A big CONGRATS to Nicola and her First Class Services Team!!!
Lufthansa has been awarded the 2013 Skytrax award for “BEST FIRST CLASS LOUNGE” during a ceremony at the Paris Air Show last week. Lufthansa certainly faced formidable competition from the likes of Singapore, Asiana, Cathay Pacific, Emirates and others but at the end of the day walked away with very well deserved award.
The award took into consideration all of Lufthansa’s First Class Lounges in Munich and Frankfurt including the venerable First Class Terminal (FCT) (which in my opinion is a travel destination in itself!). Over the years I have made many pilgrimages to Lufthansa’s First Class Lounges and FCT as well as to Singapore Airlines and Asiana First Class lounges and I’m trying to be impartial here, but I can see where Lufthansa deserves the award over the others.
When you visit one of Lufthansa’s First Class lounges, the high quality of the facility, dining and staff is evident. You know as soon as you enter one of the Lounges that you are in for a treat. Lufthansa’s staff is always ready and willing to help travelers even it means going well out of their way to accommodate a passengers needs or request (more on that later). The selection of food and beverages is on par with the finest restaurants and the facilities are always modern with up to date amenities, clean and easily accessible.
Fantastic amenities include Day Rooms for resting in privacy, spa services, private bath and shower facilities, private business workstations, dedicated Cigar Rooms with great cigar and apertif selections and private Mercedes or Porsche vehicles that will transport you to your plane allowing you to miss the stress of the passenger terminals. The list goes on an on! 🙂
Oh, and then there are the First Class Ducks that are given to visitors as souvenirs (if you take the time to grab a shower or enjoy a bath). My brace of 36 ducks always puts a smile on my face and instantly transports me back to those fantastic lounge experiences. For me, especially with the FCT, it becomes a mini-vacation within my trip and often I’ll go out of my way to make sure I can pass through Frankfurt to get my ‘fix’. Like flying from Chicago to Hong Kong via Frankfurt for example…..
If you have ever had the opportunity to visit one of Lufthansa’s First Class Lounges, I think you know exactly what I mean.
One First Class Terminal experience will ALWAYS stand out for my wife and I during one of our trips.
2 years ago, we had been on holiday in Europe visiting family in Slovakia and then spending several days in Rome and along the Amalfi Coast. On our return flight from Rome to Chicago (via Frankfurt) we had a few hours to pass in the First Class Terminal and this would also be my wife’s first time visiting FCT. I had kept telling her how wonderful the FCT would be and that it would be a perfect cherry on top of a fantastic trip. She was also looking forward to getting her first duck so that she would finally have one of her own. Well as luck (or lack thereof) would have it, the FCT happened to be out of their famous souvenirs which put a minor damper on my wife’s enjoyment of the FCT. Our personal assistant who helped us in the FCT was apologetic and said that he would come up with a suitable alternative. Well our time in the FCT passed and it was time to be taken in a Porsche Cayenne to our waiting 747. My wife figured she was out of luck and there would be no duck.
Once we arrived at our aircraft and took our seats upstairs, a Lufthansa associate came up to my wife a few minutes later with his hands behind his back, introduced himself, and simply stated “Mrs. LufthansaFlyer, this is for you…..” and out came his hands, cupping a First Class Duck. With the look on my wife’s face you would think she won a lottery. The smile on the Lufthansa associate’s face was priceless as well. He had no idea just how much he had made her day. After thanking him, he rushed out of the aircraft, the door closed and we were off for home. I would hate to think that they held up the plane for a few minutes for this special delivery, but if this doesn’t define what Lufthansa First Class is all about, nothing will.
2 years later, we still bring up that experience and talk about how wonderful that moment was. It has become as much a travel memory as any place that we have ever visited. So can you see what I mean when I say that a visit to a First Class lounge or Terminal is a travel destination in itself??
If you would like to experience Lufthansa’s First Class services, but are not sure how to proceed or what is involved, please email me. I would love to help you develop a strategy that will help you create your own Lufthansa First Class memories. 🙂
Over the last few weeks, Lufthansa has begun to refine it’s already excellent onboard dining experience with upgrades to Cutlery, China and other related items. You’ll notice onboard that the cabin crew will have completely new serving utensils; including new pitchers for beverages, pepper grinders, coffee dispensers etc. The changes aim to make the dining experience on board more like the experience that you would have in a high quality restaurant.
Passenger China, Glassware and Silverware have been updated as well. For First Class passengers, gone are the wire towers that held your appetizers. They have been replaced with a serving platter that will contain all 3 appetizers that are typically availabe. Additional the Caviar Service will be it’s own course and no longer combined with appetizers. Business Class passengers will also notice obvious improvements to dining hardware and menus.
These changes apply to First and Business Class international routes as well as in Business Class on short and medium-haul flights within Germany and Europe.
2 days ago, Lufthansa released a video highlighting the changes that you can expect going forward:
SWISS is running 3 concurrent fare sales for travel from the USA to cities throughout Europe. What’s nice is that you have your choice of classes to choose from. For Economy class, the fare sale covers Spring travel while Business and First Class fare sales are in place for Summer travel.
The Economy Class Sale fares start from the mid to high $800 range for travel from New York to a variety of European destinations including Lugano, Venice, Vienna, Prague and other fantastic destinations. The fares are slightly higher from other East Coast SWISS gateways. Flights from San Francisco to the same cities ranges between the upper $900 to low $1000 area and actually is the better value when you factor in the “cost per mile” of the ticket. These low fares are readily available for travel throughout April and May.
The Business Class Sale picks up where the Economy Class sale ends and covers Business Class travel during the summer. The fares are approximately 50% lower than their regular price. Some highlights of this fare sale include New York to Istanbul for only $2828 and New York to Barcelona for only $2823. Fares from east coast gateways mostly range from $2800 to $3100 while fares from the West Coast start in the mid $3000 range and go up into the $4200-4300 area. The fare sale covers travel between June 28 and September 5, and availability is plentiful.
I’ve said in the past that SWISS Business Class is one of the finest business class cabins that you’ll ever find on any airline. I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing it several times and thanks to their great hospitality, cabin and crew I would choose SWISS business over many other airline’s First Class product. This fare sale makes a very compelling argument for someone to experience SWISS for themselves!
The First Class Fare Sale discounts the typical first class fare by 50% and if you’re in the mood to spoil yourself, this may be a great time to do so. Typically a $12,000+ seat, you can book SWISS First Class from New York to most European destinations from as low as $6000. The best fare appears to be New York – Rome which comes in at $6055. Other fares from the east coast range anywhere from $6000 to $7000 and fares from the west coast range from $7000 to $8000. The first class fare sale covers travel between June 28 and September 1 and has plenty of availability.
After weeks of conversations, emails and meetings with Lufthansa, LufthansaFlyer will debut it’s own duck for all passengers traveling on select flights between the USA and Germany and also for all passengers who will be visiting Lufthansa’s Senator lounges in Germany. The promotion will run during May and June or until we run out of ducks. If the duck is received well, there will be another version later this year.
Of course this duck is not here to replace the highly sought after First Class Lounge Ducks that Lufthansa provides as souvenirs to First Class passengers, but I’m thrilled that my modest duck will become part of the family and tradition of Lufthansa Ducks. Should you be fortunate enough to get one, please send me pictures of the ducks in their new homes!
To see the preliminary schedule please click here to be taken to the official release that has the specific dates and routes that you’ll be able to find this new and hopefully collectible new duck.
Here is a sneak peek of what you can expect to see on board Lufthansa flights from the USA and in Senator lounges in Germany:
Lufthansa today announced a new First Class fare structure designed to make First Class more affordable than ever before. The new fare class dubbed “First Saver Plus” is specifically designed for passengers who originate their travels in Germany and travel to one of Lufthansa’s 30 long-haul destinations. This new program is designed to help the occasional traveler experience Lufthansa’s First Class at far more attractive fares.
Under the new program, “First Saver Plus” Fares will typically be 40% lower than regular First Class fares. For example, a regular First Class ticket from Frankfurt to New York is usually €8500, under the new First Saver Plus fare it would only be €5500. The new fare class comes with only a few minor restrictions including that tickets must be purchased 60 days in advance. There is also a minimum stay requirement: 6 days to Eastern USA and Middle Eastern destinations and 10 days for all other destinations. Additionally these fares are not re-bookable but tickets can be canceled for €400 each.
Otherwise passengers will experience the same First Class hospitality as those paying full fare for First Class travel. These outstanding amenities include earning triple miles for their Frequent Flyer accounts, access to all Lounge Services and amenities (including the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt and private car transfers where necessary) and the same baggage allowances as well. In other words, services are not reduced other than the advanced booking and minimum stay requirements. And yes, you are eligible to get you Rubber Duck souvenir as well!
