by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 18, 2016 | A350, Featured, Lufthansa, Munich, Technik |
Lufthansa has announced that their first Airbus A350 aircraft will be delivered on December 19.
The aircraft will be delivered directly to Munich where Lufthansa Technik will install the cabin interior and other proprietary enhancements. During this time, the aircraft will also be used for cabin and ground crew training.
Lufthansa’s First A350. It’s currently carrying an Airbus tail number, which will be changed to D-AIXA once LH accepts the aircraft.
Munich will be the hub where the ‘initial’ A350 fleet will be based. Lufthansa plans to assign the first 10 A350s to Munich as it begins replacing A340 aircraft. Current plans call for up to 25 A350s to join the fleet over the coming months and years. The tail number protocol for the A350 will be D-AIX_, with the first first A350 being registered as D-AIXA.
Once delivered, the aircraft will not enter passenger service until February 10, when the A350 will take over on the daily flight between Munich and Delhi. Boston will follow shortly thereafter but based on Lufthansa’s past history with new aircraft, expect the A350 to be put on ‘tour’ and flown to several destinations during its first months in service.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 17, 2016 | Cash & Miles, Featured, Lufthansa, Miles & More |
Lufthansa announced today that it has launched a new program dubbed ‘Cash & Miles’ that will allow passengers to use a combination of cash and miles from their Miles & More account balance to book flights on any LH Group airline (as long as the booking is made through Lufthansa.com).
The program is operational as of now, but from what I understand will not be available in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and Italy until early 2017. It is however available in most countries outside of Europe.
If you are a resident in a country where ‘Cash & Miles’ is available, you’ll see the new option when pricing out a new fare (make sure your Miles & More profile is loaded). There will be a sliding scale that you can use when calculating the amount of miles that will be needed based on the amount of cash you want to spend on a ticket. According to the program rules, a minimum of 7,000 miles must be used towards any booking.
Tickets booked under ‘Cash & Miles’ will still qualify for full mileage credit to Miles & More based on the fare class that you are booking.
The program is targeted primarily to those Miles & More members that may not have quite the amount of miles needed for a full ticket redemption and the math confirms that notion.
Here are the numbers for 2 examples: To reduce your fare by $20, you would need to use 7659 miles. To reduce the fare by approximately $100, you would need to use 31,405 miles. As you can see for the 31,405 miles you can book an economy award ticket within USA, or for a few more miles a ticket within Europe. Not to mention the deals you can take advantage of through the Meilenschnappchen program.
However it is a net positive addition to the Miles & More platform because it does allow you to use your miles to offset the cost of a ticket. The value of the program however is based on a case by case basis. For some, this will be a great way to shed miles they normally wouldn’t be able use, while for others it would make sense to keep the miles towards a far better redemption option through Miles & More.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 15, 2016 | Europe, Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa |
Lufthansa launched a fare sale today that offers about the lowest prices that you’ll find between their US gateways and Europe. The fare sale lasts until midnight, Novmember 16.
The best fare for this promo is a $450 ticket thats available between Washington DC and Stockholm, Sweden. Denver – Amsterdam comes in at a close second for only $480. From the west coast the best deal appears to be Los Angeles to Prague for only $829.
Most fares between the US and Europe for this sale fall between $700 (East Coast / Mid-West) and $1100 (West Coast).
The fare sale covers departures taking place between November 18 and December 13, while return travel can take place all the way out to June 13, 2017. The only other restrictions include a Saturday night stay and 3 day advance purchase requirement.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 14, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike |
Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), the union that represents LUFTHANSA pilots has announced today that a strike is imminent and offered to only provide a 24-hour warning ahead of the walk out.
The latest threat comes after negotiations fell apart between LH and the union. If the strike takes place, it will be the 14th that has been called due to the ongoing battle between union and LH management. The biggest issues continues to revolve around pilot benefits for early retirement, as well as a pay hike. As far as the increase in pay is concerned, the union is looking for a 3.6% increase while Lufthansa has countered at 2.5%.
The union offered no further details in terms of what flights would be targeted should they decided to walk off the job, again.
LH’s management has responded to this latest threat with obvious disappointment but also announced that it was ready to re-engage in talks with the union.
Sounds like a scene from Groundhogs Day doesn’t it?
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 10, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, On Board Experience, Passenger Experience |
LUFTHANSA has announced that passengers will be able to purchase insurance to protect their electronic devices against damage and theft during an entire trip. The ability to purchase the coverage will be included during the booking process and can be added to an itinerary up until the day of departure.
The insurance covers most electronic devices such as tablets, phones, notebooks, etc. The protection provides coverage against damage due to spills, drops, glass breakage, and damage due to the ‘elements’. It also covers damage caused by overheating or fire. The coverage is pro-rated based on the age of the item. Passengers do not have to register their devices in order to receive coverage.
The cost of the insurance is €39.99 for individual travelers and €49.99 for a family ‘plan’. The coverage protects the traveler for the first 42 days of a trip. However the coverage resets for every trip for one year (from the date of original purchase of insurance). For example, if I take a 30-day trip starting today and buy the coverage, I’ll obviously be covered. When I take another trip in 3 months, the policy will still be in force, and it will start another 42 day period. There is no limit on the amount of trips that are covered within the policy year.
The coverage is pro-rated based on the age of the insured device. A device that is less than one year old is insured for full replacement (maximum of €3000). For devices between 1 and 2 years old, coverage will be capped at 80% of value, and for devices between 3 and 5 years old, coverage is capped at 60%. There is no coverage for devices that are older than 5 years.
I wish this coverage had been available 3 years ago when turbulence on a flight between Munich and Hong Kong decided to knock over a bottle of water and fried my MacBook Pro!
