Upgrading on Lufthansa

[mickeyfan101]

We booked our air through RCCL (air to sea) and we are booked on Lufthansa. They will not let us reserve seats until six weeks out. Has anyone flown with them and had success in upgrading? I am reading reports that they send out notifications offering upgrades but I wasn't sure if they would do that for us since we didn't book directly through them. We are flying United on all other legs and may use points to upgrade but I'm sure that won't work on Lufthansa.

 

Thank you, Tina

[Zach1213]

Not sure in your exact case, and I hope someone can answer, but to clarify - it's not just that you need advice about upgrading on Lufthansa, you need advice about upgrading on Lufthansa with your specific fare restrictions...which may be different than other people have had, even when booked through RCCL. The best bet is going to be to call or reach out on social media, because one person's experience, even if seemingly the same, may not apply to your exact ticket.

[FlyerTalker]

And to amplify, Zach's advise also applies to the UA segments of your trip. Anyone's past experiences, including your own, may or may not be valid for your specific case. It completely depends on the airline's terms and conditions PLUS the specific rules for your ticket and fare basis.

 

You do know the fare basis for your tickets, correct? For otherwise, it's just a SWAG. Oh, and do you have your ticket already? Not your confirmation or locator, but the actual 13 digit ticket number? Until you have that, your aren't actually ticketed. Which might be part of not being able to select a seat, though if your LH flights are all intra-Europe, that might be a factor as well.

 

And, since we have incomplete information.....incomplete answers.

[Globaliser]

I'm also wondering whether the OP is thinking about a fare rules upgrade for cash, which does depend critically on the rules of the fare that they've bought; or whether the OP means some cheapie upgrade scheme that the airline may use to offload excess inventory in the higher cabin.

 

I don't know anything about Lufthansa, but from first principles the latter scenario is probably one that would require specialist advice from someone who knows LH systems well.

[Zach1213]

I'm also wondering whether the OP is thinking about a fare rules upgrade for cash, which does depend critically on the rules of the fare that they've bought; or whether the OP means some cheapie upgrade scheme that the airline may use to offload excess inventory in the higher cabin.

 

I don't know anything about Lufthansa, but from first principles the latter scenario is probably one that would require specialist advice from someone who knows LH systems well.

I'm not very familiar with Lufthansa and only fly them sparingly, but knowing them, I cannot imagine they would allow some cheapie upgrade scheme to J knowing how good their longhaul product tends to be. Now, domestic/regional...maybe? But I'm not sure which route OP is taking LH on - longhaul or domestic/regional.

[6rugrats]

If you are ticketed on UA flight numbers and your ticket is on UA ticket stock (ticket number begins with 016), you won't be eligible for an upgrade. In fact, unless you book directly with LH and are flying under LH flight numbers, you can't even select your seats (and this includes purchasing an extra legroom seat) until online check-in. I know nothing about LH tickets purchased through cruise air.

 

LH does have a bid for upgrade scheme (economy to premium economy, for example), but again, you aren't eligible if you didn't book through them and have an LH ticket.

 

My DD and I were flying LH, FRA-SEA on Christmas day last year, on cheapo economy tickets. While waiting to board, we were called to the counter, they took our boarding passes away and gave us a free upgrade to business class. No idea why, and I didn't question it, but I've never had this happen on LH.

Edited March 29, 2018 by 6rugrats