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 5, 2015 | Austrian, Deals, Featured, Lounges, Travel |
AUSTRIAN has partnered Vienna’s Tourist Board and has begun offering the Vienna Card to their passengers.
With the card (€18.90 for 48 hours / €21.90 for 72 hours), ‘OS’ passengers can take advantage of over 200 discounts to sites and attractions within Vienna. This also includes the ability to travel Vienna’s mass transit system (Train/Buses/Trams) for free. In addition, Austrian passengers traveling in Economy will receive 10% off of the cost of admission to Austrian’s 3 Business Class Lounges in Vienna’s Airport (VIE). The cost of lounge access is €35.00 (per passenger) before the discount and can only be used once on the date of your departure.
To learn more about the card and to see the list of specific venues where the discounts apply, please visit the Vienna Tourism website.
The card will be available for purchase directly through Austrian’s website right after you complete you booking. You can also buy the card at locations throughout Vienna including hotels, tourist information centers, the central train station, and Winier Linien locations.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 8, 2015 | Austrian, Featured, Miles & More |
Late last week, Austrian unveiled a new ticketing concept for travel within Austria and Europe. The program is set to roll out in the Fall of 2015 and will substantially expand on their current structure. According to Austrian it is designed to attract a wide ‘audience’ of passenger.
The biggest enhancement with this new program is the addition of the ‘LIGHT’ fare option. This is designed to be a lower cost category than OS’ popular ‘red-ticket’ fare which has until now been the lowest fare ‘bucket’.
Ultimately, the new structure will be comprised of 4 categories: LIGHT, CLASSIC, FLEX, and BUSINESS:
LIGHT will offer the lowest fare but with fees for checked baggage and seat assignment. It will not be eligible for BUSINESS Class upgrades
CLASSIC will include seat assignment and a checked bag, but will charge a fee for lounge access and is upgradeable through the bid process.
FLEX will everything that CLASSIC offers with the addition of fee-free rebooking and will also allow you to purchase enhanced DO&CO catered meals.
BUSINESS will include the DO&CO dining, free rebooking and all the other features of FLEX.
All 4 structures will allow for the earning of miles towards ‘Miles & More’ balances.
As far as other Star Alliance frequent flyer programs are concerned, expect to earn little to no miles for LIGHT or CLASSIC. FLEX and BUSINESS should book into fare classes that earn at least 50-100% mileage credit. Please check with your FF programs as each program may have different policies for earning miles.
The well designed chart below from Austrian provides a nice side-by-side comparison of these new classes:
