by Lufthansa Flyer | May 24, 2016 | Featured, Industry News, Lufthansa, Strike, Vereinigung Cockpit |
Late last week, Lufthansa and Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) ‘quietly’ agreed to work towards an agreement that would finally put an end to strikes by Lufthansa pilots.
Over the last few months you’ve noticed relative peace between LH and VC as both sides have been negotiating on several levels to reach an agreement that would protect pilot benefits as well as the Airline’s interest. To that end, there have been several separate groups negotiation a variety of issues. Going forward, both sides agreed to consolidate their efforts into one major push and have committed to having issues resolved and new agreements in place by the end of July.
What does this mean?
As long as both sides agree to work together and not pull any surprises, I suspect that we will have little to no risk of service disruptions due to striking pilots this summer. Odds for a deal have improved dramatically once the union provided concessions to the compensation structure for pilots, while LH committed to expanded career opportunities for pilots.
The only time strikes would be called would be when the union had a temper tantrum and wanted to send a message to the airline and its passengers. It appears that they are well past this, and are finally realizing that the best outcome is to get a deal done.
Hopefully the peace lasts……
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 17, 2016 | Featured, Lufthansa, Route Announcements |
Beginning later this year, Lufthansa will begin weekly service between Frankfurt and Madeira, Portugal. The new service is set to begin on November 5 and will operate on Saturdays. Lufthansa will be deploying an A321 on the route.
The flight details are as follows:
Lufthansa LH1170 will depart Frankfurt at 9:40a and arrive in Funchal (FNC) at 12:55p. Flight time is scheduled for 4 hr 15 min.
Lufthansa LH1171 will depart Funchal at 2:30p and arrive in Frankfurt at 7:40p. Flight time is scheduled for 4 hr 10 min.
Lufthansa.com is currently advertising economy fares for as low as €400 while business class fares run in the mid €600 range.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 14, 2016 | Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa |
USA to Europe for $300? Yep….
Due to the fare war between United and American where United has been targeting some of AA’s Hubs, LH passengers get to benefit from the fare deals. This happens because the agreement between LH and United is that United sets the fares for Star Alliance member flights departing the USA, so basically what United charges as a fare, will be the same on Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels, and Air Canada.
Though there are a lot of great deals, especially on Tuesday departures in November and December, Philadelphia – Dublin is hands down the best deal with fares ranging between $290 and $320 (yes, roundtrip). Other deals out of Miami, Dallas, St. Louis, and Phoenix are good, but not as good as PHL – DUB. The absolute lowest prices seem to happen in November.
Book quick, fare wars are unpredictable and can end anytime without notice.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 8, 2016 | Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa, Premium Economy |
Lufthansa’s current ‘Y+’ sale wraps up in about a week, and in the mean time there are some deals that come close to what regular economy class tickets would cost during peak summer travel.
The sale to Europe covers most of the summer travel period and has fares starting as low as $1550 for New York – Milan and goes up into the mid-$1900 range for East Coast and Midwest departures. West Coast fares start in the low $2000 neighborhood. Compared to Economy fares during this ‘summer peak’ book period, the Premium Economy fares are only $400-600 more and you certainly get a good value for that premium, including better seats, additional free ‘check-in luggage’, and more miles for your frequent flyer account in most cases when compared to Economy.
At the same time, Lufthansa is running specials to Africa where you can get from the USA to Northern Africa for less than $1000 in Economy. But this fare sale covers departures for mid to late May only.
For the Premium Economy sale to Europe, the sale ends on May 17 and covers departures taking place between May 22 and August 22. Return travel must take place between June 5 and November 22. Weekend surcharges may apply for Thursday-Sunday departure or returns.
by Lufthansa Flyer | May 3, 2016 | Featured, First Class, Lufthansa, Munich, Passenger Experience |
A few days ago, I posted info regarding the removal of the First Class cabin from several A330s that are based in Munich which obviously will affect several routes. Since that release from Lufthansa, they’ve provided a further update that at least temporarily brings back the F cabin on certain routes. In speaking with LH’s Network/Scheduling Planning area today, it appears that they are in the midst of finalizing the timeline and we should expect additional updates as LH schedules their aircraft for retrofit over Winter 2016/17. For now, here is the latest info that has been loaded into their reservation system.
Munich – Boston is still scheduled to have F removed on January 3.
Munich – Charlotte has been reopened for F beyond December 1
Munich – Chicago has been reopened for F beyond January 3
Munich – Delhi removal of F has been pushed out to January 16
Munich – Miami has been reopened for F beyond February 4
Munich – Montreal has been reopened for F beyond December 1
Munich – Mumbai has been reopened for F beyond December 1
Munich – New York (JFK) has been reopened for F beyond February 2
Munich – Tehran has been reopened for F beyond December 1
Munich – Washington DC has been reopened for F beyond February 2
Regardless of the dates listed above, the plan calls for complete removal of F on these routes no later than the end of March 2017, in time for the 2017 Summer timetable.
Keep in mind, this is not a finalize schedule. A lot will depend on how quickly LH schedules their aircraft to go into maintenance for the cabin changes. Historically, delays typically take place so I expect that LH will keep providing regular updates, especially as we approach the 3rd Quarter.
Oh, and speaking of Munich, they’re leading Atletico 1-0 in today’s UEFA Semi-Final match thus far……..
H/T: AirlineRoute.net for the GDS data
