by Lufthansa Flyer | Aug 8, 2012 | Airlines |
No time like the present to start planning that long weekend to Europe over the Thanksgiving Holiday. To that end, Lufthansa has launched a very attractive business class fare sale from North America to Europe. Traditionally, the Thanksgiving Weekend usually affords the lowest business class fares that you’ll see all year.
Here are some examples: From New York to most European destinations, roundtrip business class fares range between $1600 and $1800. From Chicago they range between $2000 and $2200, from San Francisco they range between $2300 and $2600. These fares are typical for the time of year so there are no surprises but seats tend to go fast so it makes sense to plan early. Normally, Business Class Fares for these routes range between $5000 and $7000, so the sale is obviously a great bargain.
I’ve taken advantage of these promotions several times in the past and take my word for it that even 3 or 4 days in Europe provides plenty of time to enjoy the visit (not to mention the extra miles you earn flying in business class). For those of you with more time, you can use this fare sale to begin a European Winter Vacation and take in the fantastic Christmas Markets that are held throughout the continent.
The fare sale applies to flights operated by Air Canada, Austrian, Lufthansa, Swiss and United, so options are plentiful. If you’ve never experienced Lufthansa’s or Swiss’ Business Class Service, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you take advantage of this opportunity!
For this fare sale there are a few terms and conditions:
Tickets must be purchased by September 24, 2012
You must depart between November 18 and November 23, 2012
You must return between November 23, 2012 and February 23, 2013
Fares are valid for travel on Air Canada, Austrian, Lufthansa, Swiss and United.
Saturday night stay is required.
To view specific fares between city pairs, please visit Lufthansa’s Thanksgiving Business Fare Sale Promotion webpage.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jun 6, 2012 | Airlines |
On Tuesday June 5, the new “Star Alliance” Terminal opened successfully to aircraft and passengers alike.
The first flight to arrive at the new terminal was Austrian Airlines’ flight 9542 which arrived from Hurghada at approximately 4:30a. The new terminal is dedicated solely to serving passengers traveling on Austrian, Lufthansa, Swiss and other Star Alliance carriers.
One of the greatest attributes of the new terminal is it’s ability to allow passengers to transfer between flights in as little as 25 minutes, setting a new benchmark for European airports. The main reason behind this new efficiency is the fact that the terminal is “vertical” in that it has 3 stories so instead of passengers having to walk great distances between terminals or gates, they simply need to go upstairs or downstairs in order to reach their gates or to process through passport controls and customs. This is similar in concept as Munich’s airport.
With the new terminal comes a variety of new lounges for Star Alliance passengers travelling in First or Business class or otherwise having elite statuses that allow for lounge access. Six new lounges combine to exceed 21,000 square feet.
Passengers using the new terminal have 69 staffed check-in counters and 38 self check-in counters. Additionally, HON and Senator level members of Miles&More along with business class and first class travelers have their own exclusive check-in areas.
One of the new and most welcome attributes of the Star Alliance Terminal is the centralized security screening. For those of you familiar with the airport, you’ll recall that each gate has its own security and x-ray facility. This leads to susbstantial congestion and clutter at each gate thanks to the equipment and staff stationed at each gate. The new terminal eliminates this and passengers only need to show their boarding pass to board their flight. Additionally, each gate is also equipped with scanning equipment so that passengers can use their electronic boarding passes stored on their smart-phones devices.
I flew in and out of Vienna this past weekend and was able to see the new terminal from my airplane. From the outside, it looks like a fantastic facility. I’m hoping to see it from the inside in the next couple of months!
Here are a few photos while I was taxiing to the old terminal:
For more great coverage, including photos from the opening and a flash-mob video, visit Austrian’s Facebook page.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 29, 2012 | Airlines |
A lot of “NEW” things are happening within the Lufthansa Group over the next week. As no doubt you know if you’ve been reading my posts, Lufthansa’s first Boeing 747-8i enters passenger service this Friday when she flies from Frankfurt to Washington DC. But thats not the only first for passengers.
On June 5th, Austrian will officially open to the public their new dedicated Star Alliance Terminal at their main hub in Vienna (VIE). Austrian will consolidate all of their aircraft operations to this new facility.
The terminal promises to be a work of art that will provide passengers with a streamlined travel experience. This terminal is actually “rated” to allow passengers to transfer with as little as 25 minutes between connections. This beats Munich, currently rated as one of Europe’s best at 45 minutes.
The new 150,000 sq. meter (164,000 sq. yd) terminal will boast 69 Check-In Counters and 40 self service kiosks along with dedicated Check-In areas for Business and Star Alliance Elite Level passengers. Additional, new Lounges will also be open as part of the new terminal. New lounges will include HON Circle/First Class, Senator/Star Alliance GOLD and Business Class lounges. Based on my experiences in transiting through Vienna, this in itself will be a major upgrade!
The terminal will be a very open facility, with walls of windows that will provide great viewing of Aircraft and the rest of the airport.
Images courtesy of Austrian Airlines:
For an interactive guide of the new terminal, please follow this link.
Of course there is one minor downside to all this……as part of my trip to Frankfurt, I’m taking a couple of days in Slovakia to visit family which will involve flying in and out of Vienna over this weekend, so I will just-just-just miss experiencing the new facility first hand. I’m hoping there’s a “soft opening” and perhaps the facility is already operating.
No time like the present to start planning that long weekend to Europe over the Thanksgiving Holiday. To that end, Lufthansa has launched a very attractive business class fare sale from North America to Europe. Traditionally, the Thanksgiving Weekend usually affords the lowest business class fares that you’ll see all year.
