Airline group extends repatriation flight schedule until 17 May.
As a result of the continuing national and international travel restrictions, the Lufthansa Group's repatriation flight schedule will be extended until May 17, 2020, and then reduced further after this date. Originally, the already greatly reduced flight schedule was valid until May 3, 2020. As of today, the additional cancellations for the period between May 4 and May 17, 2020, will be implemented and passengers informed of the changes.
As well, the Lufthansa Group continues to offer a minimum, yet important number of connecting flights further contributing to the provision of basic services.
In light of the decrease in demand, a further reduction of the flight schedule to 15 weekly long-haul connections was announced: three times a week each from Frankfurt to Newark and Chicago (both USA), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Bangkok (Thailand) and Tokyo (Japan). The three weekly connections to Montreal (Canada) will also be cancelled. In addition, Lufthansa will offer up to 36 daily connections from its Frankfurt hub to the key cities in Germany and Europe. From Munich, six daily connections to domestic German cities will be offered from May 4, 2020, onwards.
SWISS, as well, will continue to offer three weekly long-haul flights to Newark (USA) from Zurich and Geneva, but will substantially reduce the timetable for short and medium-haul flights to select European cities.
Eurowings will continue to provide basic services at Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Cologne airports, offering domestic German flights and connections to select European destinations.
Passengers whose flights have been cancelled, or who were unable to take their flight, can keep their ticket and rebook a new travel date by August 31, 2020 and, if necessary, a new destination. The new travel dates may last up to April 30, 2021. If you travel prior to December 31, 2020, you will receive an additional discount of $50 USD for rebooking in the form of a voucher, which can be obtained online through the respective airlines' websites.
In the event that a customer prefers a refund in lieu of a voucher, the customer is asked to notify a Lufthansa Group representative that a refund is preferred and refunds will be processed as soon as possible given the current global crisis.
Rebookings are being managed via Lufthansa Group Customer Service and the airlines' online platforms or travel agencies. If the rebooked fare is more expensive due to a change in destination (e.g. rebooking from short haul to long haul) or change in travel class or similar, an additional charge may be necessary despite the discount.
Due to the current situation, Lufthansa Group Service Centers and stations are recording an exceptionally high number of customer calls. The Lufthansa Group is continuously working to adjust capacity to meet demand. However, there are currently long waiting times, which unfortunately means that the processing of customer requests may be delayed.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
