Thank you Katharina for being crystal clear about it and for the official confirmation.

As I said, I have no issue with this, emphasizing transactional value over loyalty is obviously well within LH's right to do. Seems only fair since I have come to treat LH/LX in absolutely the same fashion.
I just felt irritated by what I believed to be a mixed message up to now.

Thanks again and happy holidays to you, too.

Is this booked on one ticket/pnr?
Are both these flights on LH metal?
Do you have a Schengen visa? Don't try this without it. If you misconnect, you do not want to be stuck airside/non-schengen because you have no right to enter Schengen...

Thanks GOD your company is not based in Japan ;)

Since this experiment has been going on for quite a while now, is there any indication that this transactional approach will be abandonned in favor of the old loyalty-first approach? If not, I'd really like to understand why LH believes the current system is better. As an economy-only flyer I favored LH over other airlines also in view of my better (i.e. realistic) chances of receiving an upgrade as a Senator. Now, with the certainty that I will never receive another upgrade since we usually book a a bit in advance, I couldn't care less whether I fly LH or another airline. LH seems to understand this as well, otherwise the revised OP-up priority list would have been widely advertised as an "enhancement". Instead it was secretly introduced and almost denied whenever disgruntled asked about it.

HTB.

Dear Mamb0,
yes both flights are on LH metal.
I do not have shengen Visa and as per your post I do understand that I will be stuck airside if I misconnect.
There is an lufthansa flight from Houston which is earlier than my current flight . will lufthansa wait list me for that ?

I think there is only one LH flight from Houston every day. Everything else should be codeshares on UA metal.

Anyway, you can call LH and ask to be rebooked. They will calculate the fare difference (if any) and charge the rebooking fee (if applicable).

HTB.

Dear HTB,
I will forward your question about the current handling and I will get back to you as soon as I have an answer.
Jens

Equipment change misery
 

A little while back, I booked a OSL-SEA return trip in July using the direct FRA-SEA flight both ways. My intention was to book, at least, the outbound in First. However, the aircraft shown at the time of booking was a new config 747-400. I was OK with that, as the new C-seats are really nice, so I went ahead and booked in P-class. Now, the aircraft shown is back to an old config. I tried to call reservations explaining the problem, and asking if I could upgrade the outbound to an A-fare and pay a fare difference. It was like talking to a machine, stating that since the OSL-FRA flight does not have have First Class available (of course it doesen't.....) and the OSL-FRA and FRA-SEA were married segments, it was not possible. When telling her that the whole problem had surfaced due to an equipment change, that I had no way booing in First, and that First Class flights form anywhere but First Class hubs neccessarily has a C-segment, I just got the same machine-like answer back. Also, when I checked again today, the fare in C has dropped considerably, I'm pretty sure due to the change back to the old aircraft with the inferior seats.

At this point, I feel rather disappointed. Any suggestions how I could reach someone who I could actually discuss the situation with, not just someone reading rules off of a computer screen?

Kind regards,

Thore

Dear Gagan,
please excuse my delayed response! I've noticed a few replies from others here already. Frankfurt airport requires a minimum time of 45 minutes between connecting flights. So technically, you have no reasons to worry about. Nevertheless, I can relate to your concern about being stuck at the airport after a missed connection. In case of a delay to Frankfurt, I recommend that you contact the crew of your flight. A quick transfer possibly might be provided by airport staff. If that is not an option, please talk to the LH airport staff at the transfer desks, who will then look into rebooking options for you. Of course, you can contact the Service Center ahead of departure and ask to change your itinerary accordingly and book the earlier flight from Houston. This, however, will be taken care of according to fare conditions and against payment of rebooking fee and - if there is one - a fare difference. I hope this answers your question! Have a Happy New Year!
Katharina

Dear Thore,
I understand that equipment changes can be frustrating, even more so if you have booked your flight in expectation of a specific aircraft and its configuration. From my understanding, a rebooking via upsell to First class generally shouldn’t be a problem, provided that your fare conditions permit a rebooking. Nevertheless, it’s a little hard for me to fully grasp the issue behind your request without your booking details. Not all classes are combinable. Possibly this reason stands behind my colleague’s information not being able to change your longhaul outbound flight to an A-fare. I’d suggest to change the flight and combine the intercontinental segment with a higher Business booking class than P. Changing both connecting flights in one step should also solve the married segments-related issue at hand. As we can’t book or rebook flights, I recommend that you once more call Reservations to explain the matter and ask a dedicated colleague for all possibilities of an upgrade. I hope you’ll find assistance!
All the best, Katharina

Thank you Katharina, I'll try and call again. Think I might call reservations in Germany this time.

I really hope this can be solved. In a phase where cabins are being refurbished, I would expect the airline to show a bit of flexibility if the premium cabin product offered at the time of booking is no longer available and replaced by an inferior one.

Thanks,

Thore

Hello again Katharina,

just wanted to tell you it all had a happy outcome, I spoke with a very knowledgeable agent in Frankfurt, she got us the upgrade for a reasonable fee :-)

Thanks,

Thore

Great news, Thore! I'm happy to hear you've been able to clarify everything to your satisfaction. Let me wish you a very Happy New Year and - even though it'll be a few months from now - an enjoyable flight in July!
Katharina

Dear LH Team,

my boss has a very specific question in this context. Since most of our corporate travel books into the company tariff in Z per the framework agreement between Lufthansa and our corporation, he was wondering whether this technically means if he makes use of the company tariff he automatically is excluded from any potential upgrade.

Happy Holidays,
mamb0

Insha'Allah, Lufthansa
 

Dear LH Lurker,

we need to talk, I'm not sure I love you anymore.

If you have ever traveled in the Muslim world, you will certainly have heard the expression "Insha'Allah": it is used as a wish when making plans to acknowledge that future events are in the hands of God, not of humans.

Two years ago, while travelling in Somalia, a customer service agent for Daallo Airlines somewhat sarcastically wished Insha'Allah (with a grin) after creatively rerouting me: instead of a ticket, my travel buddies and I had a piece of paper with our names on it and a letter - "dear Khadar, please board... on our today flight...". I lacked any faith in that letter, but I was wrong. It worked like a charm! I am not a religious man, but I now know that Insha'Allah is more purposeful than Zen during irregular flight operations.

Insha'Allah was all I could think on December 28. My wife and I were booked on a FLR-FRA-SFO business class itinerary on Lufthansa. The morning of the flight, I woke up and found an email advising that our flight was estimated to depart FLR with a delay of 2 hours (ETD 9.15 instead of 7.15). There are no customer service telephone lines available at 5am other than a German phone number: I tried calling it but could not get through to an English-speaking operator.

We arrived at the airport at 5.35 and joined the business class check-in line: we were denied check-in and told to line up at the ticket counter where we would be rebooked. A single agent staffed the Lufthansa-Swiss ticket counter (no priority lanes). The line moved very slowly (the pace of resolution was roughly one passenger/group every 15-20 minutes). No explanation was provided for the delay other than generic "operational reasons" and "it was snowing in FRA yesterday". I later realized it must have been a crew rest issue. I reassured my wife - "we can still make it to SFO today, Insha'Allah".

After about an hour in line and very little progress, I checked flight availability online and noticed that at least two business class seats were available to SFO via ZRH on Swiss International Airlines, with a departure time of 9.50 and arrival to SFO at 16.25 (only 4 hours late compared to the booked itinerary). This would have been a very reasonable rerouting. Other options were available out of Frankfurt on United (via IAD), Condor (via LAS), British Airways (via LHR). Unfortunately, we were still in line waiting for assistance. Insha'Allah!.

At 7.30, a second agent joined the ticket counter: she was wearing a Lufthansa uniform, but claimed to be working for Swiss and gave priority to “customers of Swiss”. I pointed out that she was wearing a Lufthansa uniform, and that I was indeed a customer of Swiss, as my trans-Atlantic itinerary is operated by the joint venture of the whole Lufthansa group, United Airlines, and Air Canada. She said that that part of the ticket counter was paid for by Swiss and that I was a Lufthansa customer, and that I should stay in line for the “the ticket counter I had paid for”. Admittedly, my reaction was not very Zen. After a handful of passengers of LX1679 were assisted (most of them dealing with overweight baggage fees, I believe), the agent marked her line as priority for business class and Star Alliance Gold customers. I joined that line behind only one other customer. After that customer had been handled, again we were told to wait while the agent assisted a passenger of LX1679. Finally, at 8.35, it was our turn to be served: unfortunately, we were denied service and told (along with other passengers) to check-in to Frankfurt and seek assistance there, as we would otherwise not make our delayed flight on time. After standing in line for 2 hours and 50 minutes, we were refused service. Insha'Allah.
We hurried to check-in, then past security to board the aircraft and discover from the Captain that the flight was now an additional 45 minutes late, now scheduled to push at 10.00. The time we could have spent at the ticket counter making alternative arrangements was instead spent sitting on the plane on the tarmac.
I called the Lufthansa Senator line in Italy (a paid phone line) and tried to obtain assistance that way, but the agent could not reroute us from there.
Finally, we joined a line at the service desk in Frankfurt at 11.52, and were assisted 15 minutes later. By the way: only one service desk was open with a total of 6 customer service agents in the entire terminal A (fine if you are a Senator, but I feel really bad for the Florence passengers who had already spent hours lined up in FLR and were now at the tail end of many more hours of waiting). We were offered a hotel room and seats on LH454 the next day, as by that time all available combinations on the same day had been booked. I do believe a same-day itinerary via LAS on Condor and Virgin America would have been available, but the agent refused to consider flight options on airlines other that LH Group, Air Canada and United.

The flight the next day also turned out to be late (little over an hour), because a whole A380 was deiced by a single truck! (Insha'Allah). I came home and found my shiny new Senator card waiting in the mail: it even has a star on it in recognition of many years of loyalty - and yet I feel betrayed. You've changed, Lufthansa, I don't recognize you anymore. I think we need a break.