Swiss and Austrian Airlines have become the first two Lufthansa Group members to announce their new Europe tariffs, which take effect in late October.
The Lufthansa Group of airlines — Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines — will introduce similar four-tier tariff structures this autumn (see news, March 30).
The four carriers are launching the fares structure in response to fierce completion from low-cost carriers.
Tariffs will be based on one-way pricing and may fluctuate according to demand. Although, judging by website displays for travel in early November, it appears that the business class tariffs are at fixed prices.
In future, all passengers will be offering onboard catering (a snack for those in economy class) and one piece of hand luggage. There will also be frequent flyer programme miles.
All other amenities will either have to be paid for or else, in the case of higher fare business class tickets, be available free of charge.
Andreas Otto, the COO of Austrian, said: "We want our new tariff model to offer something for everyone."
Fare structures will be similar for all the four Lufthansa Group carriers.
In the case of Swiss, the tariffs are:
- Economy Light - The cheapest tariff but with no flexibility. Passengers pay CHF19 for one piece of checked baggage. A special seat request costs CHF12.
- Economy Classic - Little different to the above but offered for an extra CHF25. Price includes one piece of checked luggage. Changes allowed for a fee.
- Economy Flex - Flexibility, but this is reflected in the price which can easily be a couple of hundred Swiss Francs more expensive depending on the route and so on. Price includes luggage, a seat request and passengers will be accommodated in the "preferred" zone towards the front of the plane. Changes allowed for a fee.
- Business class - More or less the same as now with flexibility and so on. But, of course, far more expensive than both of the cheaper economy class offerings.
So, how much will travel cost? For a morning flight between London Heathrow and Zurich on November 3, swiss.com quotes one-way fares of £76 for Economy Light, £91 for Economy Classic, £151 for Economy Flex, and £179 for Business.
When purchasing a return ticket, the one-way fares (in pounds sterling) for Zurich-London may be a little higher or lower depending on demand.
The question now must be if, or when, the other large European carriers will follow suit.
Alex McWhirter
