Lufthansa will ask Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria for a bailout as it seeks to stabilize itself and its subsidiary carriers in a time of uncertainty. Speaking to staff, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said: “I am optimistic that the...
Pessimistic Lufthansa Will Retire Some 747s, A340s, A380s
Lufthansa does not see demand bouncing back for years and has responded by announcing the retirement of several longhaul and shorthaul aircraft. When I accuse my German wife of being pessimistic, she corrects me and says she is just...
Germany Backs Lufthansa Effort To Stop Issuing Refunds
The German government has endorsed Lufthansa’s argument that it cannot survive if it must issue refunds for cancelled tickets. Just last week the European Commission re-affirmed regulation that mandates airlines to promptly refund tickets for flight cancellations. Lufthansa, among...
How Lufthansa Is Fleecing Customers…Again
Lufthansa, the German airline known for strictly enforcing rules to its advantage and flouting those to its detriment, has a new way to avoid issuing refunds: leave passenger in limbo. Limbo is an uncertain period of awaiting a decision...
Lufthansa Converts Passenger Aircraft Into Cargo Plane For “Special Mission”
A very unique Lufthansa Airbus A330-300 landed in Frankfurt yesterday afternoon, not so much because of the aircraft itself, but because of what was inside. Lufthansa, like most airlines around the world, is facing dramatically reduced customer demand for...
Lufthansa Battles LOT Polish Over Condor Acquisition, Climate
Lufthansa has condemned LOT Polish Airlines’ proposed acquisition of Condor, stating that it represents “dubious, competition-distorting” state interference by Poland. In a combative charge that takes a page out of Delta’s longstanding playbook against Qatar Airways, Lufthansa labeled LOT...
Lufthansa Grounds Entire A380 Fleet. Is Air France Next?
Last week, I reported that Lufthansa was considering grounding its entire Airbus A380 fleet. It’s now official: all 14 Lufthansa A380s will soon be grounded. Who’s next? Air France? British Airways? Aero Telegraph (via OMAAT) reports it viewed an...
Lufthansa May Ground A380 Fleet, Slash Capacity By 50%
Citing unprecedented cancellations and anemic new bookings, Lufthansa is considering grounding its entire A380 fleet as it explores a massive cutback in flights. Coronavirus concerns have prompted thousands of passengers to cancel or postpone travel. The problem is so...
The “Lufthansa Diet” Looks Promising
Each week, my Meal of the Week feature examines an airline meal from my travels over the years. This may be a meal from earlier in the week or it may be a meal served over a decade ago. This Meal...
Lufthansa Has Really Hit Rock Bottom In Economy Class
Hey, it’s time for another Lufthansa Economy Class trip report from Los Angeles to Frankfurt. It just gets worse and worse… I flew from LAX-FRA aboard the A380 last Friday and did economy class again because…well, we’re tightening our...
Lufthansa Aggressively Hawks Upgrades
Lufthansa has fully embraced the upgrade monetization game with its upgrade bidding system and more aggressive fixed-price upgrade offers. A client is traveling from Paris to Frankfurt this week. We just booked an “Economy Classic” ticket for her, the...
Will Lufthansa Replace First Class With “Premium” Business Class?
Lufthansa is (finally) introducing a new business class product onboard its incoming Boeing 777X jets. But first class remains an open question and Lufthansa appears to be considering eliminating it altogether in favor of a “premium” business class product....
