If you’re like me, you are probably getting tired of the aggressive winter that most of us in the USA are dealing with.  I haven’t seen my lawn at home since November and not sure that I’ll ever see it again at this rate!

However there is a light beginning to appear at the end of the proverbial tunnel…..

To remind us that Spring is out there some where, Lufthansa is running an early spring Business Class fare sale for travel from the USA to Europe during April.

Fares range between $2500 to $3300 depending on which US gateway you depart from.   For this fare sale, the best deal that I’ve found is between Chicago and Madrid for only $2529.   Otherwise fares from East Coast gateways start at $2800 and West Coast gateways start at $3700.

When booking be mindful of 2 things.   First, the operating carrier for the transatlantic segment can vary among Lufthansa, SWISS and United.  Considering that these tickets will book as a deep discount Business ‘P’ fare the amount of miles you earn will vary based on the operating carrier and your Frequent Flyer Program.   Depending on your ‘FF’ program you will earn either 100% or 150% ‘Elite Qualifying Miles’ which can make a big difference when you consider the 8,000-12,000 miles involved in traveling round-trip between Europe and the USA.

Second, the gateway you choose will go along way in determining the kind of aircraft that you will fly on.   As far as Lufthansa’s fleet is concerned, my preference and recommendation would be to fly on the 747-8i.  It is Lufthansa newest type of aircraft and the cabins are consistent throughout all of the 747-8i in the fleet.  This simply means you will experience Lufthansa’s fantastic new Business Class seat no matter which 747-8i you are on.   You can find the 747-8i flying from Washington DC, Chicago and Los Angeles to Frankfurt.   Another recommendation would be to fly the A380 which you can find flying to Frankfurt from Miami, Houston or San Francisco.   However the A380s are only now beginning to have the new business class installed so you would still experience Lufthansa’s previous version of Business Class if you fly in April.

As with any fare sale there are terms & conditions and they are as follows:

Tickets must be purchased by April 13, 2014

You must depart between April 13 and April 25, 2014

You must return between April 19 and May 1, 2014

Tickets must be purchased 28 days ahead of departure.

If you have any questions about the sale or need help building an itinerary, please let me know by leaving a comment.