International HLO fares

[RooFlyer]

From Loyalty Lobby:

Now Lufthansa is in the process to bring ‘Hand Baggage Only’ fares onto the market, the first routes ex Scandinavia already offer it since last fall as part of a test market.

After lots of troubled times during the past few years, plagued by strikes and management issues Lufthansa appears to be on the up again – at least if the recently published number for the years 2017 are any indicator for that.

As Lufthansa confirmed in press briefings with German aviation magazine aeroTelegraph (access here) there are currently trials to see how receptive passengers are to this product.

OneWorld airlines American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Finnair are introducing such a fare product in April in response to budget carriers on the competing routes.

Since the fall of 2017 Lufthansa is running the trials from Scandinavian markets to destinations in the U.S. which is currently the only pair where this option is being offered. Passengers starting in Germany can’t book hand baggage only fares at this point.

A Lufthansa manager noted that the wider introduction of this fare type is being discussed in the Lufthansa group of companies but there aren’t any firm decisions on this topic yet, though he expect it to happen rather sooner than later.

The Lufthansa Light fare ex Scandinavia includes one carry on bag of not more than 8KG in total weight. A piece of checked baggage runs US$60 or US$100 when paid for at the airport. Baggage privileges for Star Alliance Gold members do not apply.