by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 31, 2012 | Uncategorized |
As I had mentioned earlier, I flew back to Hong Kong this past weekend to take advantage of a 100% mile bonus (promo expires Jan 31) for the specific flights between Chicago and Hong Kong as well as a 100% elite bonus for being a United Premier Executive level member (bonus miles for Premier Exec’s is going down to 50% starting March 3). SWU’s from a friend made it a great ride in Business Class (thanks Pat!). All totaled, nearly 50,000 miles. I had a great time, and will cover the trip in far more detail over my next few postings in the coming days.
BUT something dramatic happened at home while I was away. I needed to see it in person when I returned in order to believe it.
My lovely wife, Mrs. LufthansaFlyer, did the unexpected and completely caught me off guard when I returned home last night.
She announced that she………drum roll…………..booked a trip to California and took into consideration the amount of miles she would earn, and built in an extra segment because it would earn more miles. I blacked out for a few seconds at this point, so the details got a bit blurry and she needed to repeat what she had done.
MY WIFE HAS BECOME ONE OF US. She has sipped the Kool Aid and has learned the secret handshake…….She is into earning miles!
Some background on her motivation:
My nephew who is now 18, had a tragic reaction to medication a year ago while being tested for Strep Throat. At the time, the doctor suggested a spinal tap to rule out Meningitis. As part of the post procedure recovery, he was given such a strong dose of pain killer that it put him into cardiac arrest for several minutes, and once they resuscitated him, he had been “gone” long enough that it caused permanent brain injury. He is now in a permanent vegatative state, and recovery is unlikely.
My wife is an RN and flies out to California monthly to spend a few days with her Brother and review the home care our nephew is now receiving. And indirectly, this has led her to accumulate miles on a regular basis and has put her in a position to climb the ranks of Elite Levels in United’s Mileage Plus.
After I explained to her the big picture that I have for her getting to Premier Executive, which would put her in position for upgrades, free economy plus seats and additional bonus for miles traveled she bought into the logic.
What I did not expect to happen right away was her looking at ways to maximize the miles she could fly when traveling to California. Normally she would fly from Grand Rapids-Chicago O’hare-Santa Ana, the most direct option available. But now understanding how important it is for her to fly 50,000 miles this year, she has started thinking outside the box and is willing to sacrifice convenience for the sake of earning status (Isn’t that what most of us do?).
So while I was in Hong Kong, she took it upon herself to look at other options and booked her next trip to go from Grand Rapids to Chicago to San Franciso and finally to Santa Ana and returning the same way. She said it would earn her 980 miles more by adding San Francisco. I fell in love with her all over again at that moment!
Now, she’s tinkering with another future flight by adding Denver to the mix and doing a GRR-ORD-DEN-SFO-SNA route. What have I created here? Today I introduced her to webflyer.com’s mileage calculator so she can have an easy way to tally miles based on her routes and she’s been busy with it ever since.
Tonight at dinner she even popped the question: “What if I concentrate on getting 60 segments instead of miles to get Premier Executive?”, Whaaaa? Segments? who told her about getting status based on segments????
Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with her desire to maximize her travel in order to earn the benefits that come with flying frequently. I never thought she would buy into it because everytime I had a mileage run, whether it was a same day turn to baltimore, a one day trip to Germany, or 2 weekend trips to Hong Kong in the last 6 weeks she would just look at me like I had 3 eyes in my forehead. But all that has now changed. She get’s it. She is now one of us.
I’m curious, has anyone else out there has had a spouse or significant other sip the Kool Aid and become one of us? I’d love to hear the stories!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 28, 2012 | Uncategorized |
Today’s route updates covers Asiana, Swiss, Egyptair and Turkish
ASIANA:
Seoul(ICN)–Chicago(ORD) effective July 20 will increase from 4x/week to 1x/day.
Seoul(ICN)-Honolulu(HNL) effective July 19 will increase from 2x/week to 1x/day.
Seoul(ICN)-Seattle(SEA) effective July 25 will increase from 5/x week to 6x/week.
SWISS:
Zurich-Bucharest effective March 25 increases from 1x/day to 2x/day.
Zurich–Prague effective March 25 increases from 3x/day to 4x/day.
EGYPTAIR:
Cairo-Tokyo(NRT) effective April 15 will begin 2x/week service. Effective September 1, service will increase to 3x/week.
TURKISH:
Istanbul-Bremen effective April 26 starts new 4x/week service. On May 28, this service will increase to 1x/day.
Istanbul-Leipzig effective May 28 starts new 5x/week service. On June 26, this service will increase to 1x/day.
Ankara-Berlin(BER (new)) effective June 6 will begin 2x/week service.
Izmir-Berlin(BER (new)) effective June 5 will begin 2x/week service.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 27, 2012 | Uncategorized |
As a result of a successful rollout of Automatic Check In for Miles & More passengers in Germany and Italy Lufthansa today announced the expansion of the program to more countries within the Schengen area. This expansion will cover 400 routes.
Under the program Miles & More members can elect at time of booking to be automatically checked into their flights 23 hours in advance and receive their seat assigment.
The press release went on to say that Lufthansa expects to expand this program in the near future to non Miles & More members as well.
I’m hoping other carriers are looking at this. I see it as a huge convenience to be automatically checked in and having my boarding passes emailed to me or sent to my mobile device.
Here is Lufthansa’s Press Release:
Lufthansa offers automatic check-in
New service now available on approximately 400 Lufthansa routes
East Meadow, NY, January 27, 2012 – As a new service, Lufthansa is expanding its automatic check-in service and now offering this perk on approximately 400 routes within the Schengen Area – an area comprised of 26 European countries that operate very much like a single state for international travel. The service, which already exists in Germany and Italy, has already proven to be very popular because of the time savings and convenience it offers passengers.
Passengers with an existing booking are automatically checked in 23 hours prior to their departure and will receive an electronic boarding pass with their reserved seat number shortly after, which they can choose to have sent to them by email or to an Internet-enabled mobile phone. The service is available to all members of the Miles & More frequent flyer program who have selected the automatic check-in option under “Travel services” in their customer profile. In the event of a change in travel plans, passengers with a re-bookable ticket have the option of cancelling their online check-in at lufthansa.com or by calling the Lufthansa Service Center.
Passengers traveling with luggage can check in their bags at a baggage drop-off counter or at a check-in kiosk on presentation of their boarding pass. Seats can also be changed online via a mobile phone or at a self-service check-in kiosk.
In the coming months, Lufthansa expects to expand the automatic check-in service across its global route network and make it available for all flight bookings, thus allowing passengers who are not Miles & More members to take advantage of this popular service.
About Lufthansa
One of the world’s largest and most prestigious airlines, Lufthansa currently flies to 211 destinations in 84 countries, with hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, and with its recent acquisition of Austrian Airlines and SWISS – Vienna and Zurich. From its 22 North American gateways, Lufthansa— recently voted by Fortune as one of the five most admired airlines in the world— and its partners serve over 450 destinations in more than 120 countries. An industry innovator, Lufthansa has long been committed to environmental care and sustainability, operating the most technically-advanced and fuel-efficient fleet in the world. Its long-haul fleet to and from North America includes the Boeing 747-400, as well as the Airbus A300 sub fleet. Currently, Lufthansa has over 150 new aircraft worth about $18 billion on order. It will be the largest European operator of the A380 and is also the launch customer for the new Boeing 747-8, the industries’ two most fuel-efficient passenger aircraft. Known for its premium services, Lufthansa continues its $150 million program earmarked for building new or upgrading existing lounge facilities across its worldwide network and will spend more than $1.4 billion in new onboard products and services by 2015. In 2010, Lufthansa re-launched its broadband wireless Internet service onboard, FlyNet. For more information or reservations, visit www.lufthansa.com.
