by Lufthansa Flyer | Aug 1, 2014 | Featured, Lufthansa |
Due to EXTREMELY popular demand, LUFTHANSA will keep the ‘Siegerflieger’ Fanhansa livery on their 747-8i (D-ABYI) through 2016 European Championships.
For those of you unfamiliar with this special livery, Lufthansa ‘re-labeled’ the 747-8i as ‘Fanhansa’ to celebrate the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil. ‘YI’ then flew around the world serving as bit of an ambassador for the German Football team. Once Germany cinched the 2014 World Cup, the aircraft had the additional ‘Siegerflieger’ livery added which translates to ‘Winners Plane’.
‘Fanhansa’ arriving in Frankfurt on May 24, 2014.
YI shown the day in Chicago before she would become the ‘Siegerflieger’
Due to the popular reception of this aircraft by passengers, football fans and avgeeks Lufthansa will keep the Siegerfliger livery going for another 2 years! I know some of you were hoping to fly on her so now you’ve been given a 2 year extension to track her down!
Fans will be able to enjoy the livery for another 2 years! Photo courtesy of Lufthansa.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jul 30, 2014 | Airlines, Featured, Lufthansa |
A big H/T to FlyerTalk’s ClaudiSTR who shared this nugget of great information based on her conversations with the UA Mileage Plus’ 1K desk.
It appears that beginning on August 1 (or thereabout), Mileage Plus members who wish to use a Global Premier Upgrade certificate will be able to do so electronically when booking or updating a reservation. Up to this point, a paper certificate had to be requested from United which would be mailed to the Mileage Plus member. The certificate would then need to be presented to the LH team at the airport on the day of travel for processing. With this new change, all of that goes away (finally!!)
I don’t have too many more details at this point as far as how this affects transferring the GPU to someone else or what the exact process will look like once launched. If I learn anymore, I’ll pass it along.
If anyone has any other insights into this great change for UA Mileage Plus members, please share them!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jul 28, 2014 | Business Class, Featured, Lufthansa |
Throughout the month of July, LUFTHANSA selected several long haul flights to trial a new concept that they are considering for roll out that will be known as Business Class Signature service. The concept is focused solely on their Business Class product and is designed to bring a new level of personal attention and detail to the Business Class passenger.
In the title I referred to it as a ‘Soft Product’. In airline-speak, ‘Soft Product’ is often referred to as any part of the onboard experience that is not related to the actual seat or aircraft (normally referred to as ‘Hard Product’). Soft Product typically includes catering and flight crew; things that can be unique from one flight to another.
As far as these test flights were concerned, the biggest focus was on flight attendant interaction and responsibility toward passengers. During these flights, Flight Attendants (FA) were assigned a specific group of passengers for whom they would be responsible for during most of the flight. For most flights, this resulted in an FA having 8-12 passengers to look after to ensure a passenger’s onboard experience.
The logic behind this concept suggests that if an FA can focus his or her efforts on a small group of passengers, it will allow for far more interaction between crew and passenger as well as delivery of a far more personalized experience for the traveller. As it stands now in Business Class, FAs are left to deal with the entire cabin of passengers and basically see themselves as simply delivering beverage and meal service, but never personalizing the passenger’s experience since there is little time to get to know upwards of 50 or more passengers! With Business Class Signature, FAs will be able to focus on a small group of passengers, get to know them and based on this increased ‘touch’ be able to deliver a very personalized experience.
Based on feedback from both crew and passengers, this pilot program was extremely effective and successful. Further ‘tests’ are planned and more enhancements will be introduced over the coming months. If all goes to plan, expect to see an official fleet wide launch in Summer 2015.
If any of you were aboard one of these flights and experienced Business Class Signature, please share your thoughts about it!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jul 27, 2014 | Business Class, Fare Sale, Featured, Lufthansa |
If my post from yesterday didn’t compel you to book a First Class Lufthansa ticket during their fare sale then perhaps this offer will do the trick.
In addition to the First Class fare deals during the Thanksgiving Holiday, Lufthansa is also offering GREAT deals for Business Class travel. In fact, you can get from New York to Dusseldorf for as low as $2100!
There are several attractive fares that cover travel from LH’s East Coast gateways to a variety of European destinations that range between $2200 and $2600, while fares from the West Coast start in the low $3000 range and move slightly higher from there.
As is the case with the First Class fare sale, this promotion ends on September 29. Travel must originate between November 22 and 28 and must be completed between November 27 and December 3. Tickets must be purchased 60 days ahead of departure.
If you are going to book this deal, please make sure that you pay attention to the airlines operating your flight as Lufthansa, SWISS, Brussels, Austrian, Air Canada and United can all be operating carriers. Take my advice, choose one of the first 4!
If you want to experience LH’s popular new Business Class, I would recommend flying out of a Gateway City that offers the Boeing 747-8i. It’s by far my favorite Aircraft/Cabin combo in the LH Group fleet and I go out of my way to experience it!
If you need help putting together an itinerary to take advantage of certain aircraft and cabins, please let me know by leaving a comment or sending me an e-mail.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jul 26, 2014 | Fare Sale, Featured, First Class, Lufthansa |
Lufthansa is running a First Class Fare sale for travel to Europe during the Thanksgiving Holiday period in the USA. Fares are attractive, starting as low as $5069 (Boston-Brussels).
The fare sale extends to a wide variety of European destinations too many to mention. Aside from the great Boston-Brussels fare, other fares run in the mid to high $5000 range from the East Coast while fares from the West Coast are ranging in the $6000-$6200 range.
A great reason to visit Europe during this time of year is to experience the Christmas Markets that get underway in late November and run through the Christmas Holiday season. I’ve been to several of them over the past few years and can recommend them highly. There’s nothing like sipping on a warm mug of Spiced Wine while browsing a market!
As far as the terms and conditions are concerned, the fare sale runs until September 29th. Outbound travel must take place between November 22 and 28th, while return flights need to take place between November 27 and December 3. Tickets must be purchased 60 days prior to departure.
AND PLEASE……
Pay attention to who is operating your flight. As is normal for ex-USA travel, your flights may be operated by Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian, Brussels, United or Air Canada. Please be mindful that only Lufthansa and SWISS offer First Class flights within the Lufthansa Group. Austrian, Brussels & Air Canada, while excellent, fly 2-cabin aircraft – Business & Economy. And of course there is NO COMPARISON between LH and United when it comes to the First Class experience to Europe.
By flying with LH or SWISS in First Class you’ll have access to the wonderful First Class Lounges in Munich, Frankfurt and Zurich as well as the First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. You’ll also find the limited edition Christmas Ducks being offered in the lounges during this time of year in Munich and Frankfurt.
