Lufthansa cancels 33,000 New Year flights for January and February
Lufthansa has axed 33,000 flights from its New Year schedule amid rising fears over the Omicron variant.
The German flagship carrier announced it will reduce its winter flight plans by “around 10 percent” due to a massive bookings shortfall.
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“From the middle of January to February, we see a sharp drop off in bookings,” chief executive Carsten Spohr said on Thursday. “Above all, we are missing passengers in our home markets of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Belgium because these countries have been hit hardest by the pandemic wave.”
He said flights were running at about 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels, while passenger uptake stood at “roughly half”.
It was a double-whammy of bad tidings for Lufthansa last night, as the company also announced that it had been forced to ground around a dozen flights over the festive period because of a sickness crisis among its pilots. The cancellations will affect Lufthansa's long-haul flights across the North Atlantic.
Related: The holy grail of award tickets: Flying Lufthansa first class on the Boeing 747-8
Flights to Boston, Houston and Washington were affected, with some flights to Japan also canceled. A company representative told German news agency DPA that they had planned "a very large buffer. But that is not sufficient considering the extremely high sickness rate."
That news came as American carriers United Airlines and Delta Airlines also grounded 125 and 90 flights respectively for Christmas Eve, as the variant wrought havoc on the health of its crew.
European carriers appeared to be enjoying a Christmas mini-boom, with Easyjet, Ryanair, SAS, and Wizz Air all offering more connections during the holiday break.
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- SkyMiles aren't the most valuable airline currency
- Earn 90,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $80 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights. Plus enjoy Main Cabin 1 Priority Boarding and settle into your seat sooner.
- New: Card Members get 15% off when using miles to book Award Travel on Delta flights through delta.com and the Fly Delta app. Discount not applicable to partner-operated flights or to taxes and fees.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide including takeout and delivery in the U.S., and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases.
- Enjoy a per-visit rate of $50 per person for Card Members and up to two guests to enter the Delta Sky Club when traveling on a Delta flight.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® after you apply through any Authorized Enrollment Provider. If approved for Global Entry, at no additional charge, you will receive access to TSA PreCheck.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs up to two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees