by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 13, 2015 | Fleet Update, Lufthansa |
Late last week, details began to emerge from Airbus that Lufthansa, not Qatar, would become the launch operator for the much-anticipated A320neo (New Engine Option). The anticipation for the ‘neo’ revolves around the fact that it is expected to be 15% more efficient than its predecessor due to the new engines developed for the aircraft.
The reason that led to Qatar no longer being the launch customer had to do with the final tweaks to the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines that are being used as one of the power plant options for the ‘neo’. Qatar had raised concerns that a few minor software and hardware modifications would potentially create operational restrictions until the issues were resolved.
Lufthansa however was comfortable with the work that needed to be done in order to confidently put the A320neo into service so it now becomes the launch customer for the new model. The modifications are performance-enhancing and do not create safety concerns.
The latest information from LH suggests that the delivery of their first ‘neo’ will take place on December 22 and it will enter service on January 6 when it flies from Frankfurt to Hamburg.
LH has 116 ‘neos’ on order of which 61 will fly for Lufthansa mainline while the remaining will be distributed among other LH Group carriers.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 11, 2015 | Ducks, First Class, First Class Terminal, Lufthansa |
Beginning this morning (December 11), First Class passengers and HON Circle members will be able to get their hands on a new-style Lufthansa First Class Christmas duck when they visit the First Class Terminal (FCT) or First Class Lounges (FCL) in Frankfurt.
These special seasonal ducks are available only while supplies last so if your itinerary allows for it, I would seek out this little guy before he’s gone!
The 2016 First Class Duck
As long as you are departing FRA in First Class on Lufthansa, or taking a flight connecting you to an LH or SWISS First Class flight on the same day you can visit the FCT. If you are arriving in Frankfurt in First Class on LH, you may have the opportunity to go to a First Class Lounge, but that will depend specifically on your arriving flight and whether or not you disembark near an FCL in Terminal 1. HON Circle members of course may access the FCT or FCL regardless of class of travel as long as they are on an LH Group operated flight that day.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 9, 2015 | Featured, Lufthansa, Miles & More |
In a gesture of good faith, Lufthansa has offered members of Miles & More (MM) a gift of status miles for this year due to the potential impact that several strikes had on their travels this year. Specifically HON Circle members will receive 30,000 status miles, Senators will receive 10,000 status miles and Frequent Traveler level members will receive 3000 status miles.
Lufthansa’s rationale is that due to the strikes, members may have missed out on re-qualifying for their status levels by a small margin due to the strikes and this gift would help bridge that gap.
At first glance, this is a nice gesture and there is probably a very small group of ‘MM’ members that will benefit from this. However I think Lufthansa missed an opportunity to really deliver something of value to their elite level passengers.
My issue with this is the fact that the miles are ‘Status’ miles only and do not count as award miles. If Lufthansa really wanted to say ‘Thank You’ for your continued loyalty during a difficult stretch, they simply could have offered ‘Award’ miles that would actually have far more value for ALL OF THEIR Miles & More members. Member attrition has been a problem for Miles & More and I think a great opportunity to do the right thing was missed.
As a Senator level member myself, who planned ahead of time and qualified for SEN in October, this gift of status miles comes with literally no benefit to me. It’s like kissing my cousin.
In speaking with several friends who also are Senator level members, they shared similar sentiments. One of them raised an excellent point: Most people who are concerned about renewing their status levels have already planned their travels accordingly and have either already re-qualified or have bookings already in place that will allow them to re-qualify by year’s end. They were not going to wait to see what, if anything, LH would do as far as goodwill is concerned for this year.
I’m inclined to agree with that argument. Most of us have already taken care of re-qualifying for 2015 or have plans in place to do so. A few of these ‘SEN’ friends also suggested that they be allowed to return the miles to LH as a mild protest 😉 .
My point and opinion in all of this is that LH missed a great opportunity to provide true value and benefit to their best passengers. By simply giving a grant of ‘Status’ miles, they really did not help all that many to re-qualify and lost a chance to really deliver something that would be useful to all members. Especially if they wanted to ‘apologize’ for a rough year thanks to a record number of strikes that impacted travel for 10s of thousands of passengers.
Had these miles also counted as ‘Award’ miles the goodwill and tangible benefit would have been far more reaching. For example, receiving 10,000 award miles would cover nearly 20% of a ‘Meilenschnappchen’ deal where it only takes 55,000 miles for a Business Class award ticket between the USA and Europe. A real and useful benefit!
For those of you that know me, you know that I am a fan of the airline and defend their actions even when most do not. However in this case, I just could not let my disappointment go undocumented. I simply think LH missed a golden opportunity to deliver something truly valuable to those they rely on the most.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 8, 2015 | Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa, Premium Economy |
For next several days, Lufthansa is running a relatively attractive Premium Economy fare sale from the USA to most of their European destinations.
This sale also includes flights operated by LH’s Low Cost Carrier flights operated by their ‘Cityline’ unit. For example Tampa Bay, Florida to St. Petersburg, Russia can be had for only $950 in Premium Economy.
Other attractive fares for this sale include Chicago – Krakow for $1350 and Houston – Milan for $1400. Otherwise most fares from the East Coast starting in $1400-$1500 range and West Coast departures range between $1700 and $1900.
The fare sale details:
Sale ends on December 15, 2015
Departures can take place between December 24, 2015 and March 17, 2016.
Return flights can take place between December 27, 2015 and June 17, 2016.
Tickets must be purchased 14 days prior to departure.
For those of you who have not flown LH’s Premium Economy, I can recommend it from personal experience. This year I flew a handful of Premium Economy segments including runs between the US and Frankfurt as well as between Frankfurt and Johannesburg. Though not a Business or First Class seat, they are quite acceptable, even for a 10 hour run between FRA and JNB!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 7, 2015 | Featured, Lufthansa, Munich, Route Announcements |
Lufthansa announced today that it will begin service between Munich and Debrecen on April 11.
Flights between Munich and Hungary’s second largest city will operate 3 times a week and will be flown by Bombardier CR aircraft.
Flight info is as follows:
Flight 1686 will depart Munich on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 7:30a, arriving in Debrecen at 9:05a.
Flight 1687 will depart Debrecen on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9:45a, arriving in Munich at 11:25a.
Flight time is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.
