RaflW

We just got home yesterday from a bargain P fare MSP-ERW-MPX open jaw VCE-FRA-ORD-MSP. We would not have made this trip this summer w/o the deal.

I further took the bait and status matched to UA Silver. Jury is out on whether to stay with the switch.

We had good service on our 764 to MPX. I thought the food was decent, especially the cheese course & dessert, and the FA that mostly served us was really nice. I was not impressed with the "lie-flat" seat. Tight fit, at 6'2", I dozed in recliner mode only, though my partner who is tall but skinny managed to side sleep ~2 hrs. Yeah it was nice given the lower-than-cheapest-coach fare, but it did not make me want to pay $5K each next time, if that was a goal.

The other two nominally UA segments were regionals, an E145 and a CR7, so didn't really try UA's domestic mainline. The E145 for 2.5 hours sucks. Our short hop in F on the CR7 was pleasant, but hard to distinguish from the Skywest DL product.

For the record, the two LH segments were great. I thought the legroom and service in seats 3D/F in an A321 were just fine. Yes the seat isn't a US-type F seat, but good knee room and plenty of space for 1:25 gate-to-gate flight, and good meal & beverages.
The real treat of the trip was being in the main deck nose section of a venerable 747-400. I hadn't flown in a 747 in 18 years, since leaving the NYC area.
The LH seat is not super comfortable, but the personal space up front is great, and the food beat UA by a mile. I don't drink alcohol, so I found LH's offering of two choices of good quality German N.A. beers to be a happy surprise.
For a day flight, the old 744 J class on LH seemed a very pleasant way to travel. The second J section with 2-3-2 seating looked less fun. Glad I called ahead and reserved row 3!

Anyway, as to generating additional revenue or customers, the fare worked for us. Really, though, the hotels and restaurants of northern Italy probably benefitted more than UA - I don't think UA or LH made much margin on us, but 7 nights in 3 & 4 star hotels, plus those Italian dinners? Expect a modest uptick in Italy's GDP.

bmwe92fan

This is so true - I'm in VCE now staying on the canal and had dinner last night that came to 165euro - after 100 euro water taxi from airport to hotel lol.... Good thing I got the airfare deal!

UA-NYC

Hopefully they'll just keep offering BF for Y prices going forward...look at all the incremental business UA is driving!!!

RaflW

If you are still there, I recommend the out of the way restaurant Dalle Marisa near the Tre Archi bridge in Cannaregio. Eur 15 set price lunch, 35 for set price dinner includes 4 courses, wine, coffee, water, copperto (not sure about wine at lunch...). No menu, no choices, but delicious and nice mix of locals and tourists.

And for next time, you can stay in a canal view jr suite in Cannaregio for around Eur 220-240 a night (yes, the canal you view isn't the Grand Canal, but I think it's more charming, and easy access to the 4 & 5 vaproettos): Ca' Dogaressa hotel. 3 stars, but well run, very clean, Venetian decor including Murano chandeliers, and easy to access Alilaguna for a much cheaper ride from/to VCE.

bmwe92fan

Thanks for the advice - I am staying at then Londra palace and having a blast! Surprised how expensive the food is but I so love Italy and the people - had lunch at Cantina da Spade today - amazing and reasonable - currently bar hopping back to the hotel....

ordogg

If they have a Thanksgiving BF sale, when does it usually happen? Thanks!

thepla

I'm on my second trip to Europe this Thursday. MKE-ORD-YYZ-FCO. I was wondering what club(s) are available in Toronto and which would be consensus to be best?

exerda

You should have access to the Maple Leaf Lounge (MLL); I'm not sure if there are other lounges available or not. The MLL is okay; it's far better than the Red Carpet Club / United Club, but it's nothing special, either.

thepla

Thanks I did see on Star Alliance website two lounges, both AC. I am pretty excited about trying AC Business Class. Priority Pass has something called Plaza Premium.

mgcsinc

My GF and I did our P fare run on AC fit the YYZ-FCO-YYZ legs, and loved it. Eventually will get around to doing a trip report. Feel free to pm with any questions.

I quite like the maple leaf lounges.

tyroner

Looking at the Mileage Run forum, it would seem it had happened by this time of year already in some previous years. I have been watching but no dice and for now am waiting too.

hscottm

depends on who "they" you mean.. LH has had one posted on their website for a few weeks:

http://www.lufthansa.com/us/en/busin...pecialid=11661

terms:

Purchase by: 09/29/2014 Departure period: 11/22/2014 - 11/28/2014 Return period: 11/27/2014 - 12/03/2014 Advance Purchase Period: 60 days

I didnt do any separate searches to verify city pairs, matching, etc.

UA-NYC

They can't afford the sale now, due to all the BF seats they have & are still giving away for Y prices

exerda

I tried a few city pairs and found their "business basic" product available ex-WAS for as little as $2600 r/t, even outside the official dates for their offer. Amusingly, many rely on UA metal for the TATL portion...

Jalen500

Currently sitting in ord ifl. Got an op up to global first on our trip to flr. Thanks again op for posting