by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 26, 2014 | Airlines |
SWISS is currently holding an attractive First and Business Class fare sale for travel in April from their USA Gateways. Anytime these fares go on sale it creates a great opportunity to experience one of the best First Class and Business Class products that exist for flights between the USA and Europe. Normally fares for these premium cabins can be twice as much!
For FIRST CLASS (click for fare website), fares from New York’s JFK and Newark range from the mid to upper $5000 range for most popular European destinations such as Prague, Rome, Paris, Vienna, etc. The lowest fare is from NYC to Florence for only $5493.
From the West Coast, fares range between the upper $6000 / lower $7000 range with Florence again being the best deal for $6493 from San Francisco or Los Angeles.
For BUSINESS CLASS, fares range from the upper $2000 to lower $3000 range from East Coast gateways. From the West Coast, fares range between the mid $3000 to mid $4000 range.
Be mindful when booking because some of the flights are operated by United or Edelweiss (using SWISS Aircraft). To maximize the experience I would suggest you make sure you pick the SWISS operated options for your transatlantic segments.
Terms and conditions are sparse, but at a minimum you must depart between April 13 and 25, returning no later than May 1. The fare sale makes for a nice ‘Spring Break’ opportunity!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Jan 14, 2014 | Airlines |
In the past I would compile a list of recent timetable announcements for Star Alliance carriers. I had gotten away from the habit several weeks ago but with updates starting to come for the Spring/Summer 2014 season I decided to compile these updates once again. As always thanks to www.AirlineRoute.net for providing the details.
So without further ado, here are Star Alliance member route announcements from the previous 7 days:
AIR CANADA:
Toronto – London Heathrow: Effective July 1 will be reduced from 5x/day to 4x/day.
AVIANCA:
San Jose (Costa Rica) – Guatemala effective January 29 increases from 7x/week to 12x/week.
San Jose (Costa Rica) – Guatemala effective February 17 increases from 12x/week to 14x/week.
ETHIOPIAN:
Addis Ababa – Dammam: Effective between January 1 and March 31 is suspended. 2x/week operation will return on April 1 via Kuwait.
EVA:
Taipei – Toronto: Effective June 2 increases from 3x/week to 4x/week.
Taipei – Vancouver: Effective June 2 increases from 3x/week to 4x/week.
LUFTHANSA:
Frankfurt – Accra: Effective March 30 will be reduced from 5x/week to 4x/week. LH will replace PrivatAir as operating carrier and use an A330-300 on the route.
SWISS:
Zurich – Dubai: Effective between July 1 and July 19 service will be reduced from 7x/week to 6x/week due to runway maintenance in DXB.
TAM:
Rio De Janeiro – London Heathrow: Effective March 17 is CANCELLED. However, 3x/week service will be in place for the World Cup (between June 3 and July 18, 2014).
TAP:
Lisbon – Gothenburg: Effective July 2 will BEGIN 4x/week service.
Lisbon – Luanda: Effective July 2 will increase from 10x/week to 11x/week.
TURKISH:
Istanbul (IST) – Donetsk effective March 30 increases from 10x/week to 12x/week. Moves to 14x/week starting June 23.
Istanbul (IST) – Edinburgh effective March 30 increases from 7x/week to 8x/week. Moves to 9x/week starting May 26.
Istanbul (IST) – Frankfurt effective June 21 increases from 30x/week to 33x/week.
Istanbul (IST) – London (LGW) effective March 30 increases from 2x/day to 3x/day.
Istanbul (IST) – Simferopol effective March 30 increases from 9x/week to 12x/week. Moves to 14x/week starting April 26.
Istanbul (IST) – Stuttgart effective March 30 increases from 24x/week to 25x/week.
UNITED:
Newark – Dublin: Effective June 5 will increase from 1x/day to 2x/day.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 31, 2013 | Airlines |
On my recent 4 day / 10+ segment mileage run that took me to Washington DC, Frankfurt, Vienna, Zurich, Lisbon, Newark and finally home to GRR, I had a great opportunity to visit Zurich’s beautiful Observation Deck atop Terminal B.
I’ll have more on the observation deck in a future post since it merits a better and more detailed looked. For now, I’ll share some of the images I was able to capture during my 2 hour visit to the deck. I had a 4 hour layover so I did not have as much time as I would like but I took what I could get (and I wish I had packed ‘BIGMA’). Safe to say now that I’ve had my first taste, I’ll be back for a 1 or 2 day visit in the spring when another area on the airport is open for spotting as well.
For now enjoy some of what I saw in ‘ZRH’! :
A face off between the 747SP of the former ruler of Qatar and a ‘Jumbolino’
Turkish operator ‘tailwind’
Taken through glass hence the ghosting near the engines, but still a good catch!
This was the ‘Best Of Show’ while I was in ZRH. This 747SP is the private aircraft of the former ruler of Qatar.
A departing Swiss A340-300
Austrian’s A320 gets a push back from her gate
An AVRO RJ100 ‘Jumbolino’ arriving to Terminal A
SWISS’ A330 being prepared for departure
A departing SWISS A330
SWISS’ A321 HB-ION climbing out of ZRH
An A321 pushes back from her gate.
A Swiss A319 making her way to the active runway.
What will become a rare sight, A Lufthansa 737.
KLM’s ERJ190 taxis to the runway.
this Jat 737 actually now belongs to Air Serbia
SWISS’ A320 leaves the gate
NIKI/Air Berlin A320 push back from her gate
this SwissJet AW139 passed very quietly overhead…..almost missed her!
Darwin’s Saab 2000 being prepped for service. DARWIN will become Etihad Regional in March 2014.
Delta’s 767 departing for the USA
‘Speedbird’ A321 arriving from England.
Air Berlin A320 rolling towards runway…..
Air Berlin A320 departing ZRH
by Lufthansa Flyer | Dec 6, 2013 | Contests |
As is traditional for the season, SWISS is holding a contest during ADVENT that awards a variety of prizes throughout the length of the Christmas season.
Between now and Christmas, you can enter the contest once per day and have a chance to win great SWISS and Holiday inspired prizes including tickets, vouchers, SWISS branded accessories, etc. To enter simply visit SWISS’ Advent Contest website, enter your details and see what you’ve entered to win!
Remember to visit every day since a new prize and winner will be chosen each day. Looks like the contest is open to everyone without any restrictions on citizenship or residency.
Good Luck!
by Lufthansa Flyer | Nov 13, 2013 | Airlines |
SWISS has launched a fare sale from Zurich to Montreal with fares as low as CHF 599 (€486 / $653).
Tickets must be booked between 13 and 21 November and travel must take place between 20 November and 28 February 2014.
Though these are the official dates of the fare sale, when I looked for dates during the last 2 weeks of December and first week of January the sale fare was not available. Considering that this period covers Christmas and New Year, this should come as no surprise. However if your plans do not involved needing to travel over the Holiday, this is a fairly attractive sale.
Please note that these fares MAY not credit full mileage credit to your frequent flyer program since they book into SWISS’ ‘K’ fare. Earning miles on discounted fares varies greatly by frequent flyer program, so please be aware of that!
