Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners) - Utter noob needs advice to help make my BF's father's last trip awesome.

Howdy! This is my first post on the board, but I've been a long-time troll. Here's the story:

My boyfriend and I booked flights LAX-FRA on LH451 on 7/25, returning on 8/30. We booked into business class because we booked early and got a decent price. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, we find out from my bf's dad that he's going to have to go on the heart transplant list in the next few months, and probably won't be able to fly after that again. My bf's mom is originally from Germany, so they're pretty devastated that they wouldn't be able to go back regularly.

We decided to surprise them with tickets on our flight, but since we found this out at about 21 days before the flight, the prices were awful and we could only book economy (V on LAX-FRA and W on FRA-LAX). I'm a brand new M&M member (without even a permanent card).

I'm really hoping somehow we'll be able to upgrade them, I'd feel pretty awful sitting in business while they're stuck in coach. Normally I'd just read every thread on this board and figure it out, but it looks like the number of ways to upgrade are pretty extensive and I just don't think I have the time.

I'm wondering if anyone can give some advice on the best route to take. Business class fares are now $6000 round trip PP ($4500 more than the price of the economy fares we've booked already), so that's not really an option. I thought about trying to buy systemwide upgrades (at least for LAX-FRA, since they're in V and it looks like that's upgradeable), but I know that's a no-no because of the "void if bartered or sold" thing.

Anyway, ALL advice is appreciated. I really want to make this a memorable trip for them since it might well be their last.

Also, if anyone could check the upgrade inventory for me, I would be so appreciative. We're booked on LH451 on 7/25, and LH450 on 8/30. I thought we'd be on the new 747-8i by then, but they gave our plane to New Delhi instead of LA!!! GRR!

Thanks so much!!!

Welcome to FT!
Have you thought about swapping your business seats for their economy ones?

Are you sure he should be flying at all with end stage heart failure like that? Check with his doctors. He might need supplemental oxygen, they may recommend he not fly such long segments, etc.

Doc

Yep. You and SO take the coach seats and give the business class boarding passes to the parents. However, no going back and forth during the flights; two elders stay in business (although they could briefly go back for a visit once or twice with FA's permission) while you and the SO STAY in coach throughout the flight with no exceptions short of a life and death emergency.

Yes, we've thought about giving them our business class seats. However, that doesn't really satisfy their desire for it to be a "family" trip, which is why we want to move them UP, not just swap places. We wanted everyone to be together.

And Doc Savage, he's been cleared by his GP and his cardiologist for the flight, they modified his medications and prescribed oxygen. That part, at least, is under control.

Also, we need to keep my BF in Business Class, as he's a big guy all around and doesn't fit well in coach, and is at risk of a blood clot without being able to stretch his legs out.

And also, yes, I am aware that an option is for my boyfriend and his father to be in business and his mother and I to be in coach.

Again, shuffling the seats we current have isn't what we're looking for.

All I was wondering is the best, easiest, and most cost effective way to UPGRADE two economy seats to business. We don't mind paying. I'd just like to avoid paying $9000.

Thanks.

To be honest, if he is really never ever going to fly again, he's going to save tens of thousands of dollars over his remaining lifespan so I don't really grok why paying 9K this time would make any difference in his lifestyle.

Do you know what the phrase "I've been a long-time troll" means? I think you do, but maybe the other people responding to this wind-up don't...It's creative though, I tip my hat to you for creativity. You seldom see a good troll that people swallow that easily these days...

If there is any fact behind the troll, and you actually do need an upgrade, for pity's sake, why don't you call the airline and ask them the procedure and the costs? Don't you have to inform them anyway about the oxygen tanks or you just planning to sorta spring it on them at the gate?

Are you people for real? You're officially the least helpful, rudest, most condescending soulless people I've ever had the misfortune to run across. I ask for help or advice (which I thought was still allowed on forums) on the best way to do something NICE for someone (we spent $3000 on tickets as a gift. EXCUSE me if a total of $21000 isn't in the budget), so that we can all be in business class together -- and I get this:

1) Give them our tickets
2) He shouldn't be flying
3) Give them our tickets and stay the f**k out of business class after we give them our tickets
4) Pay $18000.

Seriously? I hope to hell if any of you you are ever new at anything, or need advice on anything that you get more helpful advice than I did here. Oh wait...that's probably not going to be a problem. Clearly this board is populated entirely by supercilious know-it-alls. And I guess I was more of a 'lurker' than a 'troll', peachfront...humblest of apologies for my misspoken slang. This is my first thread here. Don't worry, though - it'll be my last. I learn from my mistakes.

I'll just go f**k myself now.

All I was wondering is the best, easiest, and most cost effective way to UPGRADE two economy seats to business. We don't mind paying. I'd just like to avoid paying $9000.

Thanks.

Pity that you're leaving.

Unfortunately, there isn't. Lufthansa is not known for their easy upgrades. It's pretty much "large sum of cash or sit where you are, thanks for flying with us", especially from lower fare classes like yours.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I would probably do the seat shuffle in your shoes. It's likely that you'll still have a good trip if you have a good attitude towards things. Hope it goes well.

Are you people for real? You're officially the least helpful, rudest, most condescending soulless people I've ever had the misfortune to run across. I ask for help or advice (which I thought was still allowed on forums) on the best way to do something NICE for someone (we spent $3000 on tickets as a gift. EXCUSE me if a total of $21000 isn't in the budget), so that we can all be in business class together -- and I get this:

1) Give them our tickets
2) He shouldn't be flying
3) Give them our tickets and stay the f**k out of business class after we give them our tickets
4) Pay $18000.

Seriously? I hope to hell if any of you you are ever new at anything, or need advice on anything that you get more helpful advice than I did here. Oh wait...that's probably not going to be a problem. Clearly this board is populated entirely by supercilious know-it-alls. And I guess I was more of a 'lurker' than a 'troll', peachfront...humblest of apologies for my misspoken slang. This is my first thread here. Don't worry, though - it'll be my last. I learn from my mistakes.

I'll just go f**k myself now.


Well that was a rather unexpected post . . . you seemed pretty nice in the first post.


I will add that the only real option to accomplish your goal (two more seats in business for limited cost) is with miles. It doesn't seem like you have thosands of miles around, and no time to get them, so it probably isn't really an option.

Frankly, the other advice given to you was accurate and thoughtful. There just isn't a way to get cheap business class flights when LH is charging a lot. People suggested you switching seats (with a reasonable warning that you should not expect to switch seats frequently or have all four people in business).

Other than the brief confusion over your use of the word 'troll' (as you have said, you meant lurker) every post has been respectful. I'm not sure why you are so upset at us FTers. After all, you did say, 'ALL advice is appreciated'.

Wow... Just.... Wow!

Yes, it is true, you get what you pay for. And paying Y with the expectation of having the curtain behind your back may be a bit unrealistic.

But you all could have been a bit nicer in saying so... ;)

You know, it's a shame that it took letting my inner crazy out to actually get some helpful responses from people.

You're right, I did say that ALL advice was appreciated. But since the tone and topic of the post was in asking about ways to upgrade these seats, that was the "all" advice I was soliciting. I wasn't expecting "Pay the $9k per person" or "Just give them your seats", since the topic was "how can I upgrade?" Just like I wasn't expecting advice on how to fix a leaky faucet, how to bake fantastic chocolate chip cookies, or how to build a model airplane. It's all about relevance to topic, really.

I don't have a bunch of miles around, no. This is my first trip out of the country. I guess I just wanted us to enjoy it equally, but since we already spent $3000 for their tickets on top of $7000 for ours, I just didn't have the ability to add an additional $18,000 to that total.

Just for the record, I would never play the 'We'll sit here for an hour, then we'll switch' game. I have a bit more self-respect than that.

We're totally willing to pay for the upgrade, I'm not trying to get something for nothing, which people seem to assume. I guess I'll just have to hope that on the day of the flight they have an 'upgrade sale', which is what the CSR at Lufthansa said might happen.

His parents have flown coach every trip they've taken to Germany, which by now is more than 20, but they did so without FF accounts - otherwise this wouldn't be an issue.

I just wanted to do something nice for them, that's all.

I appreciate those of you who came in with some genuine insight about LH's practices post-tirade. Oh, and sschwenk? Thanks for being the only one to (at least kind of) see my point.

Don't take the guys on here too serious. They are mostly a bunch of very nice people (they're just very good at hiding it sometimes).

As for your trip: LH is a very bad airline choice for cheap upgrades. Contrary to US carriers they protect their premium cabins and rather have seats in business empty than selling them cheaply.

Sometimes they do sell upgrades at the airport in the US for a discounted rate - best to ask at check in. Though don't get your hopes up, this doesn't happen very often.
On the return from Germany there is no chance of that happening. If you do ask they will offer you the fare difference between what you paid and full fare business, and you'll wish you hadn't asked when you hear the figure.

If you do ask they will offer you the fare difference between what you paid and full fare business, and you'll wish you hadn't asked when you hear the figure.

Yeah, I got that earlier. I called in just out of curiosity to see about upgrading now, and the very nice lady said "Okay, hon, the fare difference plus the change fee will be $9134.25....per person. You wanna go ahead and do that?"

At which point I came on here to ask for advice...which is probably why the "suggestions" I got from the first few replies rubbed me wrong.

Thanks again, and I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Yeah, I got that earlier. I called in just out of curiosity to see about upgrading now, and the very nice lady said "Okay, hon, the fare difference plus the change fee will be $9134.25....per person. You wanna go ahead and do that?"

At which point I came on here to ask for advice...which is probably why the "suggestions" I got from the first few replies rubbed me wrong.

Thanks again, and I'll keep my fingers crossed.

However, I am sure you checked Lufthansa.com for prices? A new ticket is "only" $6000 in business for the dates you mentioned (Z Fare). Not exactly cheap and I dont know the cancellation rules for your current Economy tickets (I suspect you would not get much back...), but would it be an option to buy new tickets?

If not, it sounds like LH calculated the difference to full fare Business. I am not the fare expert around here, but maybe some others can comment on the feasibility of paying the fare difference V to Z only??

PS. Welcome to FT and I hope you decide to stick around. As sschwenk said, most of the people around here are quite friendly and helpful! :)

Yeah, I got that earlier. I called in just out of curiosity to see about upgrading now, and the very nice lady said "Okay, hon, the fare difference plus the change fee will be $9134.25....per person. You wanna go ahead and do that?"

At which point I came on here to ask for advice...which is probably why the "suggestions" I got from the first few replies rubbed me wrong.

Thanks again, and I'll keep my fingers crossed.

So you are new to the forum, start you first post with a story, asking for advice and comments and then you start swearing straight away.

Well remember FT is not a travel agency. People in here a very commited to providing answers, not to mention the extra mile to investigate things. So your reaction is kind of a fb/youtube standard, but not welcome on FT.

Nevertheless have a good trip in C - at least for your dad and you bf. If you get them the last rows in C, and you get the first ones in Y then it can save you alot of money and still is kind of a familly trip...

Sorry for any trouble caused by other posters which didn´t respond accordingly to your post at the first glimpse. Just have two tiny slices of advice:

1.) All fares for Economy Class at Lufthansa enable a choice of a specific seat.

Just have made a price quotation for your flights and that delivers:

Economy Basic II Economy Basic Plus II Economy Basic Plus III Economy Flex
Umbuchung: USD 250 USD 250 USD 250 kostenlos
Erstattung: nicht enthalten USD 300 USD 300 kostenlos
Meilengutschrift:* 100% 100% 150% 150%
Meilenupgrade:** erlaubt erlaubt erlaubt erlaubt
Sitzplatzreservierung:*** Sitzplatzreservierung Sitzplatzreservierung Sitzplatzreservierung Sitzplatzreservierung

All fares enable the seat reservation

So you can just phone Lufthansa and ask for the allocation of a specific seat which you can designate by row number and the letter.

Seat maps can be found here:
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/de/info_and_services/flightinfo?nodeid=1755376&l=de

So ask them which aircraft variant of B747-400 it is.

Then you can reserve the economy seats of both together and avoiding them being stuck in the not-so desired middle seats.

2.) Indeed upgrading at Lufthansa is much more expensive than at other carriers which have a policy of price fluctuation and then trying to UPSELL people for one class of service against cash. BA does this regularly but in that case there is no guarantee of the offer and the upselling would only be from Economy Class to Premium Economy (called World Traveller Plus)

3.) Assumed they would like to have more space than in Economy they can pay ONE additional seat in Economy. Then they could reserve the three seats for two adults. This wouldn´t enable the family experience but having them more space together.

4.) For Upgrade against miles it´s a bit late. But if there would be more time for the next flight you can just search for Credit Cards delivering Lufthansa Miles&More miles. And then combine miles being purchased from Miles&More and the credit card option miles.

So if I would be you I would buy this one Extraseat and then reserve a complete block of three seats. As this seat is paid and sold no other passenger can use it.

You can enforce it by having the boarding pass ready which shows the "normal" seat and the "additional" seat.

Hope this helps. ;)

Sorry have no other idea for a solution.

I understand that taking a nonstop flight would probably be the best and certainly most comfortable. Have you considered working with a good TA or searching yourself for 4 business class seats on another airline, perhaps there are better prices than with LH and then you could allocate four seats together?

I think that likely the best suggestion is to switch seats with parents. Coach is livable and you and you're SO could certainly feel good about making the switch. Outside of this there isnt really much choice, you have no miles and cannot pay for the price difference. Its not as if you could all be together anyway like on a train where you could all sit and talk together.

Risking that I could be sweared and yelled at - did you pre-order and prepay the oxygen? It appears that LH chages for it extra (see also this link (http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/us/nonav/local?nodeid=3373626&l=en#ancAbT20):
Oxygen on Lufthansa aircrafts

Wenoll system available on all Lufthansa operated flights and in all classes. Exceptions: not available on Cityline or regional partners. Usage in First Class during take-off and landing is not possible.

Charges:
Continental flights: EUR 150 per leg.
Intercontinental flights: EUR 300 per leg.

If after reading the various topics above, you have a specific medical question that has not been answered, please feel free to contact our Medical Desk. The Lufthansa Medical Desk is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST at the following number: 1-516-296-9580.



BTW, there are airlines that do not allow oxygen in discounted buckets and one has to pay higher bucket to be able to travel with oxygen...

Also, if anyone could check the upgrade inventory for me, I would be so appreciative. We're booked on LH451 on 7/25, and LH450 on 8/30. I thought we'd be on the new 747-8i by then, but they gave our plane to New Delhi instead of LA!!! GRR!

Thanks so much!!!

Here is current inventory - that gives you pretty good idea of upgrade chances:

[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.2/Diamond - Sabre: Availability/FS/US] (http://www.KVSTool.com/)
LAX Los Angeles Intl CA US [KLAX]
FRA Frankfurt Metro / Intl DE = FRA HHN [EDDF]
WED 25 Jul 2012

Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability
--------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- --------------------------------------------------------------
LH 451 LAX 19:05 FRA 14:50 744 F5 A5 J9 C9 D9 Z9 P0 R0 Y9 B9 M9 U9 H9 Q9 N0 V6 W2 S7 T2 L2 K0


[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.2/Diamond - Sabre: Availability/FS/US] (http://www.KVSTool.com/)
FRA Frankfurt Metro / Intl DE = FRA HHN [EDDF]
LAX Los Angeles Intl CA US [KLAX]
THU 30 Aug 2012

Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability
--------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- --------------------------------------------------------------
LH 450 FRA 14:00 LAX 16:40 744 F3 A3 J9 C9 D9 Z9 P9 R2 Y9 B9 M9 U9 H9 Q9 N4 V9 W9 S9 T9 L0 K0

Here is current inventory - that gives you pretty good idea of upgrade chances:

[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.2/Diamond - Sabre: Availability/FS/US] (http://www.KVSTool.com/)
LAX Los Angeles Intl CA US [KLAX]
FRA Frankfurt Metro / Intl DE = FRA HHN [EDDF]
WED 25 Jul 2012

Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability
--------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- --------------------------------------------------------------
LH 451 LAX 19:05 FRA 14:50 744 F5 A5 J9 C9 D9 Z9 P0 R0 Y9 B9 M9 U9 H9 Q9 N0 V6 W2 S7 T2 L2 K0


[KVS Availability Tool 7.0.2/Diamond - Sabre: Availability/FS/US] (http://www.KVSTool.com/)
FRA Frankfurt Metro / Intl DE = FRA HHN [EDDF]
LAX Los Angeles Intl CA US [KLAX]
THU 30 Aug 2012

Carrier Flight From Depart To Arrive A/C St Availability
--------- ------ ---- -------- ---- -------- --- -- --------------------------------------------------------------
LH 450 FRA 14:00 LAX 16:40 744 F3 A3 J9 C9 D9 Z9 P9 R2 Y9 B9 M9 U9 H9 Q9 N4 V9 W9 S9 T9 L0 K0



Seriously, thank you SO much. This is exactly what I was looking for!!!

What I really don't get if you really want them to take the trip is that you dismiss the option of 2 people sitting in business and the other two in economy so easily.

Arguments as you want it to be a family trip (won't you be staying Germany together, it's only a few hours on the plane?) or that your boyfriend doesn't like to travel in Y (sure it's not really comfortable but a lot of people do it everyday) seem really weak, especially given the circumtances.

The price is what it is, really no way to avoid that. Upgrades on these economy fares just won't happen. So just fly with a combination of business and economy....

What I really don't get if you really want them to take the trip is that you dismiss the option of 2 people sitting in business and the other two in economy so easily.

Arguments as you want it to be a family trip (won't you be staying Germany together, it's only a few hours on the plane?) or that your boyfriend doesn't like to travel in Y (sure it's not really comfortable but a lot of people do it everyday) seem really weak, especially given the circumtances.

The price is what it is, really no way to avoid that. Upgrades on these economy fares just won't happen. So just fly with a combination of business and economy....

Good, practical advice.

But how dare you tell the OP something she doesn't want to hear? :D

I checked that I'm not on the same flight :-).