I do agree that the price is insane. On the one hand my sentiment is that’s a fair trade for ultra-low P fares, but on the other hand I’m pretty sure the same price even if you’re buying ZDCJ fares.

I would never pay that much for it.

 

Haven�t flown LX in a while, is selection free for *G?

 

Seat selection in C is free of course, but there are blocked seats (not only the thrones) for SEN and HON - their own elites.

Preferred seat selection is no published *G benefit.

 

Just refuse to pay the fee as non-SEN/HON, do not encourage this kind of behaviour. They will take it even further as long as people pay.

 

Probably a window into LH�s new C, now that the test bed trial on LX has been successful.

 

I just flew on a LX TATL flight on a probably full C cabin. The were thrones still available (for free) at OLCI. Accordingly, anyone who had paid for them had wasted money on that particular flight.

In addition, I fail to see the benefit of those seats, except if one needs desk space to work on voluminous files.

On that particular flight, I peeked at the seat map in the galley which indicated where the about 4-5 SENs where seated (no HONs in that cabin). Not all were in so-called thrones. Accordingly, there were plenty of good seats left for non status pax, even on a full cabin. Interestingly, only SENs had their names written on their seats. Unlike LH which prides itself at calling its C pax by their names, LX only does it for its elites (SENs and HONs).

 

That's the theory, but the computer said no to me booking seats in the forward mini-cabin. Took three phone calls.

Shouldn't have bothered. I was looking for peace and quiet on the short night flight from BOM, but in 4D found the traffic in and out of first, and the circus around getting bedding out of storage quite annoying.

 

well, thats the thing! FTers and savvy travelers know not to waste money on these seats, so LX is essentially preying on the less-informed and their fears of not getting their choice of seating. Shame on LX!

 

It�s really route dependent. Some have a large number of HONs/SENs and so the preferred seats are pretty much taken at online checkin. Others do not.

Whether you decide to pay up earlier for a particular seat assignment is a bet made by one�s estimation of the probability of getting what they want and how much they value the choice they�re making.

I don�t see anything wrong with it. I think there is something decidedly unpremium with buying a business class fare and having to pay up for a seat assignment. But not sure if it rises up to the level where we need to protect our fellow flyer. Especially in business class.

 

P fares out of ZRH aren't cheap. Fortunately I can book them via UA to get better miles out of them.

Overall, this is probably a good change. Reduces the likelihood of people buying the good thrones, hence increasing the likelihood I can get them for free at checkin on the rare occasion I have to fly LX.

 

More than that some FTers (e.g. me) avoid flying LX because of these fees. So they might think it's free money because some people pay, but there is a potential downside in lost business. And I am pretty sure their data science models don't account for that.

 

Yup. I've scored a throne for free my last two LX flights (LX 38).
IME, something like half the cabin is blocked in advance.

 

Indeed, it�s just not premium to charge for seats in J, do agree with blocking some seats for SEN & HON but not charges for the rest.
I�m sure this is losing LX customers

 

I�m sure business models for a major international airline account for lost business. Whether the projections are accurate is another matter.

 

BA always has outrageous seat selection fees in J for non elites. This is done on purpose to reserve a good selection of seats to passengers with status. Sometimes a few people pay, extra money for BA. LX might simply follow the same strategy. I am not sure the loss of business is significant compared to the uptake.