by Lufthansa Flyer | May 30, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Passenger Experience |
More details have come out on the heels of LH’s announcement on Saturday that it was suspending service to Venezuela next month.
According to LH sources, it appears that Maduro & Co. (the ‘government’ running VZ) owe Lufthansa over $100 million.
The problem with how the Venezuelans want to conduct business is the fact that LH has to charge in Venezuela’s local currency, the Bolivar, when collecting fares. The problem with it is that Venezuela’s currency policy makes it nearly impossible for a company to repatriate revenue. In this case, LH is stuck with holding Bolivars as the Bolivar market collapses and inflation is forecast to reach upward of 500-600% this year.
In essence this makes the Bolivar worth less than the ‘Kleenex’ that you carry in your bag. LH has no way to convert the money to Dollars or Euros in order to salvage what remains of their capital in Venezuela.
It’s because of this plummeting valuation that LH was forced to suspend service since the Bolivars have in essence become worthless. So much so that I expect LH to write off the $100 million and walk away from the disaster brought upon their balance sheet by Venezuela.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 29, 2016 | Featured, Munich, Route Announcements |
To compliment their existing service between Frankfurt and Casablanca, Lufthansa has announced new service between Munich and Marrakech. Before this announcement, Munich passengers had to fly Brussels to ‘BRU’ in order to connect to a flight to Marrakech.
Beginning on October 30 LH will fly to ‘RAK’ on Fridays and Sundays and will use their A321 aircraft on the route.
Here are the flight details:
LH 676 will depart Munich on Fridays at 10:45a, arriving in Marrakech at 1:30p.
LH 676 will depart Munich on Sundays at 11:50a, arriving in Marrakech at 2:35p.
LH 677 will depart Marrakech on Fridays at 2:25p, arriving in Munich at 7:10p.
LH677 will depart Marrakech on Sundays at 3:30p, arriving in Munich at 8:15p.
Booking for the route is open.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 29, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Route Announcements |
Earlier today, Lufthansa announced that it is suspending flights between Frankfurt and Caracas effective June 18. They cited ‘deteriorating economic conditions’ and ‘currency conversion issues’ for the cancellation. LH also suggested that they have not ruled out re-opening the route once conditions become conducive.
If you are affected by this announcement, please contact your travel agent or call Lufthansa directly for rebooking options or a refund.
RELATED: Lufthansa Owed Over $100 Million By Venezuela
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 28, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Route Announcements |
Tis the season…..it’s not yet Summer, but airlines are already worried about Winter!
Lufthansa has begun to update their Winter schedule that so far has only a few minor tweaks. More changes are coming, but here is what is official thus far:
Frankfurt – Atlanta effective October 30 will see a combination of different aircraft on the route. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Airbus A330s will fly the route. On all other days, an A340-300 will do the work.
Frankfurt – Cape Town effective December 2 BEGINS 3x/week service (More Details).
Frankfurt – Chennai effective October 30 will have a ‘mainline’ A340-300 fly the route. Replacing a ‘Cityline’ aircraft on the route.
Frankfurt – Mumbai effective October 30 will see the 747-8i fly the route, replacing the 747-400 (Except between January 29 and February 24).
Frankfurt – Nairobi effective October 30 will be decreased from 5x/week to 4x/week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays).
Frankfurt – Nanjing effective October 30 will be decreased from 4x/week to 3x/week.
Frankfurt – New York (JFK) effective October 30 will see an A330-300 operate flights LH404 and LH405, replacing the A340-600.
Frankfurt – New York (JFK) effective between January 16 and February 28 will be reduced from 2x/day to 1x/day. LH404 and LH405 will be suspended during that time.
Frankfurt – Seoul (ICN) effective October 30 will be decreased from 7x/week to 5x/week. The 747-8i will be replaced by a 747-400 for Winter 16/17.
H/T: AirlineRoute.net
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 25, 2016 | Featured, Industry News, Lufthansa, Miles & More |
Miles & More has begun to unveil what some of the changes will be to the program beginning later this year. So far, it’s nothing to panic about and actually may be acceptable to most.
In the first phase, M&M is focusing on Intra-Europe award travel. Specifically, it appears that ticket surcharges will decrease substantially and the amount of miles required to redeem a ticket will go up modestly.
Beginning with bookings made on September 15, 2016 or later, ‘Intra-Europe’ redemption surcharges will decrease from €40 to only €5 for Economy Class and for Business Class the fee will go down from €43 to €20. This will apply to flights operated by LH Group Airlines. As far as miles are concerned, Economy and Business Class ticket redemptions will increase by 5000 miles (roundtrip booking).
In reality this is a fairly ‘passenger friendly’ deal. I’m sure most of us would be willing to spend 5k more miles instead of €20 to €35 more in fees. For you dissenters, keep in mind it could have been much worse!
Expect changes to be announced for Intercontinental travel in the near future.
H/T: VFT’s Miles & More Forum
