Lufthansa's Removing First Class from Many A330-300s

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Lufthansa operates a very diverse long-haul fleet, but despite the great variety of aircraft, the airline is fantastic about offering a consistent product from one plane to the next. So you can fly an A340-600 from JFK to Frankfurt, spend some time at Lufthansa's fantastic lounges and then catch a connecting 747-8 flight to Asia with the exact same seat on both planes. Award availability is also fairly decent, though you can only book the forward-most cabin using partner miles within 15 days of departure.

Unfortunately, as per Airline Route, Lufthansa has closed first-class reservations on some routes — apparently the airline plans to remove the first-class cabin entirely from a handful of A330-300s used for long-haul service to and from Munich. Instead, these planes will offer three classes of service, including business, premium economy and regular economy.

As of December 1, 2016, Lufthansa is no longer selling first class between Munich and Charlotte or Montreal. Then, on January 3, 2017, the airline will cut first-class service from Munich to Boston and Chicago, followed by New York-JFK and Washington Dulles on February 2 and Miami on February 4. Some flights may still operate with a first-class cabin while the retrofit is underway, but you won't be able to purchase a first-class seat. Note that Lufthansa will continue selling first class on the A340-600, which may operate some of these routes.

The good news is that as of now, this only affects flights to and from Munich, so if you're booking an A330 to another city in Germany (Frankfurt, primarily), you should be able to fly first class. Two of your best options for booking LH first class from North America to Europe are United MileagePlus (110,000 miles each way — your best option for redeeming Chase Ultimate Rewards points) or Aeroplan (70,000 miles, plus significant fuel surcharges — your best option for redeeming Amex Membership Rewards points). Again, keep in mind that while Miles & More members can book Lufthansa first class at any time, Star Alliance partner programs only show availability within 15 days of departure.

H/T: One Mile at a Time