FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - LH Premium Economy : Info from ITB, FT/VFT FAQ, and more
Old Mar 5, 2014, 12:33 am
  #4  
oliver2002
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
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When will premium economy be offered for sale? Which routes will see it first?

It will be open for booking in early May for flights starting in early December. The retrofit will start with the 747-8i, so all destinations served with this aircrft will have it available.

Are the premium economy fares combinable with you revenue sharing partners? (A++, J+, etc)
Yes, with the usual halfway return fare base. Our partners ANA and Air Canada have a similar product offering, for other partners you will have to chose from economy or business class on the segments not operted by LH.

The new booking classes on longhaul will be in G/E/N, which booking class will the feeder flight be booked in?
Lufthansa will book these in the Y booking class, we are still in negotiation with our partners for their system.

Turkish airlines offer the option to upsell the regional feeder flight into IST into Business Class in case you are booked in premium economy. Do you plan a similar option?
We have received this suggestion from the market and are currently exploring our options to see if this can be offered with complicating the existing booking process.

Will ASR remain free in this class of service or offered for sale like you started to do in economy?
All seat reservations will be free in premium economy irregardless of booking class.

Do you have a contingency plan in place in case the aircraft is swapped due to operational reasons and no premium economy is available? Do customers have to expect a downgrade into economy?
Since we will try to retrofit by aircraft type we don't expect major disruptions. However, we will build in buffers in our sales. Should irreg situations occur we will upgrade to business class. Should the space be limited, any downgrades will be paid the usual compensation.

Are the mileage credits already decided?
Yes, depending on the booking class you will get a credit of 100 or 150% of mileage flown.

Are mileage upgrades into Premium Economy possible via Miles & More? Will the existing rule of upgrading from Economy to Business change?

The existing rules will not change, but customers will be offered the possibility to upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy and from Premium Economy to Business. The rules will change to offer more options to the customer.
Due to technical reasons it will not be possible to offer awards with the introduction of the new service class. This is planned to be available in the middle of 2015.

The retrofit of the new business seat is running very slowly. Do you expect a similar pace with the introduction of this new service class?
No, we expect a complete retrofit by late Summer 2015. The logic is simple: the retrofit of the new business and first seat is a highly complex affair and takes 30 to 50 days. The retrofit of this seat is rather simple and will take only 2-3 days per aircraft.
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