When is an airline strike not an airline strike? When nearly 100 percent of your flights take off on time despite it.
Germany's national carrier Lufthansa apparently has some 52,000 union members who've agreed to strike over a pay rise. Since 10 pm last night strike action has been in place at Frankfurt and Hamburg airports, but according to reports, so far nearly all flights have left on time.
But the strike doesn't actually have an endpoint yet so some are predicting that things will get worse. Fears that Olympic athletes might have their flights to Beijing disrupted have, of course, really tugged at the heartstrings of German sports fans. Double-check your flights if you're booked on Lufthansa in the next few days or you might be bumped for a German volleyballer.
Do you own an airline that's worth about half of what it was at the beginning of the year? Lufthansa may want to talk to you, too! The German carrier is dropping $300 million on a share of JetBlue, but no one's quite sure what's going to happen next.
Lufthansa is only picking up 19 percent of the low cost carrier, but it will get to put a representative on JetBlue's board of directors. The American airline will of course get a big infusion of (much needed!) cash from the deal, and the German company could be trying to lock down takeoff and landing slots at JFK.
While ideas about transatlantic code sharing and a full Lufthansa takeover have been floated, none of them seem too plausible. In fact, one Morgan Stanley analyst can't figure out why the deal was done at all:
It's not clear to us what Lufthansa gains from such a transaction.
'Tis the season to do tacky Christmas marketing, and European budget airlines are not immune. Many of them are advertising special deals and calling them Christmas presents, whether you buy 'em for yourself or a loved one, the airlines don't care.
Italian budget airline MyAir, for example, has decided on a two-for-one offer as its seasonal gift to consumers. If you book before December 10 for flights between January 8 and January 31, you'll be able to buy two tickets for the price of one, though you'll both have to pay the airport taxes.
But it's not just the real low cost carriers that are serving up some good deals at the moment. Huge German airline Lufthansa has surprised us in the past with impressively cheap deals, and they're doing it again at the moment. They're offering flights between Germany cities and places like Paris, Milan or Prague for €99 ($145)--and this price is for a round-trip flight, and includes all taxes and charges. Of course there are not many seats available at that price (and by the time you read this, they might be all gone), but it does pay to remind us that even "normal" airlines in Europe have good deals sometimes. The spirit of giving, perhaps?
Granted, not everyone can afford to fly first class with Qantas to get a go at their super-delicious tasting menu, just released. Our next suggestion is to borrow a child (or if you have your own, they'll do too) and hit a Lufthansa flight to anywhere. Because this German airline has just got fun and original with its kids' menu (and we reckon we should be able to eat this way too). You can, for example, eat aliens that sound pretty tasty:
The martians have a face made of mousse and strawberry purée. Chocolate buttons form the eyes, two liquorice sticks the aerials.
Yum! The interesting behind-the-scenes story is that six trained children helped prepare and test the new menu items, and then they used a focus group system of children from varying nationalities to vote for the foods that should end up on the final menu.
Lufthansa says you have to be under 12 to get these foods, but surely they're not going to check your ID if you really want to eat their snake noodles in a tomato jungle?
As for the entertainment, you don't need a movie, I quickly became addicted to the tail camera.
Turns out Lufthansa has its own version of JenniCam, with no Jenni, but lots of live jumbo jet ass.
The tail camera shows a live continuous, wide angle shot of the plane in flight.
Peter Greenberg continued his Today Show review of the Airbus A380 this morning, with plenty of live shots from his Frankfurt to JFK "proving flight" yesterday.
A380 Tour Highlights:
· Greenberg got frisked in Germany.
· A grand staircase connects upper and lower decks.
· Multiple "mock boardings" took place.
· The plane had access to three jetways as it took off.
· First class is super comfortable, coach is as crowded as ever.
· The lavatory is huge and sports a window.
· Sharkey was on board.
Today Show travel Editor, and friend of Jaunted, Peter Greenberg is on board a Lufthansa A380 promo flight from Frankfurt Germany to JFK this morning.
Matt Lauer spoke with him via plane phone while Peter was somewhere over the Atlantic, the short conversation went something like this:
Matt: Does it feel different to be flying on something so big?
Peter: The thing that feels different is the quiet. It is about 50% quieter than a 747. Our take off this morning was remarkably quiet.
Matt: And is it on time Peter?
Peter: Exactly on time.
Um, did you really think a promo flight would be late? C'mon Matt dig a little deeper buddy.
The Today show notes that the A380 is facing an uphill battle. Most air customers looking for cheap airfares, frequency, and point to point. Furthermore, most US airport runways are not exactly ready to accommodate the A380.
Aviation buffs, today's your last chance to enter to win a tour of one of Lufthansa's A380 aircraft. If you cried, celebrated, or basically had any sort of reaction when the DC-10 was retired, this contest is for you. Answer a few questions and enter for the chance to tour the superjumbo jet when it lands at JFK Airport in New York City on March 19. Your prize will provide you an advance peek into the monstrosity way ahead of its schedule introduction to the public. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until scheduled commercial service begins to see just how freakin' long it's going to take to deplane from a full A380 flight.
We can hardly contain our pride: Lufthansa has finally come through with a decent, though not dirt-cheap, deal. The German airline with a penchant for non-sales is actually throwing Denver residents a bone with its new DEN-Munich non-stop flight. Of course, you'll need to have some flexible dates to pull off that $480 all-in price.
We pulled it up for a May 7-14 (Monday-Monday) trip--not bad for spring, and obviously convenient if you live in Denver and want to head straight for Munich for...whatever reason. Some good cheapo connections are available after that. But you'll need to bring your own entertainment and/or Ambien, because Lufthansa's steerage is still lacking.
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by amandak
