moeve

Many of those returning from Japan are saying LH is taking anything from 5 to 7.000 Euros for flights leaving Japan - eh Eco!!!! flights no less. If that is really true then that is I was debating about calling it dispicable but that is really what it is.

These people are fleeing and then the airlines ( I bet LH are not the only ones) are trying to profit from this in a very big way!! i am going to be blunt and call it extortion!!

No one is saying not to charge anyone but I am advocating on charge a decent price - be fair about it

olm022

Could you please post specific examples of LH doing that?

In its booking engine, LH has zeroed all flights in M from operating airports (KIX and NGO) until 23MAR11. You can still buy fares from Japanese market in C and F, and their prices are equal to those that were in force before the earthquake. On top of that, to handle over 10000 rebookings, in its center in Berlin, agents work 24hrs.

If somebody wants to fly on a one-way ticket from Japan to Europe between today and 23MAR11 in M, LH will not sell that ticket, even for a standard Y77OW fare. If you already have a ticket, LH will rebook you for free (even if your original booking class is not available; tickets booked in X will be rebooked, too regardless of the availability in X). If you do not have the ticket and want to leave Japan, LH will offer you a ticket for 114000 yen +tax in M for traveling after 23MAR11 or for a higher fare in C for any day starting from today. By no means has LH closed discounted economy class tickets from the Japanese market.

NewbieRunner

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7EG0ER20110316

Not sure what they are charging but AF are apparently offering a special one way fare out of Japan.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/16039476-post8.html

moeve

They have been interviewing people at airports and they have been telling stories about exorbitant pricing. That is why I specifically said IF it was true!!

However by the end of the week I too will be able to say so first hand if this is true since we too have friends coming home on Friday via Osaka on LH. They lived to the north of Tokyo and figured they were not going to hang around and wait until things go from bad to worse and headed for Osaka yesterday after LH stopped flights to Tokyo.

olm022

Like I said, if a passenger has a confirmed ticket and wants to change it for an earlier flight to leave Japan as soon as possible, LH will rebook for free for the next flight in which seats are available, as long as the cabin is the same. If you do not have the ticket and still want to leave Japan, LH will:

1) not sell any economy class ticket from Japan for flights the depart before 23MAR11, no matter what you pay; all M seats are gone;
2) offer you rather reasonably priced tickets from Japan to FRA staring from 62000 yen+tax for departure after 23MAR11;
3) offer you seats on in its business/first class for a fare that on most days is equal to that before the earthquake.

Of course, if you show up 2 hours before and say that you would like to fly from Japan and LH has only F class available, then it will charge you FOW fare.

moeve

But we are not talking about people who are on holiday or simply on a business trip and have tickets. We are talking about foreigners who LIVE and work in Japan who are looking for a way out. These are the folks who are apparetnly experiencing these prices

hdogan

I don't really see how that's relevant... are they supposed to introduce standing "seats" on the plane?

The only way would be for them to introduce new planes, but I don't think that's an option...

moeve

They are not selling any seats "regularly" at the moment - according to what we have just heard out of Osaka - you actually have to go to the airport to get any flight over the next few days. You cannot book online or any other way......

Sorry cannot give any more details since contact is via blackberry only and it is now late in Japan.

However news crews covering arrivals in FRA and MUC are also hearing these comments...... So I assume they ARE talking top Euros for any seats they have available.

You know we are not talking about mom and pop kettles on a vacation trip. We are talking about families running for their lives and that could become a problem for some who have to pony up the equivelent of a small car or more

GBM.flights

+1

A colleague flew out of NRT on Sunday, original departure Saturday and was slapped with a re-fare of 3000CHF (within Biz buckets) due to the change, since he could not get to the airport on time (9h from Akasaka to NRT)

I'll repeat it. Extorsion.

GBM

abhilife2001

Why is LH not offering to sell Y tickets out of Japan before 23 March.. IMHO, they should be selling them if those are available atleast for folks arriving in the airport ( as they have stopped online or call center bookings).. I mean there may ofcourse be situations when some Y seats go empty because not sufficient rebookings , and then it makes sense to sell those instead of only offering C and F fares ?
There maybe many expat familes wanting to travel back and not holding any tickets and they seem to lose out in the current situation with LH..

olm022

They are not selling any M seats simply because there are no seats left in M class. For instance, NRT-FRA and NRT-MUC for 18 MAR11 were originally overbooked by 27 and and 37 respectively in M. Since KIX and NGO can't accept A380, LH deployed B747 on its KIX flight. It has also rebooked some of its NRT-FRA pax to KIX service. C loads were/are also very strong from cancelled NRT services. Given the capacity of A380, LH had to accommodate all the pax who already have tickets. No-shows for KIX/NRT/NGO flights has been zero in the last 4 days. On top of that, KIX-FRA for 20-22 MAR11 have been originally overbooked by 26 and 30 people, with very good loads in C (though poor in F). So, after processing all the booked people and seeing that no space is available, it was wise of LH to just close M class. Overselling it and not being able to accommodate all the ticketed passengers due to overbooked in light of the earthquake will create an imagine of LH as the company that sells tickets, maximizes profit and then leaves pax in contaminated Japan. Naturally, the best option for an airline as such times is to offer only those seats which they can actually guarantee. They can't guarantee M until 23MAR11 because there is no M left (and they don't expect any people who booked to not show for the flight); but they can guarantee C and F or M after 23MAR11.

olm022

For LH, it does not matter whether you are a vacation traveller or a family residing in Japan. Every life has the same importance. However, legally, LH is obliged to transport the passengers with which it has the contract. After considering how many seats are left, it offers what is available

moeve

Well apparently ( and I am not there to confirm it) lots of flights (no only LH) left Osaka yesterday with empty seats because people booked on them ended up no show because they are not being able to get from Tokyo (or elsewhere for that matter) to Osaka due to high volume traffic heading south (lots of folks are on the move to the safer south) and due to the fact that there are little or no trains available either due to the lack of electricity)


All in all it isn't a very good situation and the airlines are leaving the impression that they might be cashing in on the situation.

abhilife2001

If the actual reason is that no seats are available in Y, then ofcourse no one can do anything..
But I guess if there are or were any flights which left without all Y seats full, those should have been able to be sold..

Jgish

I don't buy these reports of extortion. Perhaps these people were trying to buy C or F. There are Y / M seats to be had. It may not be on LH, LX, Swiss or even *A, and in the back of the bus, but who cares if you truly need to leave immediately.

A one-way walk-up fare from NRT to FRA can be had for around $1800 USD.

From KIX, around $1200. (LH & LX are around $2400 with 2 stops...).

Similar scheiß over at United, where one lady claims she paid $11,000 for a walk up. UA has seats today NRT to SFO for $2200.