by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 25, 2013 | Airlines |
As Lufthansa continues to upgrade its fleet, it is only natural that older, less efficient aircraft are retired and removed from the fleet. In this case, Lufthansa’s last operating ATR 72-500 will fly off into its retirement when it completes its last flight tomorrow evening. This ATR currently flies for Lufthansa’s Air Dolomiti and her last flight will operate as LH1940, departing Munich at 9:45p and arriving in Trieste, Italy at 10:55p.
ATR72-500 — courtesy of Wikipedia
According to Lufthansa, this will be the second time in the airline’s history that it will not have propeller driven planes in the fleet. The last period began in 1971 when Lufthansa retired their last Vickers Viscount 814. Propeller aircraft returned to the fleet in the early 1980s when regional routes were growing and demand increased for aircraft with lower seating capacity than their jet-powered cousins.
At the peak of popularity, Lufthansa had upwards of 50 propeller-powered aircraft serving her routes in the 1980s and 90s.
Its always a bit sad to see an aircraft type removed from service, but with faster and more advanced jets taking their place, its obviously a change for the better.
IF anyone is scheduled to be on that flight to Trieste, be sure to take photos of the ‘event’ and enjoy the last propeller hums that you’ll hear in Lufthansa’s fleet!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 23, 2013 | Airlines |
Earlier today Lufthansa announced a First Class fare sale from the USA to Europe with fares starting as low as $5029.
Lufthansa typically puts First Class Tickets on sale about 2-3 times a year — In the Spring, mid-Summer and during the Holiday Season in the Winter. For this edition the fare sale runs until November 5 and is valid for travel between December 14 and January 7. Specifically, departures can take place between December 14 and January 3 and return flights must occur between December 25 and January 7. Tickets need to be purchased 30 days in advance.
The best published fare during this sale is from Boston to Moscow for $5029 but when I went to ‘sample book’ it, the fare actually came in at $4987.
Other attractive examples (there are many more at Lufthansa.com) are:
Chicago – Prague for $5529
Miami – Venice for $6029
Denver – Copenhagen for $5979
The fare sale credits normal First Class mileage credit so for Miles & More member, that amounts to 300% of miles flown. However, other Star Alliance plans will have varying degrees of how many miles are earned, so please check your respective program for details. Also, be aware that the flights can be operated by Lufthansa, Swiss or United – so you may want to pay special attention when looking at your exact flight options!
A fare sale like this is always a great opportunity to treat yourself to one of travel’s finest experiences. Over the last few months, Lufthansa has been earned several awards for having an outstanding First Class product including SkyTrax’s 5-Star award for best First Class Lounges and 3 American Hospitality Association Awards for Best First Terminal, Best Onboard First Class Product and for their First Class Lounge in New York’s JFK.
Then there is the First Class Duck as well………perhaps the most important reason to experience Lufthansa’s First Class hospitality. 🙂
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 15, 2013 | Airlines, Airports |
Lufthansa has officially opened another Passenger Lounge in Frankfurt. The new Business Class Lounge is located in Terminal A near gate A26. This lounge is located in the ‘Schengen’ area and is convenient for passengers who flights will be departing from from Gates A20 through 42 to Schengen destinations.
The space for this new lounge was previously occupied by a Lufthansa First Class lounge, but with the new First Class Lounge that opened earlier this year, the space became available and is being used to help meet the demand for business travelers. Additionally, some of the amenities of the First Class Lounge were left in place, including 2 private Sleep/Rest rooms and 3 Shower rooms — unusual for a typical Business Class Lounge.
By the way, just outside of the lounge there are great views of various taxiways which offer some good plane spotting potential. Just in case you are weird and into that kind of stuff! 😉
Star Alliance Gold members along with passengers traveling on a Star Alliance carrier in Business Class or higher are eligible to use Lufthansa Business Class Lounges. Keep in mind if you have Star Alliance Gold status, you can also access Lufthansa’s Senator Lounges.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 15, 2013 | Airlines |
Lufthansa is currently offering some decent deals from the US to Europe. One fare that stands out among the others is a $569 deal between New York and Istanbul. You may see on Lufthansa’s fare page that the advertised fare is $599, but when you look at specific dates in November and December, you’ll actually see lower fares in some cases.
Istanbul has been a favorite target of fare sales, especially by Turkish Airlines but this Lufthansa fare is lower than even some of the previous Turkish deals.
The fare deal has a wide variety of codeshare options including Swiss, Air Canada and United – so pay special attention when booking to make sure you are flying on your carrier of choice. The fare deal is available for departures from either JFK or Newark.
When booking these fare deals, please be aware that you may not earn 100% mileage credit for your frequent flyer program. Usually these fare sales will credit only 50% and in some cases may not earn any miles for intra-European segments. However, it is still a fantastic opportunity to visit one of the world’s most interesting cities. We had the opportunity to spend several days in Istanbul last year and had an absolutely fantastic time. It’s on our short list of cities that we would like to visit again.
Here are a few links to some of my trip reports from Istanbul:
The Spice Bazaar, The Grand Bazaar, Our Favorite Restaurant: Diver, Hagia Sophia, Park Hyatt Macka Palas, Turkish CIP / Star Alliance Lounge in Istanbul, The Basilica Cistern and The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed).
The terms/conditions of the fare sale are:
Ticket must be purchased by October 23, 2013.
14 day advanced purchase required.
You must depart between October 29 and December 12, 2013.
You must return between October 31, 2013 and January 12, 2014.
Not valid for travel between January 4-6, 2014.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Oct 14, 2013 | Trip Reports |
Lufthansa may have their ‘Non-Stop You’ marketing campaign, but I’m going to be in the air enough over the coming weeks that warrants having ‘Non-Stop Me’ as my tagline for my travels.
As the year approaches its end, my procrastination had caught up with me and I find myself scrambling to put together 100,000 miles to renew status for next year.
Two weeks ago I had flown nearly 18,000 roundtrip miles to Dubai for a long weekend (trip reports coming soon!) to start off my 4th quarter rally for status renewal.
Next up is another ‘Long Haul Weekend’ that takes me to Munich and Salzburg. I’m really looking forward to this trip because of the plans that I have while on the ground in Germany and Austria.
The highlight of my trip to Munich will be joining my friends from Lufthansa Social Media and take in a Bayern Munich match when they host Mainz 05 in Bundesliga play. Friends in Munich have also offered to take me to some of their favorite food stops which no doubt will be a real treat. It doesn’t get much better than a dinner comprised of Duck, Dumplings, Cabbage and Bier!!
Of course there will also be quite a bit of time spent plane spotting from a variety of positions around MUC. After all, its not a complete trip unless I spend hours watching airplanes come and go…..
In addition to Munich, I plan on taking a day-trip to Salzburg, Austria. I’ve never been to Salzburg so I’m looking forward to my first visit. With the efficient German rail system, it’s a fairly quick 1.5 hour non-stop ride. Besides the obvious must-see places in Salzburg such as Mozart’s childhood home, Hohensalzburg Castle and the Hellbrun Palace and its Trick Fountains, I plan to take a trip up to the ‘Kehlsteinhaus’ or Eagle’s Nest near Berchtesgaden. Having studied World War II in detail, this will certainly be an interesting place for me to take in.
Wrapped around this long weekend excursion will be flights on United, Brussels and Lufthansa Cityline. The long-haul flights between the US and Europe will be with Brussels Airlines where I’ll be able to experience their fantastic Business Class product.
In all, this run will net approximately 12,000 miles which will make a substantial dent in the “Balance Due” as far as miles are concerned.
Once I return from Europe, it will only be 12 days before my wife and I head off to Hong Kong for a few days. My wife fell in love with HKG on her first trip there in May and wanted to return to finish off her to-do list from last time and get a head start on holiday shopping. She even planned ahead last time and enrolled in Hong Kong’s Frequent Visitor / e-Channel program so that we can skip the long lines at immigration this time.
For those of you not familiar with e-Channel, it’s similar to Global Entry and allows you to self-immigrate. You can enroll after 3 complete visits to Hong Kong but if you have elite status with any major airline that flies to HKG, you can apply for it on your first visit (just bring your frequent flyer card showing your status level).
My to do list on this trip? Earning a much needed 19,000 miles!…….and of course more plane spotting from one of the best place airports in the world for spotting.
Once we return from Hong Kong, its only a couple of weeks before I return to Europe over Thanksgiving with a stop in Frankfurt for a couple of days with Lufthansa and then onward to Slovakia for a brief visit with family.
And then? Yes there are more Long Haul Weekends planned. Stay tuned. I may be ‘Singing Poorly’. Get it???
Or I may be narrating my travels to Narita? Who knows….
