Complete Guide to Lufthansa Flight Cancellation and Refund Policy

Complete Guide to Lufthansa Flight Cancellation and Refund Policy

Lufthansa is the national carrier of Germany and Europe’s second-largest airline after Air France-KLM. Founded in 1926, Lufthansa is one of the founding members of Star Alliance, and operates out of its primary hub at Frankfurt Airport and also maintains a secondary hub at Munich Airport. Currently, the world’s fifth-largest airline in terms of passengers carried, Lufthansa operates flight services to 209 destinations in 81 countries across the world. Flying with Lufthansa will indeed be a great experience as you will get access to 410 destinations worldwide operated together with its subsidiaries and partners. Before planning to book tickets with the airline it would be of great advantage for you to know about the various travel classes offered as well as its different policies, especially Lufthansa flight cancellation policy and the refund offered to the customers.

Lufthansa offers the customers a comfortable and luxurious flying experience in its four travel classes – First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy class and Economy Class. Let’s know about the benefits that each of these travel classes have to offer.

First Class: Lufthansa offers First Class on all of its Airbus A340-600, Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8I aircrafts. Each first class seat can be converted to a 6 feet 7 inch bed, and is equipped with state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment facilities as well as laptop power outlets. The meals are also available on demand. Most airports from where Lufthansa operates have dedicated First Class check-in counters. The premium customers are also offered dedicated First Class lounges at Frankfurt Airport and Munich Airport, and also a dedicated First Class terminal in Frankfurt.

Business Class: Lufthansa provides Business Class cabins on all its long-haul aircrafts. The Business Class is equipped with luxurious, spacious seats that can be converted to 6 feet 7 inch lie-flat beds. Each seat is also equipped with laptop power outlets and state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment facilities. All the airports from where Lufthansa flies also have dedicated Business Class check-in counters as well as dedicated Business Class lounges at most airports. The business class customers can also make use of Lufthansa Welcome Lounge upon arrival in Frankfurt.

Premium Economy: Lufthansa first introduced Premium Economy class in 2014, and has now been rolled out on all of its long-haul aircrafts, initially started with some Boeing 747-8Is. The Premium Economy on Lufthansa aircrafts is similar to those on British Airways and Air Canada. The Premium Economy seats are 3-inch wider than in Economy Class with a 38-inch pitch, depending on the aircraft. Among other features include a larger armrest separating seats and 11 to 12 inch personal seatback entertainment screen. The Premium Economy cabin will be introduced on Boeing 777-9X and will have a “shell” design.

Economy Class: Lufthansa is offering Economy Class on all of its long-haul aircrafts with a 31-inch seat pitch except on Airbus A380 aircrafts with a 33-inch seat pitch. The amenities offered to Economy Class customers include AVOD screens and free meals and drinks.

What is Lufthansa Flight Cancellation Policy?

Before booking flights the customers need to know all about Lufthansa cancellation and refund policy. Knowing this beforehand will ensure a hassle-free booking experience.

According to Lufthansa cancellation policy, the customers can cancel their reservation until 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the flight and will be required to pay a cancellation fee to claim a refund. However, when the reservation is cancelled within 24 hours on the same day of booking and the scheduled departure date is 7 days from the reservation then Lufthansa will provide a full refund to the customers.

The customer who purchased a non-refundable ticket and cancelled it will not be eligible for any refund and Lufthansa will forfeit the total ticket fare. The cancellation is allowed only on refundable tickets and the refund amount will be given after deducting the cancellation fees and other charges.

If Lufthansa due to some reasons fails to provide flight service to the customers by canceling on its own then they will be eligible to be paid a compensation value by sending an email to the airline demanding the same. Lufthansa will be transferring the compensation value to the customer’s account within 20 business days.

The customers also have the flexibility to hold their tickets for 12 hours if they aren’t sure about the journey. They will not be charged any amount by Lufthansa for this. The cancellation fee may also be waived off by the airline if the booked ticket is cancelled by the customer due to health issues, military orders, government strikes, passport issues, death of relatives, etc.

Lufthansa 24-hour Cancellation Policy

Whether the customer has purchased a refundable ticket or non-refundable ticket, Lufthansa 24-hour cancellation policy will apply on both. If the customer cancels the ticket for certain reasons within 24 hours on the same day of the reservation and the flight departure date is 7 days away then the airline won’t charge any cancellation fee, and will provide a full refund. The cancellation can be done both online and offline over the phone. However, if the cancellation process is initiated by the customers after the expiry of the risk-free 24-hour window then they will have to pay a cancellation fee in order to get a refund, The cancellation fees charged will though depend on the routes and services used by the customers. In fact, Lufthansa 24 hours cancellation policy is highly beneficial to all those who aren’t still sure about their trip and don’t want to lose the value of booked tickets.

How much amount is to be paid as Lufthansa Cancellation Fees?

The customers are required to pay Lufthansa cancellation fees only after the lapse of the risk-free 24-hour period. Lufthansa will charge a cancellation fee of $50 for canceling refundable tickets, while $39 is to be paid as cancellation fees to cancel the award tickets. The cancellation fees will however depend on the routes and services availed by the customers, for seeking a refund. The customers will not be required to pay any cancellation fees whatsoever if they cancelled their booked tickets within the risk-free 24-hour window time frame. For canceling a non-refundable ticket the customers will have to pay the full amount of the ticket fare and the cancellation fee, and they won’t be provided any refund by the airline. It would be therefore prudent for the customers to always purchase a refundable ticket when flying with Lufthansa so that they are able to save some amount on the cancellation fee and make extra savings.

What is Lufthansa Refund Policy?

According to Lufthansa refund policy, the tickets will not be fully refundable when the reservation is cancelled after the risk-free 24-hours window has expired. The refund value will then be given to the customers after the cancellation fee is deducted from the total ticket fare. The full refund will only apply when the customer has cancelled the ticket within 24 hours on the same day of booking and the flight’s scheduled departure date must be 7 or more days away from the reservation date.

The customers who have purchased non-refundable tickets and cancelled after the 24 hours of booking won’t be provided any refund at all, and their entire value of the ticket will be forfeited by the airline. However, refund is allowed to those who purchased refundable tickets and cancelled it after paying $200 to $800 as cancellation fee depending on the routes and services availed. The refund amount will be paid to these customers only after deducting the cancellation fees and other applicable charges.

Lufthansa at its discretion may sometimes waive the cancellation charges when the customers have to cancel their tickets due to certain reasons, including sudden illness, death of relatives, government orders, separation of parents, visa problems, military orders, and many more. Such customers will however have to submit valid documents as a proof whenever asked by the airline.

The customers will also be eligible to claim for a refund when Lufthansa on its own cancels the already booked flight or when the flight is delayed. The refund request in this case can be made by the customers by calling Lufthansa phone number of Fond Travels at +1-571-389-6426. The customers may be provided a full refund or travel voucher for booking future flights. Apart from paying for ticket fees, the voucher can also be used by the customers for shopping, renting a car, etc.

It’s no wonder that the convenient Lufthansa cancellation and refund policy makes the booking experience for the customers completely stress-free and enjoyable.

Also, read our blog Lufthansa Flight Change Policy.