[Anonymous]

[Charles-P]

Dear Mr Pxxxxx,

This year has been characterised by the completion of long-term projects which will offer you more comfort across the board on your journeys with Lufthansa. For example, you will now find the newest cabin facilities in all classes on our entire long haul fleet. Another milestone is the introduction of Premium Economy Class, which now offers even more comfort to even more customers. However, today I would also like to address those matters which have undoubtedly caused you some inconvenience and irritation.

That is because this year has also been characterised by pay disputes with the pilots’ and flight attendants’ unions. Our flights have been disrupted by strike action on 18 days so far, which must have had a serious impact on your travel planning. Even though we have done everything possible to keep the effects on our passengers to a minimum, this is not the standard of quality and reliability that you have come to expect from us. I greatly regret this and would like to apologise to you on behalf of the Lufthansa Board for any adverse effects these strikes may have had on your arrangements.

I owe it to you to explain our position in this situation. As the Lufthansa Board we are responsible for securing our company’s long term competitiveness. This requires us to pursue pay negotiations to an acceptable conclusion, so that we can continue to invest in our product and services for your benefit and that of all our customers.

Given your travel routine, it is essential that you can rely on us at all times. We are very aware of this. But we also know how important it is for you to retain your status with all the associated privileges and amenities you can make use of when you travel. To support you here, over the next few days we will be crediting the one off amount of 10,000 status miles to the mileage accounts of all Miles & More members with Senator status for 2015. You will also receive the same amount of select miles.

Obviously, a lump sum solution like this cannot compensate for every difficulty caused by the recent events. Perhaps you have already taken other steps to maintain your status. Nevertheless, I hope you will understand that this is the quickest and most pragmatic way we can provide a satisfactory solution for the majority of our status customers.

Please accept my sincere thanks for your loyalty in these challenging times!

Yours sincerely,

Jens Bischof
Chief Commercial Officer
Lufthansa German Airlines

[LuganoPirate]

You beat me to it Charles. I received the same email and my points are already credited. Whilst no doubt many were inconvenienced I fortunately wasn’t as I could easily switch a booked LH flight with one from Swiss, thanks to avery helpful call centre and even though the strike was not fully confirmed, which as it turned out was more convenient for me.

I find this a very nice gesture and at least they are doing something to appease their most loyal customers. I assume this is only offered to those who have not yet qualified and it pushes me over the 100k mark so I’m now qualified till February 2017.

I’d add that I know of no other airline that has done this and having read on this forum of some horror stories concerning changing flights during the BA strike it was with unfounded trepidation I contacted the call centre.

[peter19]

I got 3K status miles but i am Frequent Traveler status with Lufthansa and only have a 1 x 6 sector flight with them over the past year. nice gesture though from the airline. I personally wasn’t affected during the strikes although some of my colleagues were and ended up on united fights.

[Charles-P]

As pleased as I was to receive both the apology and points which I agree shows a good attitude to customer service I am concerned the core issues that led to the strikes have not been closed. The leader of the Lufthansa pilot union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) was quoted as saying he wanted,

“as much disruption as possible to ensure we win”

Many in the German media have commented on how VC changed into a much more millitant organisation since the new leader took over. It was founded in 1968 as a professional association, first without any further bargaining functions. That changed in 2000 when the association turned into a fully working trade union.

[icenspice]

Well, I didn’t receive an early Christmas present but I came across the following on checking my account:

http://www.miles-and-more.com/online/portal/mam/lu/homepage?l=en&cid=1000297

And as I am not a regular on LH, I thought it was a worthy cause instead of letting the miles expire.

[dutchyankee]

Hi Charles-P, I received the similar email, but being only FTL with LH group it was for 3000 miles, but still I think a very nice gesture. I hope to be SEN level next year as I have moved all my travel from BA to LH group now.

[Charles-P]

dutchyankee – yes a couple of my staff who are ‘frequent traveler’ have also been given 3000 miles so it seems they are rewarding people across the board which is a nice gesture.

Senator status is very nice with LH and if you use it I recommend the lounge at Munich.

[JohnHarper]

I’ve got it too. I’m a SEN though I’ve credited very little to M&M in the last year as most of my *A flying has been on TK and I’ve joined M&S.

[dutchyankee]

Thanks Charles-P, I transit through Munich a lot these days so I look forward to upgrading my lounge experience soon from the Business lounge to the SEN lounge when I get to SEN level there (probably by April as I have some long involved trips beginning of the year all with LH and *A.

[Charles-P]

If the lounge is full (certain times of day it can be very busy) a quieter alternative is the Senator Café in the vicinity of gate G28, which features the same espresso bar setup, minus the other amenities and crowds.

[Author]

Posts