As I had mentioned earlier, I flew back to Hong Kong this past weekend to take advantage of a 100% mile bonus (promo expires Jan 31) for the specific flights between Chicago and Hong Kong as well as a 100% elite bonus for being a United Premier Executive level member (bonus miles for Premier Exec’s is going down to 50% starting March 3). SWU’s from a friend made it a great ride in Business Class (thanks Pat!). All totaled, nearly 50,000 miles. I had a great time, and will cover the trip in far more detail over my next few postings in the coming days.

BUT something dramatic happened at home while I was away. I needed to see it in person when I returned in order to believe it.

My lovely wife, Mrs. LufthansaFlyer, did the unexpected and completely caught me off guard when I returned home last night.

She announced that she………drum roll…………..booked a trip to California and took into consideration the amount of miles she would earn, and built in an extra segment because it would earn more miles. I blacked out for a few seconds at this point, so the details got a bit blurry and she needed to repeat what she had done.

MY WIFE HAS BECOME ONE OF US. She has sipped the Kool Aid and has learned the secret handshake…….She is into earning miles!

Some background on her motivation:

My nephew who is now 18, had a tragic reaction to medication a year ago while being tested for Strep Throat. At the time, the doctor suggested a spinal tap to rule out Meningitis. As part of the post procedure recovery, he was given such a strong dose of pain killer that it put him into cardiac arrest for several minutes, and once they resuscitated him, he had been “gone” long enough that it caused permanent brain injury. He is now in a permanent vegatative state, and recovery is unlikely.

My wife is an RN and flies out to California monthly to spend a few days with her Brother and review the home care our nephew is now receiving. And indirectly, this has led her to accumulate miles on a regular basis and has put her in a position to climb the ranks of Elite Levels in United’s Mileage Plus.

After I explained to her the big picture that I have for her getting to Premier Executive, which would put her in position for upgrades, free economy plus seats and additional bonus for miles traveled she bought into the logic.

What I did not expect to happen right away was her looking at ways to maximize the miles she could fly when traveling to California. Normally she would fly from Grand Rapids-Chicago O’hare-Santa Ana, the most direct option available. But now understanding how important it is for her to fly 50,000 miles this year, she has started thinking outside the box and is willing to sacrifice convenience for the sake of earning status (Isn’t that what most of us do?).

So while I was in Hong Kong, she took it upon herself to look at other options and booked her next trip to go from Grand Rapids to Chicago to San Franciso and finally to Santa Ana and returning the same way. She said it would earn her 980 miles more by adding San Francisco. I fell in love with her all over again at that moment!

Now, she’s tinkering with another future flight by adding Denver to the mix and doing a GRR-ORD-DEN-SFO-SNA route. What have I created here? Today I introduced her to webflyer.com’s mileage calculator so she can have an easy way to tally miles based on her routes and she’s been busy with it ever since.

Tonight at dinner she even popped the question: “What if I concentrate on getting 60 segments instead of miles to get Premier Executive?”, Whaaaa? Segments? who told her about getting status based on segments????

Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with her desire to maximize her travel in order to earn the benefits that come with flying frequently. I never thought she would buy into it because everytime I had a mileage run, whether it was a same day turn to baltimore, a one day trip to Germany, or 2 weekend trips to Hong Kong in the last 6 weeks she would just look at me like I had 3 eyes in my forehead. But all that has now changed. She get’s it. She is now one of us.

I’m curious, has anyone else out there has had a spouse or significant other sip the Kool Aid and become one of us? I’d love to hear the stories!

Airlines covered in this update: American, Royal Jordanian, Iberia.

AMERICAN AIRLINES:

Hartford(BDL)-San Juan(SLU) effective April 3 is canceled. Last scheduled service is April 2.

ROYAL JORDANIAN:

Amman-Misurata effective January 28 will begin 2x/week service.

IBERIA:

Miami(MIA)-Barcelona(BCN) effective April 1 is canceled. However, this route will be codeshared and flown by American Airlines.

Today’s route updates covers Asiana, Swiss, Egyptair and Turkish

ASIANA:

Seoul(ICN)–Chicago(ORD) effective July 20 will increase from 4x/week to 1x/day.
Seoul(ICN)-Honolulu(HNL) effective July 19 will increase from 2x/week to 1x/day.
Seoul(ICN)-Seattle(SEA) effective July 25 will increase from 5/x week to 6x/week.

SWISS:

Zurich-Bucharest effective March 25 increases from 1x/day to 2x/day.
Zurich–Prague effective March 25 increases from 3x/day to 4x/day.

EGYPTAIR:

Cairo-Tokyo(NRT) effective April 15 will begin 2x/week service. Effective September 1, service will increase to 3x/week.

TURKISH:

Istanbul-Bremen effective April 26 starts new 4x/week service. On May 28, this service will increase to 1x/day.
Istanbul-Leipzig effective May 28 starts new 5x/week service. On June 26, this service will increase to 1x/day.
Ankara-Berlin(BER (new)) effective June 6 will begin 2x/week service.
Izmir-Berlin(BER (new)) effective June 5 will begin 2x/week service.

As a result of a successful rollout of Automatic Check In for Miles & More passengers in Germany and Italy Lufthansa today announced the expansion of the program to more countries within the Schengen area. This expansion will cover 400 routes.

Under the program Miles & More members can elect at time of booking to be automatically checked into their flights 23 hours in advance and receive their seat assigment.

The press release went on to say that Lufthansa expects to expand this program in the near future to non Miles & More members as well.

I’m hoping other carriers are looking at this. I see it as a huge convenience to be automatically checked in and having my boarding passes emailed to me or sent to my mobile device.

Here is Lufthansa’s Press Release:

Lufthansa offers automatic check-in
New service now available on approximately 400 Lufthansa routes

East Meadow, NY, January 27, 2012 – As a new service, Lufthansa is expanding its automatic check-in service and now offering this perk on approximately 400 routes within the Schengen Area – an area comprised of 26 European countries that operate very much like a single state for international travel. The service, which already exists in Germany and Italy, has already proven to be very popular because of the time savings and convenience it offers passengers.

Passengers with an existing booking are automatically checked in 23 hours prior to their departure and will receive an electronic boarding pass with their reserved seat number shortly after, which they can choose to have sent to them by email or to an Internet-enabled mobile phone. The service is available to all members of the Miles & More frequent flyer program who have selected the automatic check-in option under “Travel services” in their customer profile. In the event of a change in travel plans, passengers with a re-bookable ticket have the option of cancelling their online check-in at lufthansa.com or by calling the Lufthansa Service Center.

Passengers traveling with luggage can check in their bags at a baggage drop-off counter or at a check-in kiosk on presentation of their boarding pass. Seats can also be changed online via a mobile phone or at a self-service check-in kiosk.

In the coming months, Lufthansa expects to expand the automatic check-in service across its global route network and make it available for all flight bookings, thus allowing passengers who are not Miles & More members to take advantage of this popular service.

About Lufthansa
One of the world’s largest and most prestigious airlines, Lufthansa currently flies to 211 destinations in 84 countries, with hubs in Frankfurt, Munich, and with its recent acquisition of Austrian Airlines and SWISS – Vienna and Zurich. From its 22 North American gateways, Lufthansa— recently voted by Fortune as one of the five most admired airlines in the world— and its partners serve over 450 destinations in more than 120 countries. An industry innovator, Lufthansa has long been committed to environmental care and sustainability, operating the most technically-advanced and fuel-efficient fleet in the world. Its long-haul fleet to and from North America includes the Boeing 747-400, as well as the Airbus A300 sub fleet. Currently, Lufthansa has over 150 new aircraft worth about $18 billion on order. It will be the largest European operator of the A380 and is also the launch customer for the new Boeing 747-8, the industries’ two most fuel-efficient passenger aircraft. Known for its premium services, Lufthansa continues its $150 million program earmarked for building new or upgrading existing lounge facilities across its worldwide network and will spend more than $1.4 billion in new onboard products and services by 2015. In 2010, Lufthansa re-launched its broadband wireless Internet service onboard, FlyNet. For more information or reservations, visit www.lufthansa.com.

In this installment of Timetable updates:

Star Alliance: Air Canada reintroduces service to JFK and Thai reduces some service to europe.

Skyteam: Air France is reducing service to India and Aeroflot is increasing service to US, Cuba and China and South Korea.

STAR ALLIANCE:

AIR CANADA:

Toronto(YYZ)-New York(JFK): Effective May 3 will begin 3x/day service.
Toroton(YYZ)-New York(LGA): Effective May 1 will add additional daily service bringing total to 14x/day.

THAI:

Bangkok(BKK)-Copenhangen(CPH) effective between May 1 and June 15 is being reduced from 1x/day to 5x/week.
Bangkok(BKK)-Paris(CDG) effective between April 21 and June 30 is being reduced from 10x/week to 1x/day.
Bangkok(BKK)-Milan(MXP) effective March 25 is being reduced from 4x/week to 3x/week.
Bankkok(BKK)-Stockholm(ARN) between May 1 and June 15 is being reduced from 1x/day to 5x/week.

SKYTEAM:

Air France (all effective for summer timetable):

Paris(CDG)-Bangalore(BLR) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.
Paris(CDG)-Delhi(DEL) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.
Paris(CDG)-Mumbai(BOM) is being reduced from 1x/day to 6x/week.

Aeroflot:

Moscow(SVO)-New York(JFK) effective June 1 is increasing from 1x/day to 2x/day.
Moscow(SVO)-Beijing(PEK) effective August 31 is increasing from 14x/week to 16x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Havana(HAV) effective August 4 is increasing from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Los Angeles(LAX) effective May 30 is increasing from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Moscow(SVO)-Seoul(ICN) effective June 1 is increasing from 4x/week to 1x/day.

It was reported on Wednesday that US Air has retained a team of advisor to explore possible options for acquiring American Airlines. I had written a little bit about this a few days ago when rumors first emerged.

Reuters had confirmed that US Airways did in fact retain Barclays Capital, Millstein & Co. and Latham & Watkins. This according to US Airways CEO Doug Parker.

In recent weeks there has been speculation that either Delta or US Air would attempt to acquire American Airlines which is currently under bankruptcy protection while it is being restructured. An acquisition of this size would obviously send shock waves through the industry and give regulators plenty of things to consider to ensure that the acquisition is fair to the marketplace.

For passengers, the much more important piece would be the implications such an acquisition would have to the airline alliances. American being a keystone member of Oneworld is critical to that alliance’s success. Would Oneworld be able to survive without a US based carrier? I have my doubts.

BUT…

On the other hand, an acquisition of American by US Air makes a lot of sense if US Air is going to use American as a conduit to remove itself from the Star Alliance where it seems to frequently play the role of Rodney Dangerfield and “doesn’t get any respect”. From this perspective, US Air making a move to Oneworld would be a stroke of genius and balance the power of alliances in the USA and give US Airways much stronger footing as an influential alliance member. Currently, United is by far and away the dominant Star Alliance carrier in the US and US Air will never have a chance to play a leading role in Star Alliance as long as the balance of power stays the way it is.

I can easily see US Air following this path and using American to change alliances. I don’t think there would be any hard feelings between Star Alliance and US Air.

Delta as a suitor makes less sense to me since they’ve already merged with Northwest and have plenty of market share and are a major part of Skyteam. Adding American to their “hangar” would certainly raise regulatory eyebrows. I can’t imagine that Delta would be allowed to combine 3 major airlines into one Mega-Airline.

This developing drama will continue to unfold and I’m sure there will be surprises along the way. But that makes it all the more interesting…….Keep in mind these are my opinions and nothing more!

Here is the excerpt from the Reuters article providing additional details:

Jan 25 (Reuters) – US Airways Group (LCC.N) confirmed on Wednesday that it hired advisers to explore a deal with bankrupt carrier American Airlines but said consolidation was no longer “imperative” for the industry’s health.

The news came the same day US Airways and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter profits, buoyed by higher ticket prices and curtailed capacity.

US Airways hired Barclays Capital, Millstein & Co and Latham & Watkins to explore its options related to American parent AMR Corp, which filed for bankruptcy in November, US Airways Chief Executive Doug Parker said during a conference call.

“We expect AMR will remain in bankruptcy and we anticipate that we and our advisers will be studying the situation for quite some time,” Parker, a long-time advocate of consolidation to cure the industry’s ills, told analysts and reporters.

People familiar with the matter have said US Airways and Delta are each exploring a merger with AM. Private equity firm TPG Capital TPG.UL is also considering a deal.

During a separate earnings call, Delta declined to comment on industry consolidation or a possible deal with AMR Corp.

The airline industry is two years into a recovery aided by capacity cuts and higher fares after a decade-long downturn that cascaded into a series of bankruptcies and airline mergers.

Parker pointed to the flurry of recent large-scale airline mergers as evidence that industry is no longer as fragmented as it was in the middle of the last decade.

In 2010, United Airlines and Continental Airlines combined to form United Continental, while Delta bought Northwest Airlines in 2008.

Shares of both airlines shot up on the New York Stock Exchange. Delta shares rose more than 6 percent, while US Airways stock jumped more than 17 percent.

In a story reported by Reuters today, Airbus has admitted that manufacturing and design flaws have led to the outbreak of cracks being found in several A380 wing structures. In the article, Airbus goes on to say that the aircraft are safe and that proper steps are being taken to ensure that repairs are carried out. Airbus has not identified the carriers who have been having ongoing issues with these flaws.

I had posted about the initial A380 issues here, and also talked about the EASA directives that were issued in a posting here.

The article as reported by Reuters:

January 25, 2012
Airbus acknowledged a combination of manufacturing and design flaws on Wednesday as it confirmed the discovery of more examples of cracks inside the wings of A380 superjumbo jets, while insisting the world’s largest airliner is safe to fly.

A senior executive said Airbus had found a solution to the outbreak of cracks on a small number of parts inside the wings, which prompted European safety authorities to order compulsory safety inspections last week.

Airbus confirmed that it had discovered more examples of the cracks during the latest wing inspections, but declined to give further details before Friday’s deadline for completing a first phase of checks.

“The A380 is safe to fly,” Tom Williams, executive vice president of programs at Airbus, said.

The cracks were caused by a combination of the choice of aluminum alloy for certain wing brackets as well as stresses imposed at two stages of the manufacturing process, he said.

Williams flew to Dublin to give an unscheduled address at a conference followed by a series of briefings as Airbus stepped up efforts to dampen any concerns about the aircraft’s safety.

Airbus had already dismissed calls by an Australian engineering union to ground the aircraft, saying this had not been demanded by safety regulators who would be only too quick to ban flights if they believed safety was at risk.

European authorities have however ordered inspections on almost a third of the superjumbo fleet after two types of cracks were discovered within weeks of each of other on what Airbus described as a handful of L-shaped brackets inside the wing.

Since then, similar cracks have been found inside the wings of at least one of the superjumbos examined under the directive, industry sources said on Tuesday.

Airbus officials said it was assumed that most of the aircraft being tested would show evidence of the second and more significant type of crack, but that their technical fixes would address this well before they became a potential hazard.

It declined to say which airline had found cracks during inspections but the spotlight is expected to fall on Singapore Airlines which has said it is inspecting six aircraft under a first phase of checks of the most heavily used jets.

Singapore Airlines said it was carrying out inspections as required and would give an update once they were completed. The checks involve emptying and venting fuel tanks for about 24 hours followed by a visual check via a manhole under the wing.

(Reuters)

Recent changes to oneworld member timetables:

AMERICAN AIRLINES:

Effective April 3 will debut 5x/week service between Miami(MIA)-Barcelona(BCN). Effective June 14, this route will be flown daily.

BRITISH AIRWAYS:

Effective May 1 service will resume between London(LHR)-Tripoli(TIP) 3x/week. Beginning Sept 2, service will be daily.

For Summer Timetable:

London(City)-Nice Will be reduced to 10x/week to daily.

London(LHR)–Geneva(GVA) increases from 8x/day to 9x/day.
London(LHR)– Istanbul(IST) increases from 11x/week to 14x/week.
London(LHR)–Munich(MUC) is reduced from 7x/day to 6x/day.
London(LHR)–Nice(NCE) is reduced from 51x/week to 49x/week.
London(LHR)-Rome(FCO) increases from 6x/day to 7x/day.
London(LHR)-Sofia(SOF) is reduced from 8x/week to daily.
London(LHR)-Venice(VCE) increases from 9x/week to 11x/week.

FINNAIR:

Effective March 9 has canceled Helsinki-Kiev. Previously this route operated 3x/week.
Effective February 29 has canceled Helsinki-Stuttgart. Previously this route operated 2x/day.

MALEV(Hungarian):

Effective with Summer Timetable:

Budapest(BUD)–Belgrade(BEG) is reduced from 9x/week to daily.
Budapest(BUD)–Bucharest(OTP) is reduced from 27x/week to 25x/week.
Budapest(BUD)–Helsinki(HEL) is increased from 10x/week to 11x/week.
Budapest(BUD)–Moscow(SVO) is reduced from 9x/week to 8x/week.
Budapest(BUD)–Paris(CDG) is increased from 19x/week to 21x/week.
Budapest(BUD)–Prague(PRG) is reduced from 14x/week to 13x/week.
Budapest(BUD)–Stuttgart(STR) is increased from 11x/week to 12x/week.
Budapest(BUD)–Zagreb(ZAG) is reduced from 19x/week to 18x/week.
Budapest(BUD)–Zurich(ZRH) is increased from 7x/week to 10x/week.

Earlier today, Lufthansa announced a US Spring Fare Sale to European destinations. The fares are attractive and are about $200-300 less than normal going rates.

Looking at the fares, most destinations to Europe from New York ranged from $650 to $900. Other US gateways were a few dollars more.

For more details about specific fares, please visit Lufthansa’s Fare Sale webpage.

Here are the terms and conditions:

Purchase by: 02/09/2012
Departure period: 04/02/2012-05/17/2012
Return period: 04/15/2012-06/15/2012
Advance Purchase Period: 7 days
Travel Economy Class travel on Air Canada, Continental, Lufthansa or United.
Fares are based on round-trip purchase (PUR) and mid-week travel.
Saturday night stay is required. Weekend surcharges up to $60 round-trip.
Maximum stay is 1 months.
Date changes before and after departure: permitted at $250 per change.
Fares are subject to change without notice and are based on the most direct routing to each destination. Additional transfers will increase the fare. Fares include applicable fees, taxes and airport charges, including the September 11th Security Fee of a maximum of $10 per round-trip. Additional baggage fees may apply. Seats are limited and may not be available on all days/flights. Tickets are non-refundable, non-endorsable, non-transferable and other restrictions may apply.

Recently announced changes from United, Air Canada, Brussels Airlines and ADRIA.

UNITED:

Los Angeles-Philadelphia: Effective April 1, is resuming 1x/day service.

AIR CANADA:

Montreal-Cancun: Effective June 24 increases from 4x/week to 5x/week.
Montreal-Ft. Lauderdale: Effective June 24 increases from 10x/week to 11x/week.
Montreal-San Francisco: Effective May 1 reduced from 2x/day to 1x/day.
Toronto-Ft. Lauderdale: Effective June 18 increases from 8x/week to 2x/DAY.
Toronto-Puerto Plata: Canceled for summer.

BRUSSELS AIRLINES: (All effective March 25, unless noted otherwise)

Brussels-Berlin: Reduced from 43x/week to 38x/week.
Brussels-Copenhagen: Reduced from 5x/day to 4x/day.
Brussels-Venice: Increased from 12x/week to 14x/week.
Brussels-Warsaw: Reduced from 12x/week to 1x/DAY.
Brussels-Catania: Reduced from 4x/week to 1x/week.
Brussels-Lisbon: Reduced from 15x/week to 1x/DAY.
Brussels-Malaga: Reduced from 16x/week to 2x/DAY.
Brussels-Moscow(Domo): Increased from 10x/week to 13x/week.
Brussels-Palma Mallorca: 1x/week is CANCELED.
Brussels-Seville: 4x/week is CANCELLED effective April 16.
Brussels-Tel Aviv: Increased from 1x/day to 8x/WEEKLY.

ADRIA: All changes effective Jan 23.

Ljubljana-Barcelona: Reduced from 3x/week to 2x/week.
Ljubljana-Istanbul: Reduced from 10x/week to 1x/day.
Ljubljana-Kiev: Canceled from summer timetable.
Ljubljana-London Luton 4x/week (Moves from Gatwick).
Ljubljana-Paris (CDG)- Resumption of 11x/week service.

In an article published on Bloomberg.com, Lufthansa has updated information about the rollout of it’s new Business Class on long haul aircraft. The information was first published in an employee newsletter.

It appears that the long haul fleet will be fully converted in 4 years. The conversions will begin within a year but will already be present in the new 747-8i that will be delivered soon.

It looks like the seats will require more room and economy seats will be removed to make room for the larger business class seat units. The color scheme will also change to reflect warmer colors. The blue and silver theme will go away with the conversions.

According to a Lufthansa spokesman, full details on the new Business Class product will be provided in March.

For more details on the coversion update, you can read the rest of the Bloomberg article here.