hugolover

The only true premium pax fly in "F" fares. "A" inventory is spread between poor mans F fares and not that cheap. Let's remember that.

NYC1

Yes, but once LH is back to operating its normal routes -- let's say Q42020 or even 2021 -- it will not have the jets to operate all the F routes that it previously (ie, right before COVID-19) did with the same frequency. You're talking about a reduction of 26% of jets with F. I can only imagine that LH was operating those 50 jets pretty efficiently (how close to 100% utility?) so there will be a significant impact on routes that used to have F to not having F (or less F--for example JFK/EWR had 4 flights a day with F (3 from JFK (2 to FRA and 1 to MUC) and 1 from EWR (to FRA)---I can see that number going down but I hope not).

So, which routes do people think are the most vulnerable? The NY flights were running full in 2019 and 2020.

oliver2002

CS gave a video message to LH emplyees yesterday... quote: 'We are losing a million € every hour'

PAX_fips

Which is quite misleading in terms of numbers. A typical (as in last year) month would be >1 million of wages per hour.

MichielR

But aren’t taxpayers picking up 80% or so of the wage bill now?

hugolover

Plus they’re keeping pax’s money.

oliver2002

87000 employees are on 'kurzarbeit' which is paid by the employee insurance. LH has not accepted a bailout yet and is using up their 5.1 bn cash reserves. The cash on hand is of course not available fully as they have to accrue for any refunds or travel vouchers.

ISTFlyer

I have received another e-mail from Lufthansa ( Christina Foerster ) which repeated the same things available on LH.com


--------------

Dear Mr. ISTFlyer,

I sincerely hope that you and your loved ones are well. Our lives have changed dramatically these past few weeks and in response to my last mailing you have sent me many comments. I am truly grateful for your feedback and would like to share with you some of my thoughts on your frequently asked questions.

Social Responsibility
We are aware of our responsibility and are helping to relieve this crisis. Our repatriation flights are bringing back home people who have been stranded abroad due to travel restrictions. We already have brought back home more than 70,000 people on more than 360 flights.
Another important aspect of our support is to provide Europe with air freight. We not only uphold important supply chains but also transport urgently needed medical equipment via special flights to different countries.

Flexible Rebooking
Whether your flight has been cancelled or you are unable to travel as planned – your ticket retains its value, allowing you to travel at a later time. There is no need to decide immediately on a new travel date and you may even change your travel destination. If you have booked your ticket with us by April 19, 2020, please let us know how you would like to travel by August 31, 2020. Your new travel date may be anytime until April 30, 2021. Should you plan to travel with one of the Lufthansa Group airlines in the near future, please note the information below (box).

When rebooking a flight with a travel date until December 31, 2020, we will give you a discount of 50 Euro on the ticketed price. You may rebook via the Lufthansa Group customer service, our airlines’ online platforms as well as with travel agents.

In addition, when booking a new ticket, all available ticket fares of Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines on all routes now offer rebooking options (e.g. our Zero Bag fare without hand luggage).

The entire Lufthansa Group staff is doing everything possible each day to bring you to your destination safely and to unite people in these difficult times.

I am looking forward to receiving your continuous open feedback and despite the limitations, I wish you pleasant holidays. Please take care of yourself and your loved ones.

Kind regards
Christina Foerster
Member of the Board of Management
Customer & Corporate Responsibility

Dave_C

I did think it was interesting that in the press release, there was no mention of the 777-9's due to join the fleet at all. Lufthansa were launch customer for the type and they should have been flying with them by now. Clearly Boeing and GE are very late with the type, but the fact that they didn't mention when, or if they were still taking them is interesting. Could we see more 744s retired to make way for these aircraft? Or will they be able to defer or even cancel. Interestingly, yesterday, British Airways' debt was downgraded with one of the reasons being cited as their commitments for the 777-9 as well.

Could we see a further modification to change them completely to more 787-9s? I wouldn't be surprised.

Maestro Ramen

It seems pretty clear that LH does not see the demand ever reaching 2019 levels in the mid term, so I don't even think they are counting on the 77X in their projections. Commercially the decision to retire the old inefficient birds make sense but personally... the 346 is the most aesthetically pleasing airliner of all time imho, and I'm devastated to see it retire. Not a good time for the 744 either, with KLM having also retires theirs.

LondonElite

Really? I think the 340-500 is better proportioned.

Dave_C

Not meaning to start a religious war and go completely off topic, but it has to be Concorde!

LondonElite

Well that goes without saying!

Maestro Ramen

I stand corrected. So, to clarify:

The A346 (or 345) is the most aesthetically pleasing subsonic airliner of all time.

San Gottardo

Does anyone know when LH and LX timetables for May will be updated? LX still shows the "normal" (pre-Covid) program, haven't checked LH yet.

Maybe they wait for Merkel's and the Bundesrat's announcements?