tvetter01

I booked two SaverPass seats in LH first for IAH-FRA and back. We knew we were going to Germany but weren't sure of the exact times we'd be where. I went ahead and booked the award, as I didn't want to lose the availability to go away (it's Saturday-Saturday this fall).

If I wanted to add an open jaw leg, say IAH-FRA-VIE on the way there and keep FRA-IAH on the way back, would that count as a "change to origin and destination" and trigger the $150 fee (as I'm gold, not plat)? Or is the fact that one leg is still only FRA-IAH enough to have it count as the same destination?

I knew the fees ahead of time, and I knew the risk when I took it, but I figured the risk of paying this fee was worth it to not risk losing out on LH first class for the IAH-FRA segments. So if I have to pay the fee, that's fine, but I just wasn't sure how an open jaw would be counted.

Thanks.

channa

Yes, changing your final destination would count as a change in O/D.

By the way, you're allowed both a stopover and an open jaw. So, think about your plan before you book and pay for your change.

For example, you can go IAH-FRA-VIE, VIE-FRA, FRA-IAH, using your stopover, not open jaw.

Or, if there's a different city to continue to, you could do that, too -- e.g., IAH-FRA-VIE, VIE-MUC, FRA-IAH, using both your stopover and your open jaw.

And so on.

And don't forget to allow some FCT time in FRA, preferably on your return.

tvetter01

I figured as much, and I'm still glad I went ahead and snagged the LH first seats before they vanished.

I doubt we'll finalize all of our plans for several weeks yet, and we may not need the open jaw or a stopover - we want to do some of southern Germany by train, and we're not necessarily committed to VIE, but I just wanted to know what it would take to change it before completing our planning.

I will certainly allow for time in the FCT - I've never flown LH first before and am very much looking forward to that.

Thanks a bunch.

channa

You should like it. The seat is nothing special -- lie flat, as expected in F, but the LH service is top-notch.

Historically that IAH-FRA flight had been fairly easy to secure in F. But now with CO in *A, with the huge IAH customer base, I'm thinking that will become more competitive.

LH usually has good F availability, but I find myself doing weird stuff out of SFO. I've booked SFO-UA-SEA-LH-FRA a couple times because the nonstop SFO-FRA or SFO-MUC flights don't have space. I think the number of UA flyers with lots of miles here in SFO make it a tough route for awards.

tvetter01

I was surprised to see it available on exactly the dates I wanted with little work. I guess I need to adjust my old SkyTeam award expectations (which is a great thing).

mc0107

why not just buy a ticket from fra to vie? air berlin is cheap and you could probably snag one for about $100. otherwise, see if they can make changes to your existing ticket without a redeposit. perhaps you won't have a choice since they're changing the final destination, but i recently called to change a reward ticket iad-moscow from economy to business and they did that without a redeposit or change fee (more than 21 days). i had to talk to the web desk though b/c the "regular" reps weren't aware of this very new feature.

COpltASgldPHX

I'm seeing fares in the fall (Sep/Oct/Nov) for as little as $56 USD o/w on Air Berlin. And that's all-in including a fuel surcharge.