weero

If you were checked through to Europe how did you get the bags out in SEA?

And yes, checking in again when you already have BPs can have disastrous effects in my experience ... I always show the BP first and ask to "add bags" not to check me in.

mxr

According to their site P is listed under Full fare economy which earns 125% (150% PQM).


Dividend Miles looks like a good alternative too, but wheres the difference between Prem Plat on UA and Plat on US? I do fly UA while I never fly US. Is award availability really better on dividend miles than on M+?
Even though the availability might be very limited at M+, when you actually get an award its cheaper in miles & cash when compared to M&M.



I think we're in the wrong post though to keep on discussing the question which program is better...

ssing

We had specifically requested that our bags not be checked through to BLR because we needed them for our overnight at SEA. We flew to SEA late in eh night on Dec 20th and since our SEA-FRA flight was next day (Dec 21st), the UA agent at SFO allowed us to check in the bags until SEA.

Actually I did tell the agent in SEA that we were there to drop off the bags Nonetheless when she was trying to add bags in the system, she ran into the issue mentioned above.

FrankRP

Sorry to come late to the party here and for the long reply. I was on LH454, an A380 (named Wien) from Frankfurt to SFO on Friday morning where this whole thing started. That plane was scheduled to turn around and become LH 455 back to Frankfurt.

We were starting our runway roll when the engines started to get quiet. The pilot came on and said there was a computer that seemed to be giving an output he didn't like. So we taxied over to the maintenance area where they worked on the computer for an hour or so. The pilot revved up the engine and it seems they appear to have fixed it. So we taxi back to the runway and try again. This time we get 200 meters down the runway and had to abort again.

So we go back to the maintenance area and after another couple of hours they decide they needed to replace two or three engine computers. That would take too long so they bused us back to the terminal. Two hours later they put us on another A380 (named New York). We left Frankfurt about 6 hours later than planned and so our arrival at SFO was 6 hours later. I would rather be late than have a problem in flight.

The treatment at SFO was much lower than Lufthansa's usual service. I blame the fact that they're hiring a lot of part-timers (to save money?) rather than the full time employees that used to give such good service. I agree with the OP who said they did not do a good job at this point.

At SFO we were told there were no more flights to LAX for a couple of days, everything was booked. They would pay for hotel stays and, if I wanted to drive, they would pay for the rental (at least that's what I was told).

When I talked to my better half, also a Star Alliance 1K flyer, she got on the line with United's 1K service desk and was able to get me a flight out later that night (since I already had a reservation and the flight they got me on was delayed for three hours for weather reasons.)

United has some culpability in the failure to find me a flight. Since they made the stupid decision to go with Continental's old and much simpler IT system rather than United's during the merger, no one else can access the details of their flights. This makes them much less useful as a Star Alliance partner if flight details are hidden.

Unterwegs

Here is some information why the flight was cancelled Dec20:

http://avherald.com/h?article=45b32d7b&opt=0

cbrmanf4

My apologies to reviving an old thread, but I was wondering if I could get clarification on the compensation entitled from this cancelled flight.

Since the flight was cancelled and we did not arrive at our final destination until 24+ hours later, does EC 261/2004 apply to our case for compensation?

I wrote a letter months ago regarding compensation and all we got was a 20% economy coupon. I wrote back about 2 weeks ago mentioning EC 261/2004 but still haven't heard back. I just wanted to confirm with others here that we're entitled to compensation before I push further with LH.

RTW1

A bit of reading on EU261 and you would probably have found the exemption for extraordinary circumstances.... something this seems to fit perfectly.

But you should wait for LH's reply. Although you're a bit late as well....

maarisk

If cancellation was due to MX that is not caused by things out of airline control (like bird strike, lightning causing tech malfunctions etc.), then definitely you are entitled to EU compensation.

In February my flight from MIA to FRA turned around and went back to MIA due to electrical smell. Although LH tried to pull extraordinary unexpected circumstances in order to avoid compensation, after second e-mail pointing out EU court ruling on this, they changed their mind

cbrmanf4

I finally got a response back from Lufthansa:

"In this case the inbound aircraft, LH454 on December 20, encountered severe turbulence which caused the aircraft to climb dramatically (nearly 1,000 feet in seconds) and put high stress on the air frame. As a result, structural checks were mandated due to safety reasons. As Lufthansa LH455 was cancelled for safety reasons, not technical , compensation does not apply."

If this was all true, I would understand their priority for safety first and cancelling the flight.

However, in post #49, FrankRP mentions that there were engine issues before they even departed FRA and were 6 hours behind schedule. I hope the real reason for the cancellation wasn't caused by the earlier engine issues, and I hope the turbulence isn't being used as a cover for the cancelled flight.

RTW1

Just read about what happened instead of speculating yourself.... The plane was out of commission for a few days after the event, post #50 gives you all the details you need. They don't really do that to avoid paying you a few hundred euro's.

And still continuing this after almost a year?