Beware - Lufthansa Economy May Be Economy Light w/o Disclosure.

Yep, almost all of the airlines have introduced this additional tier of tickets. Before purchasing what appears to be a great deal, go to the airlines site. The tiers are all explained there.

BA is the same. But if you use it's website it makes it very clear what you do or don't get for each price. I believe Lufthansa is equally open. If anyone is being sneaky here, I suspect it is resellers, not the airline itself.

Another example of why you should book directly with the airline.

I prefer United, which Lufthansa is also under, and realized I was only seeing the "light" ticket option on Expedia, so my last 3 trips I have purchased directly from the United website.

Another example of the traveling public shopping for flights seemingly mesmerized by a single criteria: the absolute lowest price possible, to the exclusion of any other consideration.

You want a crazy-cheap ticket? Then you get: Cramped seats. No checked luggage. No use of the overhead bins for your carry on. Then no carry-on bags included anyway. Not enough bathrooms on the plane for all the passengers (then you get to sit next to that bathroom). Non-responsive customer service. No food/water/anything on the flight. Extra fees for 100 things you've never thought of (getting a window seat, or an aisle seat, or a seat you pick, or knowing what your seat is before they tell you where you'll sit; paying for your ticket by credit card; checking-in at the airport; having them print you a boarding pass; violating any of their rules...).

This is what the public is telling the airlines they want. The public is making that very, very clear. The airlines are just giving the public what the public is demanding. Who's to blame?

Caveat emptor maxime

It's free enterprise competition. The legacy carriers are taking on the low cost airlines by giving passengers choices.

SAS has a "SAS Go" (old economy class) and a "SAS Go Light" (even cheaper economy class). SAS Go included one checked bag plus the usual carryons on US to/from Europe while the SAS Go Light is limited to carry-on with any checked bag an extra. And advanced seat selection for SAS Go is an extra.

I snagged "SAS Go" fares SFO to OSL for $500 RT plus an added $100 for advanced seat seletion both ways. I'm happy with the total $600 RT included the seat selection extra. And it includes "meals". It's not sneaky in that you have 24 hours to cancel if you don't like it.

Like many industries they have been forced by competition to unbundle their services. Understood. My problem is the lack of disclosure, particularly when we are surrounded by airline advertising telling us how much they care about us. When you buy a product in a store you can examine it. When you buy it online you expect, and usually have, access to the product's specifications. With airlines you get squat - an unrefundable ticket and terms and conditions which specify tails I win, heads you lose.

And yes, it's certainly best to buy on the airline's website. In this case, the Lufthansa site had been down with a variety of glitches for two days, so I made the mistake of trusting Google Flights. Checking afterward, Lufthansa does separate the Economy subclasses clearly, so the blame is probably Google Flight's lack of website updating. Two years ago, I was snookered by the new policy of seat assignment payment, and in that case it was a total lack of disclosure on the Lufthansa website: no disclosure of the change until after the sale.

I just booked one of these 'light fares' last night. I booked through Orbitz which specifically said that this flight allowed one 8kg carry on and one personal item. However, the Lufthansa site states that you can only bring ONE piece of carry on. Does this mean that we can't have the personal item too? If that is the case, I will be stuffing the pockets of my 17-hidden pocket rain coat!

I prefer United, which Lufthansa is also under, and realized I was
only seeing the "light" ticket option on Expedia, so my last 3 trips I
have purchased directly from the United website.

Christa, I am the exact opposite!

In March 2015, we took Lufthansa--operated by United--nonstop from Chicago O'Hare to CDG/Paris. Not that long a trip--less than 8 hours--but it was so cramped & uncomfortable, just terrible. Conversely, the return from Munich was on Lufthansa proper--2 hours longer but 100% more spacious and nicer.

We've been careful ever since, and have only flown Lufthansa overseas. I have heard good things also about KLM, SwissAir, Aer Lingus and--strangely--Turkish Air. Hope to have the wherewithal to try them all out at some point!

My problem is the lack of disclosure, particularly when we are
surrounded by airline advertising telling us how much they care about
us.

I think it's worth keeping in mind that price advertising on third-party comparison or seller sites (like Kayak, Expedia, etc) is not regulated by the US Department of Transportation in the consumer's interest. Airlines will only do what they absolutely have to (on their own sites), and that doesn't apply to how third-party sites choose to advertise airline prices, fees, bundles etc. If Congress gave a hoot, they would streamline how the information is presented so it is easy to understand, not deceptive, and uniform and consistent whether one looks at a third-party site or the airline's own site. The airlines themselves don't have standard definitions on what constitutes "economy", "economy light", etc. since they try to differentiate themselves from the competition. I remember one airline that did allow carry-ons as part of its "basic economy" package, whereas another did not (the latter airline reversed its policy because it stood out for its stinginess).

Bottom line: Consumers will need to stay abreast of all the changing marketing nomenclature for each airline they want to fly because today's "economy" bundle may be different than tomorrow's. Airlines will not stop experimenting until they can squeeze every last drop of revenue from their passengers.

Even if you find an unwelcome surprise in your booking right after clicking the "purchase" button, you still have 24 hours to cancel on most carriers because the 24-hour rule still applies. So the key is to look carefully at your purchase and make sure it's really what you intended. The 24-hour rule is your most important protection. The problem is that many people don't scrutinize their purchase closely enough, and then they end up feeling hoodwinked. But if you're spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, then you better read the contract.

Eggplantlady, if you look at the Lufthansa site under carry-on baggage, you will see that it specifically lists the additional items that can be brought into the cabin, and for that personal bag it is 40 x 30 x 10 cm. I don't believe this is a change, and this is something that I find that the size limit is routinely not enforced at the gates.

Thanks, Larry. I do see that but when I go to my actual booking, this is their statement:

"You have booked a Light fare. This fare has no free baggage allowance and you may only take one item of carry-on baggage (max. 8 kg). You can book one piece of checked baggage (max. 23 kg) online as an extra for a corresponding fee, provided that the flights are operated by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines or SWISS. For flights with our partner airlines, you can only pay for checked baggage at the airport."

There isn't any mention of the 'personal item' which is mentioned on their website for other classes of tickets. Of course, I can't find "Light Fare" mentioned anywhere on their website either.

I cannot believe Lufthansa will have gone the route of Ryanair, Easyjet, and others, with their statement of "one means one - period." Especially as the web page states what is also allowed, with size specs and no difference in classes. A computer bag, handbag, medicine pack, etc are not "baggage" and they are talking about "baggage." That 8 kg pack fits in the overhead, the personal item is sized to fit under a seat.

If you are concerned I suggest calling Lufthansa and asking, I ave always found Lufthansa's customer service excellent.

Google Flights seems to realize it's behind the curve. They now have a notice in the 'Bags' setting, "Checked Bag Setting Coming Soon".

Thanks Larry, I do think that it is worth a call to Lufthansa. I can't believe that a personal item, the components of which could all be stuffed into pockets, would not be allowed; would they seriously expect wallets to be left in the overhead? I will post their answer when I have it.

We flew on a Lufthansa light fare in September from Munich to Cluj Napoca. Lufthansa was code sharing with Air Dolomiti. 3 of us had carry on luggage that was never checked or weighed. I also carried a large handbag and no one gave it a second glance.

We flew on Swiss (part of Lufthansa & also offering Economy light tickets) this week from Zurich to Boston. Twice at the gate a Swiss employee stopped a passenger and hefted their wheeled carry on bag by hand. The passenger was then required to gate check it. I wasn't close enough to hear why this was done, but there were plenty of passengers with larger bags who were not examined. I assume it was done due to a combo of an Economy Light ticket with 18 pound weight limit and an avid Swiss employee. One of the targeted passengers had a largish personal item which was not looked at.