In case you missed the announcement late last week, Lufthansa announced that the 747-8i will make 3 “1-time” cameo appearances to 3 new destinations for the 747-8i.
The 747-8i will operate for one day on the following routes:
Frankfurt-Mexico City-Frankfurt on June 18.
Frankfurt-Sao Paulo-Frankfurt June 19 (returning June 20).
Frankfurt-Chicago-Frankfurt on July 13.
If you are traveling to/from Frankfurt on these dates, and if you have the ability to adjust your itineraries, I strongly recommend you do so that you can experience this fantastic aircraft!
The contest is easy. Simply provide Lufthansa with your best tip for getting your ZZZZZZ’s during a long haul flight. If your suggestion is one of 10 picked during a public voting session and is then picked by a Lufthansa Jury, you WIN! Easy Peasy.
You’ll need to hurry, entries must be submitted by midnight on Saturday, June 22. The public voting period will last from June 24 to July 5 to select the finalists and then a Lufthansa Jury will decide the GRAND PRIZE WINNER between July 8 and July 12. The winner will be announced on or about July 19, 2013.
The contest is open to legal US residents age 18 and over. According to the rules you can enter 5 times. Additional rules can be found here.
Recently I attended a “Lufthansa Academy” session in New York where journalists gathered to listen to Lufthansa discuss their initiatives and plans on a variety of subject matter. Last week’s session focused solely on how Lufthansa handles fuel — everything from sourcing and pipeline partnerships, bio-fuel, hedging, etc. was covered. I wound up taking 15 pages of notes and will summarize the session into a few posts in the near future.
During my time in NY, I also had the opportunity to discuss fleet management with a few people from Lufthansa and gained insights into the future distribution of the 747-8i fleet and what new cities may see her in the near future (i.e. I just might know where she’s going next). Based on these conversations and knowing where the -8i is going next, I think it’s a great reason to put together a bit of a contest that will award a lucky winner a Lufthansa Fan Gift Pack.
The contest will focus on which Non-USA city will be the next city to be “Awarded” the 747-8i. I won’t provide a list of cities to choose from since that may tip you off, so you’ll need to think of a city yourself and leave it as a comment in this thread. Listing ONE city as a comment will act as your entry. You can leave multiple comments if you have more than one city in mind.
Please note that I said NON-US City. There is already much speculation about the next US destination and most people have an idea of what it is thus making it inappropriate to include a US city in the contest. Also note that a city that has seen the 747-8i in the past and is getting it back (like Bangalore) is NOT ELIGIBLE and will not count as a new city.
The contest will be open for entries until MY EMAIL TIME STAMP on Lufthansa’s Press Release from FRANKFURT that reveals the next destination. I’m using the FRANKFURT press release instead of the USA based press release because the FRANKFURT one is usually released a few hours before the USA version.
What’s in the Fan Pack? Let’s just say it will be a Quackin’ good one!
A few of terms and conditions for the contest:
*Entry can only be made by leaving a comment to this thread.
*Only one City can be listed per entry. Entries/Comments with multiple cities will be deleted.
*No limits on the amount of entries.
*If there is more than 1 eligible winning entry, all eligible entries will be assigned a number and a random number generator will select the winner.
I always enjoy watch airport operations and ‘germanwings’ has done a great job putting together a time-lapse video showing the progression of a germanwings flight. This 1.5 minute video captures the essence of a typical germanwing flight up through takeoff. The video starts with a ramp view of the aircraft being fueled, the proceeds to check-in, baggage handling, boarding, taxi and takeoff. Its stuff like this that us ‘avgeeks’ never get tired!
The video was taken at the Köln/Bonn and features a germanwings Airbus sporting the new livery. germanwings has an impressive and extensive YouTube channel that is worth checking out!
For those of you not familiar with germanwings, they are Lufthansa Group’s ‘low cost carrier’ airline that serves intra-german and intra-european routes. Lufthansa is currently in the process of consolidating the majority of it’s short haul operations into germanwings. germanwings ‘officially’ becomes the LCC on July 1, 2013.
Personally this is my favorite time of year to travel to Europe and it’s when most of our trips take place. What makes it my favorite time is that the late summer and early fall marks the end of the “High Summer” travel season. Tourists, prices and temperatures recede creating a far more enjoyable atmosphere.
Over the last couple of years I’ve had the good fortune of visiting some of Italy’s greatest places. We have experienced Venice, Rome, Vatican City (I know, technically not in Italy), Poveglia Island, Sorrento, Capri, Naples (including a great visit to Pompeii) and other parts of the Amalfi coast (click each link for my trip reports). Each of these cities and areas have unique experiences that await their visitors which makes Italy such a wonderful place to visit. Every city and region has their own identity and culture!
Back to the Fare Sale…
Fares during this sale start as low as $1109 (Charlotte to Rome). Fares from most other East Coast Lufthansa gateways range in the low $1200 range. If you’re traveling from the West Coast, your fares will range between $1300 and $1369. For you mileage junkies, the best value on a ‘cost per mile’ basis would obviously come from starting your travels from the west coast.
As with any fare sale, terms and conditions apply and are as follows:
Tickets must be purchased by September 4, 2013.
You must depart between August 25 and October 26, 2013
You must return between September 1 and November 24, 2013
Tickets must be purchased at least 7 days prior to departure
Fare is valid for travel on Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, Air Canada and United
