrette and a Landsgemeinde steak (veal) along with apple “rösti” and chard gratin. Dessert will be a “Biberfladenmousse”, a Mousse made with Gingerbread and almond paste.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 19, 2014 | Featured, Lufthansa |
From time to time, Lufthansa will increase ‘inventory’ of deeply discounted tickets for travel within Europe during a particular timeframe.
With the latest edition, Lufthansa has made available 1 million tickets for round trip travel within Europe for as little as €99. There is a large variety of destinations to choose from as a result of this sale. For this particular offering, departures need to take place from either Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf or Berlin.
This fare deal runs only through Sunday, March 23 and a few date restrictions apply:
- Your outbound flight must take place between May 1 and July 31.
- Your return flight must take place between May 2 and October 31.
A sale like this is a great opportunity to bolt on an additional piece to your itinerary if you are visiting from the States or if you already live in Europe, it’s a very economical way to enjoy a weekend getaway.
To learn about other Lufthansa Fare Deals, please visit Lufthansa.com.
