The new Germanwings
– FAQs (Version 2.1), as at: 11.04.2013 –
- What are the actual innovations at Germanwings?
The ‘new Germanwings’ will continue to position itself as a quality carrier among the low-cost airlines: reasonably priced, but not cheap. Totally new is the all-Economy concept with the three fares: ‘Basic’, ‘Smart’ and ‘Best’. These options take into account the different customer requirements in terms of comfort, flexibility and budget and create opportunities for passengers to ‘individualise’ their flight. The new Germanwings’ offer represents outstanding value for money across all the fares.
The ‘Smart’ fare is already inclusive of a beverage and snack on board and one item of baggage; the ‘Best’ fare will also offer an extended choice from the à-la-carte menu on board. This menu will also be available to passengers travelling on the ‘Basic’ and ‘Smart’ fares for an extra charge. Bookings via GDS are always allocated to the ‘Smart’ or ‘Best’ fare so that in-flight catering and free baggage allowance are included as before.
- What do travel agencies need to know about the new ‘Best’ fare?
The ‘Best’ fare is now available for booking exclusively via the Germanwings-supported GDSs (Amadeus, Galileo, Apollo, Worldspan and Sabre) for flights from 1 July 2013. Initially the fare will be offered on all German domestic routes, all Germanwings flights to and from Switzerland and flights to Birmingham, Brussels, London, Manchester, Moscow, Nice, Paris and Vienna. Depending on the demand, this portfolio of destinations may be expanded in the future. For ticketless sales outside the GDS, the ‘Best’ fare will only be available for booking from 1 July 2013 onwards. This also applies to the online portals germanwings.com and lufthansa.com.
‘Best’ is an Economy Class fare that nevertheless offers passengers a guaranteed seat in rows 1-3 with a seat pitch of 32 inches (ca. 82 cm), a free middle or adjacent seat and a choice from the complimentary à-la-carte menu on board. On the ground, passengers will also enjoy lounge access, use of priority check-in, the fast lane at security and priority boarding, plus a second checked bag as part of their free baggage allowance and a higher mileage credit that includes HON Circle miles. The prices and terms of the new ‘Best’ fare are now available in the GDS.
- How will the Lufthansa flights be transferred to Germanwings?
The ‘new Germanwings’ will completely take over the existing Lufthansa and Germanwings flights to/from Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Stuttgart and Berlin under its own 4U flight numbers. Initially, routes from Berlin and Hamburg are being taken over (the first routes transferred in January/March this year; but Germanwings will continue to offer its current product on these routes until July 2013). With the introduction of the winter 2013/14 timetable, other routes from Berlin will follow; Germanwings will take over all the routes from Berlin, except those to the Frankfurt and Munich hubs, by March 2014. In Hamburg Germanwings will have taken over the remaining routes by April 2014. Finally, between the introduction of the 2014 summer timetable and December of that year, Germanwings will take over the routes in Dusseldorf. Flights from Dusseldorf to Frankfurt and Munich as well as long-haul flights from the city will continue to be operated by Lufthansa in future.
As a general rule, the transfer of a route will be announced at least two months in advance if possible. Germanwings will then begin to sell the route for the period from the handover date; in parallel all the Lufthansa flights scheduled for after the handover date will be withdrawn from sale. Existing bookings will be rebooked automatically on Germanwings. There will be no parallel selling under LH and 4U flights numbers.
- What benefits will Miles & More customers receive on Germanwings flights in future?
On Germanwings flights all status customers will receive a selection of their familiar status benefits. In addition to the benefits already available today with Germanwings, from 1 July 2013 status customers will also be credited with the Executive Bonus and will be able to use priority check-in. Senators and HON Circle Members will also be able to use priority boarding (where available). HON Circle miles will also be credited to status customers travelling on the ‘Best’ fare. Award and status miles can be earned on the other fares. If customers so choose, the mileage credit is also possible in Germanwings’ ‘Boomerang Club’.
- Which rules will apply in future to lounge access on Germanwings flights?
From 1 July, for all customers booking a ‘Best’ fare, lounge access will be possible on German domestic flights and at those airports in Europe to which Germanwings offers the ‘Best’ fare. Frequent Travellers will also receive free access to the Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS Business lounges and to the lounges of Miles & More partners Brussels Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines in Germany and Europe, provided that they have booked the ‘Smart’ fare. Senators and HON Circle Members will enjoy access to these and all loungesin all German airports, Basel, Geneva, Zurich, Vienna, London (Heathrow and Stansted), Manchester, Birmingham, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Nice, Brussels and Moscow Vnukovo. Their companions will also be granted access in line with Miles & More rules.
Airport / FTL(with ‘Smart’ fare) / SEN + HON
(irrespective of fare) / ‘Best’ fare
(irrespective of status)
Germany
Berlin-Tegel / X / X / X
Bremen / X / X / X
Cologne/Bonn / X / X / X
Dresden / X / X / X
Dusseldorf / X / X / X
Hamburg / X / X / X
Hanover / X / X / X
Leipzig/Halle / X / X / X
Munich / X / X / X
Nuremberg / X / X / X
Stuttgart / X / X / X
Europe
Athens / X / X / -*
Basel / - / X / X
Birmingham / - / X / X
Brussels / X / X / X
Geneva / X / X / X
London Heathrow / - / X / X
London Stansted / - / X / X
Milan Malpensa / X / X / -*
Manchester / - / X / X
Moscow Vnukovo / - / X / X
Nice / - / X / X
Paris CDG / X / X / X
Vienna / X / X / X
Warsaw / X / X / -*
Zurich / X / X / X
* Best fare is not offered
- How will combined routings between Lufthansa and Germanwings work? Is a through check-in possible?
Lufthansa and Germanwings flights can be combined without difficulty. The prerequisite is a through booking via GDS in a combined PNR at an offered through-fare or on a half-return basis. In these cases through check-in is also possible. 4U web bookings cannot be combined with LH flights.
As a general rule, the passenger is checked in by whichever airline they are flying the first segment with. Lufthansa can already check through passenger and baggage as a rule on Germanwings in all check-in channels (web/mobile/counter). Germanwings can currently only check through passenger and baggage on Lufthansa at the airport counter. An extension of this service to the Germanwings web and mobile check-in is envisaged.
- Why is Germanwings still only offering the ‘Basic’ fare directly and not allowing travel agencies to book it via their GDS?
The ‘Basic’ fare is Germanwings basic offer and it only covers the actual flight itself. All extras must be booked as add-ons. Only this fare enables Germanwings to offer the cheap entry prices from 33 euros (inclusive of taxes and charges) and thus to position itself competitively in the low-fare market. It also means that this fare can only be offered via the cheapest distribution channels, especially as the booking of add-on extras via GDS is not technically possible at the moment.
However, travel agencies can use a number of alternative distribution channels in order to book this fare for their customers. Besides the travel agency portal on germanwings.com, it is also available via a number of different of tourist booking systems. A direct link to Germanwings via the back-office systems used by the travel agency, different OBEs (Online Booking Engines) or external service providers (so-called ‘content aggregators’) are also possible.
- There are frequently big price differences between the GDS fares and direct bookings on germanwings.com. How can a travel agency remain competitive in this situation?
Germanwings currently offers its ‘Smart’ and ´Best`fare in the GDS. An initial reason for the price difference is therefore the product being offered: compared with the cheapest price on germanwings.com (the ‘Basic’ fare), all GDS fares include a reserved seat (free ‘best’ seat in rows 1 to 10 with 32 inch seat pitch, if available), complimentary in-flight catering (snack + soft drink) and one item of checked baggage. Compared to the ‘Basic’ fare, the ‘Smart’ fare is currently 20 euros per segment more expensive on germanwings.com too.
If identical fares are compared, i.e. the ‘Smart’ fare on germanwings.com and the ‘Smart’ fare in the GDS, the GDS product is still distinguished by benefits such as combinability with Lufthansa and partner airlines, service by Lufthansa for the travel agency and passengers and potential benefits in booking and billing through the use of existing processes. This added value accounts for a price which on average is about 15 euros per segment higher. Admittedly, slight variations in this amount, as a result of different ways of calculating taxes and charges, for example, still cannot be completely ruled out either.
- Can different prices and availability on the same route result from the different ways in which Lufthansa and Germanwings manage revenue? Must a travel agency thereforealways make parallel enquiries to both airlines in order to get the best fare for its customers during the transitional period?
No. The routes will be served by only one airline at a time; that airline’s pricing concept will apply and it will also be responsible for managing availability. There will be no parallel selling of flights under both flight numbers nor will Lufthansa pricing concepts be applicable to Germanwings direct flights or vice versa. Only with combined bookings will the respective LH and 4U fares be applied on the basis of half round-trips. For this reason, only the Germanwings’ pricing concept and management logic are decisive for the cheapest fare on Germanwings flights.
- What changes will there be for corporate customers?
Germanwings has been fully integrated into the Lufthansa corporate bonus programmes PartnerPlusBenefit / Star Alliance Company Plus since 2012. Depending on the contract, corporate customers can also negotiate corporate rates for Germanwings flights as usual or receive points credits as well as benefiting from the support of a key account manager.
In the Lufthansa corporate bonus programme, however, only flights booked via GDS are eligible. The corporate rates negotiated are therefore allocated to the ‘Smart’ fare or, from July 2013, to the ‘Best’ fare if requested and can be combined with the other participating Lufthansa Group airlines (as well as other partner airlines on conclusion of interline agreements that are currently in negotiation).
In parallel, corporate customers can use Germanwings’ own corporate offer ‘Dynamic Flex’ which can only be booked via germanwings.com or other direct channels. The corporate fares offered there are likewise based on the ‘Smart’ fare and, with effect from July 2013, also on the ‘Best’ fare and therefore will always be inclusive of free baggage allowance and in-flight catering.
In terms of price, they correspond to the current fare on germanwings.com in each case, no discount is granted. Corporate customers benefit from greater flexibility in rebooking as well as the option of cancelling for a fee. The offer is available from a guaranteed annual turnover of 15,000 euros currently. You will find further information at germanwings.com > Business travel.