Category: Lufthansa

Help Me Get To Italy This Summer

~ Alvin ~ 3 Comments

My parents have always wanted to go on a cruise, and we’ve decided that this summer is probably the time to finally do so. I live in London now – though as luck would have it, I need to be in Hong Kong near the end of June, whereas the cruise occurs during the second part of July. I’m finally trying Cathay Pacific’s A350 premium economy from Gatwick to Hong Kong in June 2020, which I’m really excited about – stay tuned for that. Since I’m trying British Airways’ premium economy in January, I’ll have tried all three airlines’ premium economy products that fly direct between Hong Kong and London by then, which I’ve vowed to do for the longest time.

Right, back to Italy. Now, I’ve checked award space on American AAdvantage and Cathay Pacific, and have had no luck in either direction (Etihad has award space for two, but I don’t have enough miles for four passengers, and they don’t fly from Venice). The four of us need to fly into Rome and out of Venice, and I’ve narrowed my options down to the following.

Now, since my dad is travelling, we’re trying our best to get ourselves in a premium cabin with a maximum of one connection each way. Here are the options I’ve found:

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Another A380 Leaves Hong Kong: Lufthansa Switches Munich-Hong Kong Flight To A350

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

I’m sure every single airline operating the A380 has operated it to Hong Kong at some point. Many airlines such as Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Air France, China Southern and Qantas operated A380s to Hong Kong at one point, and no longer do. That being said, more than half of the current A380 operators still operate flights to Hong Kong, and Lufthansa is currently no exception.

I flew Lufthansa’s A380 business class from Frankfurt to Hong Kong in 2017. The Frankfurt to Hong Kong flight is no longer operated by an A380, as Lufthansa switched the A380 over to the Munich-Hong Kong route due to conflicts with Frankfurt Airport. As of April 2019, Lufthansa still operates the A380 from Munich Airport to Hong Kong.

Unfortunately as of January 1, 2020, this is about to change, as Lufthansa will switch back to operating the A350 from Munich Airport.

Continue reading “Another A380 Leaves Hong Kong: Lufthansa Switches Munich-Hong Kong Flight To A350” →

Ridiculously CHEAP HK$14,000 R/T Fares From London To Hong Kong

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

This is for all of those Hong Kongers studying in the UK and needing to get home (and back) sometime before August 31, 2019.

Flying between Hong Kong and London isn’t the cheapest thing in the world. While it’s hard to find great deals between Hong Kong and London, usually fares are marginally cheaper the other way – a roundtrip between London and Hong Kong. However, thanks to Premiumflights on FlyerTalk, some of you may be able to take advantage of a certain deal and come back in comfort, on the cheap between December and next August.

img_1792Swiss Boeing 777 Zurich Airport

The Lufthansa Group is offering ~HK$14,000 roundtrip business class fares between London and Hong Kong throughout basically most of the first half of 2019. While the return dates are marginally more restrictive (some days are substantially more expensive), you can basically choose any outbound date to take advantage of the fare.

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Skytrax 2018 Awards Announced – Here We Go Again

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

I’ve never put too much weight into Skytrax ratings. They’re mainly based on votes from people who have favouritism towards a single airline just because they’ve had a good experience on them before. Most of the people voting have never flown another airline in the same cabin class before.

That being said, it’s always exciting to see the opinions that the general public has towards airlines, which is why I continue to see and report on Skytrax’s rankings, despite the fact that I don’t actually value them at all. Additionally, while the rankings themselves are based on flawed data and results, the rankings actually have quite a large impact on airlines, as Skytrax rankings are quite highly-esteemed.

img_5506Lufthansa being a 5-star airline was probably the industry joke of the year

Today Skytrax released some rewards for this year’s winners in multiple categories. Having flown a number of airlines since this last happened, I’ve been quite…entertained by some of the rankings that Skytrax has released this year. Here’s a roundup of some of the thoughts that I have from Skytrax’s new rankings – for the full list of awards, click here.

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My Experience Contacting Three Airlines: What’s The Best Way?

~ Ethan Yang | Aviation and Travel ~ Leave a comment

Before a flight, there are many issues that may arise which require you to contact the airline – those being special meals, seat selection, special requests or accommodations, or just the simplest of things you have to know, such as whether baggage can be checked to your final destination. Since each airline can be contacted in a multitude of ways, knowing the best method can save you tons of time and energy. For example, you can avoid wasting hours on the phone waiting for an agent that won’t help you at the end of the day.

It’s worth noting that I wrote this post based on my extensive experience contacting various agents of the respective airlines on a variety of occasions over the course of many months. You may have a different experience contacting these airlines.

What is the best way to contact the airline for information and/or help on Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore Airlines?

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Frankfurt To Hong Kong Will No Longer Be Operated By An A380

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Last week I wrote about how Lufthansa was transferring five A380s to Munich due to turbulent relations with Frankfurt Airport. In a nutshell, Ryanair got more slots cheaply at Frankfurt Airport than Lufthansa would have liked, and obviously, slot prices rose as supply decreased, so Lufthansa rage quit started to move some of their operations to Munich instead. Lufthansa announced that they would be operating these A380s from Munich to Beijing, Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

img_5483Lufthansa Airbus A380 Frankfurt Airport

Well, if Frankfurt loses five A380s, obviously some routes will have to be cut as well. Earlier today, Lufthansa released the five destinations that will be losing A380s.

Continue reading “Frankfurt To Hong Kong Will No Longer Be Operated By An A380” →

Why Hong Kong Will Get A New A380 Route

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Hong Kong is a pretty strong A380 market, with A380s operating to Hong Kong from London, Frankfurt, Singapore, Dubai, etc.. I was fortunate to fly Lufthansa’s A380 in business class from Frankfurt to Hong Kong back in February, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

img_5483Lufthansa Airbus A380-800 Hong Kong Airport

Lufthansa operates to Hong Kong from both their hubs – Frankfurt to Hong Kong operates daily on an A380, and Munich to Hong Kong operates daily on an A340. However, it looks like Hong Kong is about to get another A380.

Continue reading “Why Hong Kong Will Get A New A380 Route” →

Review: Lufthansa A380 Business Class Frankfurt to Hong Kong

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Introduction: It’s The Journey That Matters
Plaza Premium West Lounge Hong Kong
Swiss 777 Business Class Hong Kong to Zurich
Swiss Business Class Lounge Zurich Terminal D
Swiss Business Class Lounge Zurich Terminal A
Swiss A321 Business Class Zurich to Geneva
Swiss Business Class Lounge Geneva
Lufthansa A321 Business Class Geneva to Frankfurt
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt Concourse A
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt Concourse Z
Lufthansa A380 Business Class Frankfurt to Hong Kong

Lufthansa Flight 796
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Origin: Frankfurt (FRA) Gate: Z66 Dep: 22:15 (22:20)
Destination: Hong Kong (HKG) Gate: 15 Arr: 16:20 (16:00)
Duration: 11 h 5 min (10 h 40 min)
Aircraft: Airbus A380
Seat: 24K (Business Class)

While I entered the aircraft at a quick pace, a female flight attendant raised her hand up and told me to “stop”, before looking at my boarding pass. I found it almost comical on the flight prior, though by this point I was getting slightly confused. Is this how passengers are greeted onboard a flight on Lufthansa?

After pointing me towards the right aisle, I asked if I could take a few pictures. The purser said “well you’re first onboard, so go ahead”.

img_5486Lufthansa Airbus A380-800 Business Class Cabin

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Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa’s New Partnership

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Airline alliances are becoming less exclusive than they used to be. A few years ago, there were three big teams on the battlefield (well, two big teams and one reject team that went ahead to name themselves SkyTeam). In recent years, though, we’ve seen quite a few inter-alliance partnerships happen – one of the latest ones was between Cathay Pacific and Air Canada, which Jason’s written extensively about.

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER Hong Kong Airport

I guess this trend is continuing, as Cathay Pacific has partnered with another airline. While I don’t think there’s a huge customer impact yet, I am pretty happy that this partnership is happening (not that I think there’s anything to lose for either airline).

Continue reading “Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa’s New Partnership” →

Review: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt Concourse Z

~ Alvin ~ Leave a comment

Introduction: It’s The Journey That Matters
Plaza Premium West Lounge Hong Kong
Swiss 777 Business Class Hong Kong to Zurich
Swiss Business Class Lounge Zurich Terminal D
Swiss Business Class Lounge Zurich Terminal A
Swiss A321 Business Class Zurich to Geneva
Swiss Business Class Lounge Geneva
Lufthansa A321 Business Class Geneva to Frankfurt
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt Concourse A
Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt Concourse Z
Lufthansa A380 Business Class Frankfurt to Hong Kong

Once I left the Concourse A lounge I tried to make my way to Concourse C, as I wanted to check out the Air Canada lounge. I got rather lost along the way (partly because I was so tired), so I decided to just leave it and head straight to concourse Z.

To my surprise, there wasn’t a line for immigration at all. I assumed it was just a checkpoint, but apart from the agent being quite rude and talking to the agent manning the counter next to her while she helped with my procedures (not that I blame her, it was 8:20 PM so she must have had a long day), I was through in under five minutes. On one hand I was bummed as I could have visited the Air Canada lounge with time to spare, but on the other hand I was ready to get some work done at the Lufthansa lounge.

While no means one of my favourite concourses, the Z Concourse at Frankfurt Airport looked decent and seemed more modern than Heathrow Airport.

img_5418 Frankfurt Airport Z Concourse

Continue reading “Review: Lufthansa Business Class Lounge Frankfurt Concourse Z” →