A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question about Lufthansa flight cancellation due to a strike at Munich (read more here) and refusal to rebook due to being award ticket.
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You can access Lufthansa here.
Reader’s Email:
Due to the ground staff strike in MUC on Friday this week, my wife and son are stuck in SAN because their (mileage) return flight SAN-MUC-HEL on Lufthansa was cancelled.
Lufthansa has not offered *any* alternative, and after several hours on the phone with them remains unable to provide a viable proposal for how to get them home. They have also not offered any accommodation or other compensation.
I’m a senator and appalled at this “customer service”. They insist that they need to rebook them as an award flight, which has notoriously bad availability. I fail to understand how that can be possible, given that reason we need to change their flight is a Lufthansa-issued cancellation and not on our initiative?
Anything you can do? Would you have an escalation point within Lufthansa
There is a ground handling and security check personnel strike at Munich Airport for 48 hours this week from Thursday to Friday. All flights have been canceled.
Munich Airport 48-Hour Strike February 27 – 28, 2025 (Know Your Rights!)
Flights from EU/EEA on all airlines and flights to EU/EEA on Community Carriers are covered by European Union legislation EC 261/2004, which also applies to award flights.
It is Lufthansa’s responsibility to rebook the passengers to their final destination, and there is no carve-out for awards tickets. The airline, in this case, Lufthansa, needs to move them to other airlines and use paid fare classes.
Lufthansa is here intentionally violating the law.
They are undoubtedly aware of their responsibilities, but they know that they can save significant amounts of cash when they act unlawfully.
Your only recourse is to document the airline’s refusal to rebook the award ticket per EC 261/2004, purchase a paid ticket from San Diego to Helsinki, and seek reimbursement from Lufthansa.
Lufthansa must also pay for accommodation and meals caused by flight cancellations, even when this action is beyond its control. However, the airline is not required to pay delay compensation. Save those accommodation and meal receipts.
Conclusion
There should be criminal investigations into these airlines’ unlawful actions. Perhaps the CEOs’ behavior would change when they were threatened with some slammer time.
They know they can getaway with this scam by manning the phone and chat lines with untrained agents who have no idea what they are doing beyond typing on the keyboard and parroting what the system says.
The reader can purchase a paid ticket from San Diego to Helsinki and request Lufthansa pay for the flight. However, you need proof that the airline has refused to rebook per EC 261/2004.
