by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 1, 2014 | Cargo, Featured, Frankfurt, Lufthansa, Strike |
Lufthansa has updated their Flight Status webpage to reflect the impact of the 2-day strike taking place today and tomorrow. In all, nearly 1,400 flights have thus far been cancelled. The strike will come in 2 stages. On Monday, short and medium haul flights system wide will be impacted from 11:00am to 11:00p on Monday, December 1. Long Haul and Cargo flights will be impacted by part 2 of the strike set to take place between 2:00a and 11:00p on Tuesday, December 2.
Ticketed passengers will be rebooked on other flights or have the option to change their travel dates as long as the original ticket was purchased prior to November 30. If you are traveling today or tomorrow, please check the ‘My Bookings’ page on Lufthansa.com to rebook your ticket or to see what other options may exist to reaccommodate you.
For passengers whose flights have not been cancelled, you can use the same ‘My Bookings’ link provided above to reschedule your flights to a different date. The only restriction is that travel takes place prior to March 1, 2015.
To see the most up-to-date list of cancelled Lufthansa flights, please use this link.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 30, 2014 | Cargo, Featured, Lufthansa, Strike |
No sooner than I post the fact that negotiations have broken down between Lufthansa and their Pilots Union, a strike has been announced for Monday, December 1 and Tuesday, December 2.
The strike is a 2 pronged attack that will affect both short and long haul operations. Cargo operations will be impacted as well.
Specifically, Medium and Short Haul flights will be impacted from noon on Monday December 1 until 11:00p on Tuesday December 2 (Frankfurt local time). Long Haul flights will be affected from Tuesday December 2 from 3:00 am until 11:00 pm (Frankfurt local time). As part of the strike action Cargo flights will be impacted at the same time as the long haul stoppage on Tuesday.
Lufthansa has yet to update their website with specific information on the strike, but you can use this Flight Status link to check the status of your flight and for updates on the strike. Additionally, if you provided your email or cell phone number during your booking process, you will receive automatic updates that impact your flights.
I’ll follow up with another post once Lufthansa begins to list the specific flights that will be cancelled.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 30, 2014 | Featured, Lufthansa, Strike |
The union representing the majority of Lufthansa’s pilots has broken off talks with the airline after failing to reach an agreement in a long-standing labor dispute.
As a result, the union has once again threatened work stoppages that could come at anytime but they did indicate that there will be no strikes during the Christmas Holiday.
The talks have broken off even after Lufthansa offered pilots a 5% pay raise. However the major sticking point revolves around early retirement. The union wants LH to let pilots retire as early as age 55 with a majority of their benefits intact while Lufthansa’s position has remained that the minimum retirement age should be somewhere ‘north’ of 55 for a pilot to earn full retirement benefits.
With these new threats, strikes can be called with as little as 24-48 hours notice and can include pilots from Cargo, Lufthansa and Germanwings. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Lufthansa has become quite adept at handling these strikes and has been proactive in assisting passengers during work stoppages.
I’m sure we’ll hear more in the next few days.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 22, 2014 | Featured, Lufthansa, Premium Economy |
With the launch of the new and much anticipated Premium Economy Class aboard Lufthansa long haul aircraft, LH has introduced the ability for passengers who have purchased an Economy Ticket to bid for a Premium Economy seat. The program is effective today, November 22, 2014.
The new program, dubbed myOffer will work as follows:
When you bring up your qualifying itinerary under ‘My Bookings’ on Lufthansa.com, you will see a link for ‘myOffer’ that will take you to a page where you can place your bid for an upgrade.
Depending on the amount of bids received and their amounts, winning bids will be selected and awarded between 72 and 36 hours prior to your departure for that specific flight. According to LH, all passengers will receive an email no later than 24 hours prior to departure informing them on their bid’s status.
If your bid is successful you will receive the full benefit of Premium Economy, including additional miles, extra baggage allowance, optional lounge access (additional fee) and enhanced catering.
For now this program will ONLY be available for Premium Economy seats aboard 747-8i aircraft since all of LH’s 747-8i are now equipped with Premium Economy. The program will rollout to other aircraft types once that specific aircraft fleet has been retrofitted with Premium Economy.
According to LH, this program IS NOT available for tickets purchased in India or Japan, as well as any tickets that were purchased as a group booking.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 19, 2014 | Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa, Premium Economy |
To promote the introduction of Lufthansa’s new Premium Economy cabin, they’re offering a ‘farely’ attractive sale from Germany to destinations worldwide. The destinations are limited to those that will feature the new seat but the fare sale is good for travel well into 2015 and 2016.
These fares are only a bit higher that typical economy fares but with the new Premium Economy seat you’ll have far more leg room, a more comfortable seat, enhanced catering, special luggage allowance and even an amenity kit! To learn more about the features and benefits, please visit this excellent interactive tool that Lufthansa has launched that provides all the details that you’ll need.
The fare covers flights from most German originating cities to Bangkok, Beijing, Bengaluru, Bogota, Boston, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Delhi, Denver, Detroit, Hong Kong and Houston and several others. You’ll notice that not every Premium Economy destination is included in this sale. This is due to the fact that some routes will not see the new seat until well into 2015 and there could be adjustments to that timeline.
Fares range from as low as €999 (Frankfurt – Delhi) to as much as €1499 (Frankurt – Nagoya or Osaka).
The fare sale continues until December 9, 2014, however there are unique terms and conditions based on your destination:
North America: This fare is NOT AVAILABLE for travel between June 27 and August 30, 2015.
Africa, Asia, South America: Minimum stay is 6 days.
Middle East: Minimum stay is 6 days OR a Saturday or Sunday.
Otherwise, departures must take place between November 22, 2014 and October 31, 2015 while return travel must take place between November 23, 2014 and January 31, 2016.
Additionally, you must purchase your ticket at least 1 day prior to departure (No last minute surcharge apparently). The maximum stay for this fare is 90 days.
LH does not usually provide such an open ended fare sale where travel can be planned out all the way to 2016 and I think it is a safe bet that these kind of fares sales for Premium Economy will be few and far between based on the occupancy projections that Lufthansa is forecasting for the product.
