From 1st September, Miles & More members can not only redeem all Germanwings flight miles on the Miles & More programme, as previously, but will also now be able to collect award miles, applying for the same fixed mileage amounts for individual booking classes that currently apply to Miles & More members on all Lufthansa flights. For a domestic flight, for example, Miles & More members will receive up to 1,000 miles and for a flight to a Germanwings destination in Europe up to 1,250 miles, depending on the booking class. In addition, frequent flyers with a Miles & More “HON Circle” or Senator Status travelling with a Germanwings ticket can now benefit from the use of Lufthansa`s Senator and business lounges in Germany.
The Germanwings frequent flyer programme, the Boomerang Club, will continue to exist independently of the Miles & More partnership. Before each flight, passengers who have both a Miles & More and a Boomerang Club card will be able to select the frequent flyer program from which they wish to collect miles.
Thomas Winkelmann, spokesman for Germanwings comments: “Miles & More is the biggest and most successful frequent flyer programme in Europe. We are proud to be part of the programme and are pleased that we can now offer our customers across Europe the advantages it brings - thanks to our closer collaboration with Lufthansa, Miles & More members will have even more opportunities to collect and redeem awards. We will continue to pursue our strategic approach so that both airlines can develop their product and their flight schedules independently, however, at the same time we will be able to offer our joint customers significant added value.”
In the next phase of the cooperation, starting from the beginning of 2011, interline (i.e. combinable) fares will be available for Lufthansa and Germanwings flights. This means that travel agencies and Lufthansa sales points (call centres and ticket counters at the airports) will be able to book and sell an outbound or return flight with both airlines in a single transaction and from a single source. Customers of both airlines will profit from this greater flexibility with regard to travel and booking options, saving time and effort when making their travel arrangements.
Vicky Karantzavelou - Friday, September 03, 2010