Lufthansa passengers travelling in economy can now bid for an upgrade to the airline's new premium economy class.
The seating product is available on all routes served by the German carrier's B747-8 aircraft, namely Bangalore, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Beijing, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo Haneda and Washington, DC.
Economy passengers who want to bid for an upgrade must visit lh.com and log into the "My Bookings" section and call up their booking. If it qualifies for the "My Offer" upgrade service, a link will appear and a bid can be made.
Bids can be edited and retracted up to 72 hours before the scheduled departure of the flight. After that, the bid is binding.
The selection process then takes place and a decision is made by 36 hours before departure.
Lufthansa said it takes into account the bid amount and "other criteria including the amount of seats available in premium economy class and the number and value of the bids that have been placed".
Passengers who place a bid will receive an email 48 to 24 hours before departure informing them whether or not their bid has been accepted. It is at this point that a successful bidder's credit card will be charged.
Tickets purchased in India or Japan, or that are part of a group booking, are excluded from the service for technical and legal reasons.
Cathay Pacific started the roll-out of its own seat upgrade auction service in the summer (see news, June 20).
It was recently announced that Lufthansa will finish rolling-out its new premium economy product across its B747-8 fleet ahead of schedule on December 1 (see news, November 14).
lh.com/premium-economy-myoffer
Graham Smith
