Meilensammler

from the businesstravel-forum:

Ab dem 1. Oktober 2006 kann man, wenn kein regulärer Prämienplatz mehr zur Verfügung steht, gegen die doppelte Meilenanzahl bis auf den letzten Sitzplatz zugreifen. Gilt nur für interkontinentale Linienflüge mit LH und OS in Eco und Business und kann nur einmal pro Kalenderjahr in Anspruch genommen werden. Gilt aber für bis zu 3 Begleitpersonen

derpelikan

it would be better to just introduce no award capacity control for SENs.

dp

Rambuster

At the double mileage price for a guaranteed award seat, who can afford to use it more than once per year !?

Keith009

Uh, can I have subtitles please?

Rambuster

Basically it states: Guaranteed award seat subject to paid seat being available on LH/OS longhaul in Y or C for DOUBLE mileage redemption available starting October 1st.
This option can only be used once per year.

AJLondon

Would this still be booked in I/X class or would they use a revenue code to release the seats?

Might not be too bad if one could get some miles-back thru earning...

totti

you must be dreaming We are talking about LH and M&M... that would be to much of enhancement

Anyway I think it is a good deal for LH and M&M and maybe for some customers (not for me ). But I don't understand why this option can be used only once a year.

flysurfer

Thank you for the heads-up, Meilensammler. Unfortunately, since it doesn't extend to F awards, this enhancement of no interest to me at all.

totti

same here...

AJLondon

My reasoning is as follows:

Case I:
- Pax calls up SEN/FTL line asks for award on date 1 in Business I class. Agent says award available, and books pax at the normal rates. End of story.

Case II:
- Pax calls up SEN line asks for award on date 1 in Business I class. Agent says I class sold-out. Pax asks to use his "double-miles" option for "anytime awards" in Business class. Agents says okay, and then books pax in ____ business booking class. Now the ____ can in theory be filled by C,D,Z or I. However, "I" is not an option or otherwise pax would have got the "normal" award.

So there are three options here:
1. Either agent waitlists pax in "I" and then sends message to revenue management to release I class, and then pax is later confirmed and double miles deducted.
2. Agent books pax in the lowest class available out of J,C or Z.
3. LH invents new booking classes altogether for the anytime awards.

Since there is a limit of one such transaction per SEN per year, I would think option 3 is unrealistic. So it should come down to either 1 or 2.

LH_Fan

While I might be tempted to pay a surcharge on longhaul C awards, paying double miles would pretty much remove the temptation for me even if the "double miles" statement was actually correct. Turns out it is not, though - the fine print says "not combinable with companion award" which means I actually pay 2.67x as much. There are usually better options available, such as travelling in F if available, or foregoing the companion award and travel with a different * carrier (e.g., on my favorite route FRA - JHB), or foregoing the companion award and re-routing. In any event, it definitely pays to book award flights early!

flysurfer

Guys! HONs have been enjoying this very feature (no capacity control for I and X) for several years now, so instead of wildly speculating, just ask them how this is handled.

And no, HONs don't get miles for "standard" or "premium" awards.

tcswede

Yup - our tresured Perks are being watered down....

Upto 2 weeks before departure one can book upto 4 seats on any flight - HON member must travel with the others. Books into I and X. Is confirmed when booking is done - NO I do not know how the seats are released -they just are - whilst making the booking - and NO I do not know if you do it online - I always book mine by phone.
Even the companioin award works for at least one seat.

Works fine for those pesky connection flights such as STR - FRA or vv when connecting to FRA even in other COS - as long as you book two weeks beforehand.


But of course we - do - how else do you think we all requalified in the first six months...

Cheers

Thomas

SleepOverGreenland

Handling is a breath and we never dealed with standard and premium awards. Of course I and X class stays, and even HON have no F award guarantee and got waitlisted like everyone. Just have higher priority on that piece.

For me the procedure was very easy: Called LH HON service, requested an award and they enter all details. I just recognized, that I have to be one of the pax on that award and it is limited to a total of 4.

My opinion on the double miles booking guarantee for SEN: That is a very bad deal and probably will not be used very often. Travelling with a companion to the US in BIZ would mean to spend 360K miles instead of 135K miles. Come on, that's not worth it. Then I would check flexibility in travel dates first.

andre1970

It's a marketing gimmick! They try to "sell" it as a favor to M&L customers. DL, UA (probably other bankrupt airlines too) have been allowing this feature for all customers at all levels of their FFPs for years now...

I'm afraid this one will end up being a genuine à la LH enhancement: actual availability for "standard" mileage will further shrink (we won't be able to tell anyway, due to the degree of opaqueness there is in that matter) and the oh-so-competent CPT agents will no hesitate for a second: they will have the greatest of excuses to quit searching and go the easy (and convenient for LH) way...