And in some cases it may even be cheaper just to buy a brand new ticket!!! But the ruling, as I understand it, does not apply to changes - just to CANCELLATION.

Precisely. All airlines, everywhere, require you to pay a premium for this additional "service". Most air passengers anywhere in the world should be aware of this fact. That's why I find it so strange that a German court would require that ALL tickets come with this "convenience" built in. It's something that people are used to paying extra for.

Well, whether people use the facility or not, it's not such a non-issue. The ability to cancel is the number one aspect that allows an airline to charge a premium for a ticket that is, afterall, in every other way indistinguishable from the cheapest super-apex bargain-basement discount ticket. You will both be sitting in a similar seat in the same cabin, regardless of whether you paid next to nothing for your ticket, or whether you paid a handsome premium for the ability to be able to change/cancel your ticket with the minimum of fuss. (OK, one of you would get more FF miles, but that's outside the scope of this discussion).

Why, then, would an airline continue to sell tickets at such a range of differing prices, and with such a range of increasing/decreasing restrictions? Once the main "prize" - the ability to cancel without penalty - has been granted to all tickets, then the ability to differentiate between these various virtual "levels" of ticket attractiveness has been sabotaged. The existing wide differentiation between ticket "levels" and pricing has therefore been compromised. No-one will pay the higher prices to obtain the "pricier" tickets to obtain a degree of flexibility regarding cancellation - their cheapest super-apex bargain-basement discount ticket already allows them to cancel.

That means that Lufthansa's customers' willingness to pay higher fees has been sabotaged by this ruling. It means that Lufthansa's ability to sell considerable numbers of higher-priced tickets has been compromised. It means that Lufthansa's revenues have therefore been negatively influenced - they can no longer expect to sell the same range of tickets at various prices that they previously would have expected from the current model, given that the demand for the more expensive tickets has been suddenly removed. Therefore, Lufthansa would have no choice but to raise the ticket prices across the board, particularly at the lower end, as they need to achieve the same revenue but from a cabin where fewer people will want to pay for the higher ticket prices. With fewer "high-price" tickets sold, which help to subsidise the cheapest tickets, then the average/median ticket price will HAVE to rise to compensate.

Lufthansa can no longer sell the cheapest, restricted tickets. Everyone must now buy a more "premium" ticket. The prices will HAVE to rise to compensate. (Unless they are allowed, as they did with the "I will use all coupons in sequence" tickbox, to introduce a tickbox saying: "I want to see the most keenly priced tickets available. I hereby waive my right to cancel the ticket without penalty, in order to see cheaper ticket prices".)


How many people cancel, you say? Well, that's a little beside the point. Going from a situation where, maybe, 10% of customers in the economy cabin were entitled to cancel for free, suddenly, every passenger in the plane, in ever cabin class, is suddenly entitled to cancel at a moment's notice and get a full refund. That will certainly have an effect on the numbers that cancel. Previously, most customers were aware that their cheap ticket came with restrictions - I, like most customers, was happy to have this tradeoff, knowing that I could buy a cheap seat but that I was then locked into taking that flight. NOw, however, I can decide on the day before travel that really, I don't feel like going away for the weekend after all, and so I can cancel and get my money back. When every passenger now has the ability to cancel, then the numbers that actually do cancel are likely to rise considerably. People who previously just no-showed will now call up and cancel. And people who would previously have travelled, just because they had booked the ticket and there was no way to get out of travelling despite having changed their minds in the interim, can call up and cancel at any time. The ruling will make all travellers change from a mindset of: book early, commit to a date, and hope that the dates remain good because I won't be able to change; to: book early, commit to a date, or to several dates if the prices aren't too high: decide later which flight I want, and cancel the others; or cancel them all if I just change my mind.

By making all tickets refundable, customer behaviour will soon change. Any ticket can be cancelled, at any time; this is an entirely different situation to the current one, where most customers put a lot of thought and effort into picking the right flights, and buying only when they are absolutely committed to taking that flight, no matter what. The consequences of purchasing are now not as final; the customer can always change their mind, and back out again at any time. Even when they are committed to travel, they can still continue to monitor prices, on LH and on other airlines, keeping watch for an even better price - and buy a new, cheaper ticket elsewhere (should one become available) while cancelling their original purchase. The purchase of a ticket, which previously signalled the end of an (often long) process of research and study, will no longer be the end of the saga. The buyer can renege on the deal at any time, once they find a better offer, or just change their mind. The money is not Lufthansa's, until the passenger takes off on that flight!