Lufthansa false advertisement

They all do it (but I agree it's misleading.) It's $197 each way, plus fees, taxes, and surcharges and then only select routes on select dates.

Sadly, it's legal for Lufthansa or any other airline to offer a $197 one-way, per person fare, as long as they offer at least ONE seat at that fare. It's a come-on to book through them.

Use a site like dohop.com or kayak.com to search for flights. April, I believe, is also the month of spring holidays so fares might be higher.

Could you go into Gatwick instead of Heathrow?

And I hope you didn't mean $1000 or less for both airifares. Those days are gone.

For fun, I plugged in a couple of dates next April in dohop. It came up with a $600 fare from BWI-LHR on Air Canada with a change of planes in Toronto. If you're flexible, something like that might work. YOu're looking at $900+ for a non-stop.

I also receive the Lufthansa emails. There are roundtrip flights departing (for example) NYC to London March 24, 2009 and return April 20, 2009 for $589.

This lasted offer: Purchase your tickets by Nov. 10, 2008 - Depart thru Apr. 2, 2009.

I believe the $589 covers fees and airport taxes.

You don't mean $1000 for both peoples' fares, did you? I don't think you'll be able to do it, unless you found a deal to Ireland via Aer Lingus or something. My most recent fare to Ireland was $117 each way (plus fees, taxes, etc., that nearly doubled the price) each way, but that was in 2006, in February. Try flying into Gatwick if you can. If you are connecting through London to somewhere else, look for a connection through Dublin instead. I got a super-special fare with Virgin Atlantic last year to Heathrow, but it was because they were just opening their Chicago-London route.

I do mean $1000 for two people. I managed to find $1150 yesterday and almost purchased it... but now we're looking at deals on IcelandAir that include the free layover there for up to 7 days.

I understand that the $197 advertisement is for the base fare, and that other fees and taxes are added on at the end... but i think that's kind of silly and they should really lay that type of advertising to rest. Still, the lowest BASE fare i could find was $250 (pre taxes and fees).

I have found fares for about $1,100.00 round trip, for two people on Lufthansa. That is Washington to Frankfurt.

The German government now requires that airlines advertise the FULL fare. We should follow suit.

I booked one way per person fare from Seattle to Frankfurt nonstop for $193.50 one way plus taxes on Lufthansa. It ended up $1254 for 2 with all taxes but that is a good deal for 2 from Seattle during middle of April for a non stop.

We paid $1550 to Munich 12/2 leaving from SFO. Thought that was good...non-stop on Lufthansa

Last weekend we could have gotten a round trip ticket from HSV (AL) to frankfurt on Lufthansa for Apr 09 for $590. That ended Mon Nov 3 returning to the long-standing price of abt $890. Now its back on for $605. As seniors with possible health problems, we hesitate to commit this far out but as budget travelers $600 sure beats $900. Would like some folks to speculate as to how long this sale might last. Last year we waited to Feb for april tickets & paid at least $100 more than we would had we purchased in the fall. Any thots greatly appreciated!
Jerry, Florence, AL USA

Yes, i'm also interested to find if anyone knows the frequency of Lufthansa's "sales." Their current offer requires you to leave no later than April 2nd. We're more interested in traveling later in April and early May.

The offer i referred to just a few minutes ago is in effect for our departure mon apr 20 w a return on thurs may 14.

Jerry,

You could look to also purchase travel insurance to protect you if you have to cancel. Then you could get reimbursed for your ticket. You'll have to be very careful about their terms and exclusions and when you buy the policy. There are lots of links if you search that talk more in-depth on this, or you could post a thread asking for advice on the type of policy. My wife and I are younger, but we still bought a policy to cover us for the month we were in Europe...just in case.

Jed

Megan,
Try going to Sidestep.com. For the departure airport, you might want to put the code WAS which will give you departures from BWI, IAD, and DCA. FOr the arrival airport, put LON (which will include all the London Airports). You can also flip through the calendar they have and get an idea of the lowest price that others have found recently.

I've been regularly checking fares from Dulles to London and have not seen anything less than $580 recently.

Its not false, I'm sure you could get that fare somehow and that's all the law requires. Ryan Air and Easyjet among others have been doing this for years, the ads say "From (Price)" meaning that most prices are higher...

I understand that the fare advertisement is not "false" i just thought the heading I chose for this thread would attract some much needed help, haha. I've been getting Lufthansa emails for years and i've NEVER been able to find the lowest fares... i try everything and it always comes out to be more. I don't know what i'm doing wrong.

Just an update: we just purchased tickets. 4 flights total on Iceland Air for 2 people, roundtrip, $1190! Not bad ;-)

I interpreted the new German government requirement as having all costs clearly dilineated when you purchase your ticket. That may not be the same as advertising full fares. Before you purchase, they need to tell you if there is a fuel surcharge, and total taxes and fees.

I'm not sure it's significantly different than current rules. I think it's aimed at people who thought they bought a $400 ticket and their card was charged $650. I buy my own tickets and have always preferred the sites that quote me the full price rather than a nice looking number with a caveat, plus applicable taxes and fees.

My parents-in-law managed to get a RT fare on Lufthansa from Houston to Venice for $563 each, in March. It was only on certain days, as we played with the calendar to see. It was a lot more the day before and the day after. You just have to pick the right day. Most of the other fares on other airlines were $900 or more.

I bougght my ticket back in early October through Hotwire.com for 698.00 RT Lufthansa.

Just didn't wanna wait any longer....