by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 19, 2017 | Featured, First Class, Lufthansa, Mileage Plus, United |
United is once again selling miles with attractive bonuses……
This time, it’s a fairly straight forward bonus grid. Purchase between 5,000 and 24,000 miles and get a 35% bonus. Purchase between 25,000 and 85,000 miles and get a 75% bonus.
Obviously the better ratio is for the larger purchase….
Buying 24,000 miles for $840.00 will earn you a total of 32,400 miles which boils down to 2.59 cents per mile.
Maxing out at 85,000 miles for $2975 will earn you a total of 148,750 miles which equates to 2 cents per mile. There is a bit of tax involved as well, so your CPM (cents per mile) value comes down a little bit.
The sale runs through July 3, 2017, so if you’re short a few miles in your UA account for that Lufthansa First Class seat, here’s a good opportunity to address that problem…..
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 13, 2017 | Austrian, Featured, Industry News, Lufthansa, Passenger Experience |
Over the last few days, German media has been reporting a new concept being considered by Lufthansa to further enhance cost savings when it comes to flight operations out of the hubs in Europe.
Lufthansa’s Harry Hohmeister has unveiled plans that will create a potentially new ‘Flexible Routing’ fare that will allow Lufthansa to change already issued tickets for passengers willing to be more flexible in their trip routing.
The reasoning behind this concept will allow Lufthansa to self-direct passenger flow through hubs based on demand and pricing. For example, Frankfurt Airport charges Lufthansa up to 20% more for handling long haul LH flights and passengers than Munich, Zurich, or Vienna charge. Having passengers reroute through lower cost hubs obviously would net a positive impact on LH’s bottom line. In their planning, LH would be able to determine in advance if other hubs and flights have capacity to handle last minute changes. If not, the flex fare passenger would fly their original ticket.
An example could look like:
A passenger books a flight from Chicago to Berlin. The original booking would have the passenger transit through Frankfurt enroute to Berlin. Under a flex routing fare, Lufthansa could re-ticket the passenger a few days before the flight to have them fly Chicago – Munich – Berlin, Chicago – Vienna – Berlin, or Chicago – Zurich – Berlin and thus avoid the extra costs associated with routing a passenger through the more pricey Frankfurt.
Passengers flying under a flex routing fare would be informed days or weeks ahead of their trip, letting them know if their original routing has changed.
Please understand that only a ‘flex routing’ fare class would subject a passenger to a last minute rerouting. Passengers flying on traditional fare classes would not be subject to these kind of changes.
Lufthansa has already sent a ‘shot across the bow’ to Frankfurt by announcing a transfer of 5 A380 aircraft to Munich, thus already reducing capacity at Frankfurt and potentially preparing for the roll out of the new flex-routing fares and increasing capacity in Munich.
In his comments, Hohmeister indicated that passengers agreeing to a flex routing fare would be well rewarded for their willingness to be flexible.
Plans are in place to unveil the new program for Lufthansa and Austrian operated flights at the beginning of 2018.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 13, 2017 | A380, Featured, Frankfurt, Lufthansa, Munich, Route Announcements |
Earlier this morning, LUFTHANSA released a series of announcements including the launch of a new USA destination, the introduction of A380 aircraft to Munich, a return to Singapore and more flights to Chicago!
First, Lufthansa has announced that it will begin flying between Frankfurt and San Diego in 2018. Though no specifics were announced, they did indicate that the flight will be operated 5 times a week. I suspect that the flights will begin sometime in the March-April timeframe.
Next, LH also announced that 5 A380 aircraft will be transferred from Frankfurt to their new home in Munich and will serve ultra-long haul destinations such as Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Beijing. This will take place in time for the Summer 2018 timetable.
Additionally, LH indicated that it will once again offer service between Munich and Singapore beginning with the Summer 2018 schedule. Initial plans indicated that the flight will operate 5 times a week.
And lastly, Lufthansa has announced that it will increase service between Munich and Chicago. Currently, LH flies to ORD 7 times a week, with the new announcement, there will be 10 flights per week beginning with the Summer 2018 schedule.
