by Lufthansa Flyer | Apr 11, 2013 | Airlines |
SWISS is running 3 concurrent fare sales for travel from the USA to cities throughout Europe. What’s nice is that you have your choice of classes to choose from. For Economy class, the fare sale covers Spring travel while Business and First Class fare sales are in place for Summer travel.
The Economy Class Sale fares start from the mid to high $800 range for travel from New York to a variety of European destinations including Lugano, Venice, Vienna, Prague and other fantastic destinations. The fares are slightly higher from other East Coast SWISS gateways. Flights from San Francisco to the same cities ranges between the upper $900 to low $1000 area and actually is the better value when you factor in the “cost per mile” of the ticket. These low fares are readily available for travel throughout April and May.
The Business Class Sale picks up where the Economy Class sale ends and covers Business Class travel during the summer. The fares are approximately 50% lower than their regular price. Some highlights of this fare sale include New York to Istanbul for only $2828 and New York to Barcelona for only $2823. Fares from east coast gateways mostly range from $2800 to $3100 while fares from the West Coast start in the mid $3000 range and go up into the $4200-4300 area. The fare sale covers travel between June 28 and September 5, and availability is plentiful.
I’ve said in the past that SWISS Business Class is one of the finest business class cabins that you’ll ever find on any airline. I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing it several times and thanks to their great hospitality, cabin and crew I would choose SWISS business over many other airline’s First Class product. This fare sale makes a very compelling argument for someone to experience SWISS for themselves!
The First Class Fare Sale discounts the typical first class fare by 50% and if you’re in the mood to spoil yourself, this may be a great time to do so. Typically a $12,000+ seat, you can book SWISS First Class from New York to most European destinations from as low as $6000. The best fare appears to be New York – Rome which comes in at $6055. Other fares from the east coast range anywhere from $6000 to $7000 and fares from the west coast range from $7000 to $8000. The first class fare sale covers travel between June 28 and September 1 and has plenty of availability.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Apr 3, 2013 | Airlines |
Lufthansa launched a First Class fare sale today that lasts until July 2 for travel between the USA and Europe. The pricing is typical of a First Class fare sale and among the most attractive destinations price-wise is London, England. For example New York or Boston to London is only $4202.
If you are going to take advantage of this fare sale, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be mindful of which airline will be operating the flight. Under this fare sale, the carriers can include Swiss, Air Canada, United, Brussels Airlines or Austrian. Keep in mind that Austrian, Brussels and Air Canada do not have a true “First Class” cabin. United is OK as far as their Global First product is concerned, but the true First Class experience and value will be found on either Lufthansa or Swiss. So make sure that your flights are operated by ‘LH’ or ‘LX’ to get the best ‘travel return’ on your dollar.
With First Class travel on Lufthansa, you’ll experience fantastic amenities as part of your travels. You will be able to access their phenomenal First Class Lounges in Frankfurt and Munich, The revered First Class Terminal in Frankfurt, a personal escort that will meet you at your plane to help direct you through passport/immigration control and a truly wonderful inflight experience from a specially trained First Class cabin crew. Additionally, you’ll earn triple miles for your frequent flyer account.
I always recommend that people try to experience Lufthansa’s First Class hospitality at least once. It will become the highlight of any trip. Trust me! 😉
Terms and Conditions of the fare sale:
Tickets must be purchased by July 2, 2013
You must depart between June 28 and August 31, 2013
You must return between June 30 and September 5, 2013
Tickets must be purchased 60 DAYS in advance.
Travel valid on Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, Brussels, Air Canada and United (Be careful here! 🙂 )
Pricing based on round-trip travel.
Saturday night stay is required.
Date changes allowed: $400 per change.
by Lufthansa Flyer | Apr 2, 2013 | Airlines |
AUSTRIAN today announced that it has retired it’s last Boeing 737 from their fleet. The aircraft had belonged to Lauda Air which had been absorbed into Austrian in 2012. The retirement of the 737, registration OE-LNK, marks the end of the 7 month transition from Boeing to an all Airbus fleet for short and medium-haul destinations. Over these 7 months, 11 Boeing 737s were removed from the fleet and replaced with 7 Airbus A320s, bringing the total to 29 A320s types in AUSTRIAN’s fleet.
The decision to move to an all Airbus fleet for non-long haul operations is a wise one because of the savings that Austrian will recognize by no longer having dual systems (pilots certification, maintenance, parts, mechanics, etc) for both Boeing and Airbus aircraft. According to CEO Jaan Albrecht, “The fleet harmonisation is an essential building block in the restructuring programme of the Austrian Airlines Group.” Truer words can not be spoken on the topic of streamlining the fleet and restoring AUSTRIAN to profitability.
According to Austrian the decision to replace the 737 with A320s was an easy one; AUSTRIAN had twice as many A320 than 737s before starting the streamlining of their fleet. An additional factor in the decision was the fact that Lufthansa and Swiss have an “army” of A320s which provides additional synergies for the Lufthansa Group and bargaining power when it comes to dealing with Airbus for future airplanes, parts and support.
As it stands today, AUSTRIAN’s fleet is comprised of the following aircraft (according to AUSTRIAN):
LONG HAUL FLEET:
4 Boeing 777
6 Boeing 767
SHORT/MEDIUM HAUL FLEET:
29 Airbus A320s (and variants):
6 Airbus A321
16 Airbus A320
7 Airbus A319
23 Fokkers:
14 Fokker 100
9 Fokker 70
12 Dash 8-400
by Lufthansa Flyer | Apr 1, 2013 | Airlines |
SWISS is currently conducting a contest that will award the Grand Prize Winner 2 Business Class tickets from Switzerland to Singapore!
Contest Main Entry Page
Additionally, 2nd-5th place winners will each win 2 tickets on SWISS to Zurich from within Europe. If any of these winners has a Switzerland based departure airport, they will win 2 tickets to a SWISS destination within Europe.
The contest is fairly straight forward and has a decidedly Singapore theme to it as SWISS celebrates the start of non-stop service to Singapore starting May 12.
The main contest page offers several highlights/links that provide insights on some of the attractions that you’ll find in Singapore. You’ll need that information to answer 3 questions that are required for entry into the contest. Once you enter the answers correctly, you can fill in your details and submit your entry. In reading through the terms and conditions it appears that there are no restrictions in terms of who can enter (except Lufthansa Group employees, families, agents, etc).
I had a chance to visit Singapore last year, and thoroughly enjoyed the city. It’s a wonderful city where you certainly notice the fusion of Asia and Europe. I would recommend to anyone that they visit the city and if you can do it in Business Class on Swiss, all the more better! SWISS in my opinion has one of the world’s best long-haul Business Class products that rivals even some airline’s First Class product. It’s that good!
Good Luck! 🙂
by Lufthansa Flyer | Mar 31, 2013 | Airlines |
No dramatic changes since my last update, but 8 member airlines did have a few minor adjustments to their timetables.
AIR CANADA:
Vancouver-Seoul(ICN) effective June 1 will be reduced from 1x/day to 4x/week.
AIR CHINA:
Beijing-Frankfurt effective between April 1 and 28 will be reduced from 14x/week to 12x/week.
AVIANCA:
Bogota-San Juan effective July 17 will BEGIN 3x/week service.
ASIANA:
Seoul(ICN)-Chicago effective October 27 will increase from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Seoul(ICN)-Chicago effective December 2 service will increase from 5x/week to 1x/DAY.
Seoul(ICN)-Lijiang effective between April 18 and June 16 will operate a scheduled charter 2x/week.
LOT POLISH:
Warsaw-Beijing effective between March 31 and May 6 will be reduced from 3x/week to 2x/week.
LUFTHANSA:
Frankfurt-Dubai effective between July 17 and August 3 will be reduced from 1x/day to 5x/WEEK.
Frankfurt-Khartoum-Addis Ababa effective March 31 will be reduced from 6x/week to 4x/week.
Frankfurt-Addis Ababa effective June 2 will BEGIN 2x/week service.
Munich-Dubai effective between July 15 and July 31 will be reduced from 1x/day to 5x/WEEK.
SWISS:
Zurich-Kiev effective October 27 will begin 1x/day service.
UNITED:
Chicago-Saskatoon effective August 27 will begin 1x/day service
Courtesy: www.AirlineRoute.net
