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Lufthansa economy are expanding rebooking offers
Customers of Lufthansa and its subsidiary airlines can rebook tickets for canceled or unrecognized flights more widely. The airline is responding to the increasing spread of the corona virus.
In response to the spread of the corona virus, Lufthansa is expanding the possibilities for travelers to rebook their flights. The goodwill rules also apply to the airlines Swiss, Brussel, Austrian and Air Dolomiti belonging to the group.
If a flight is canceled or the customer does not notice it, travelers no longer have to immediately set a new flight date for their ticket. Until June 1, customers can decide when they want to use the purchased ticket instead during the year without additional fees. This option applies to buyers of a ticket that was purchased until yesterday and was issued on a confirmed travel date up to and including April 30.
The airlines are clearly feeling the economic consequences of the corona crisis. Lufthansa is currently in talks with the federal government to talk about possible government support in the face of the slump in travel demand and travel bans. In Austria, Belgium and Switzerland, the airline is also exploring opportunities for financial aid for the group's subsidiaries.
The EU is trying to give airlines at least security in terms of their take-off and landing rights. The so-called slots for take-offs and landings this year were already allocated to the airlines in 2019. In order to maintain the rights granted in the coming year, the airlines would have to have used at least 80 percent of their slots for 2020 - a target that can hardly be achieved due to the collapse in passenger numbers as a result of the corona virus pandemic.
This regulation should now be overridden for the time being, the EU Commission announced. The authorities that grant take-off and landing rights should interpret the period from March 1st to June 30th as if the airlines had used the required 80 percent of the slots. For flight connections to China, the same assumption should also apply from January 23 to February 29.
The new regulation has yet to be approved by the EU Parliament and the EU Council. If the coronavirus crisis persists, the new slot regulation can be extended, according to the EU Commission.
Numerous airlines have already dropped below the 80 percent hurdle for take-off and landing rights due to flight cancellations. According to the IATA airline association, bookings for flights - excluding Italy - for March to June decreased by up to 60 percent compared to the same period in the previous year. Bookings to and from Italy dropped by half, and the planes were only 40 percent occupied. According to the dpa news agency, European airports expect passenger numbers to decline by 67 million for the entire first quarter of this year
