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As an aviation enthusiast I’m disappointed that I’ve never actually flew on a Boeing 747. I was booked to fly on one back in 2009 from LAX to LHR but a late equipment change scuppered that! Living in Belfast and flying mainly out of Belfast and Dublin, we haven’t had many regular 747 services lately! Virgin did a weekly summer service to Florida a few years ago just but I can’t remember anything from BFS or DUB before that.
So I am looking to take a flight on a 747. It seems my best bet would be Lufthansa to/from USA. I have 140k points sitting in my HSBC so my plan would be to use these for a single flight in business class, probably JFK-FRA. Anyone any advice for going about this? I’m relatively new to the game and only have dabbled in Avios so far. All tips and advice appreciated!
Lufthansa is mainly the 747-8. This is the newer version with the stretched upper deck, and isn’t the ‘classic’ version that BA and Virgin flew where the upper deck is very small and more genuinely a ‘bubble’. The 747-8, only flown by Korean and Lufthansa I think, are more like an A380 upstairs.
Ahh, I didn’t know that. I thought they just operated the 747-8 but it seems they still fly both to multiple destination in North America.
I’m going to do some research here. I’ve read https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/07/08/hsbc-credit-card-airline-hotel-transfer-partners/ article from 8th July. I thought HSBC points could be transferred to Lufthansa Miles but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
You can transfer them to Singapore Airlines and book Lufthansa. Lufthansa space is sometimes tricky to get hold of except last minute but midweek may be easier on US routes over winter.
Nice idea, I’ve done the “bubble” on BA a few times but would have loved to have done a farewell flight!
Ahh, I didn’t know that. I thought they just operated the 747-8 but it seems they still fly both to multiple destination in North America.
I’m going to do some research here. I’ve read https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/07/08/hsbc-credit-card-airline-hotel-transfer-partners/ article from 8th July. I thought HSBC points could be transferred to Lufthansa Miles but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Lufthansa seats can be “bought” with miles from other schemes that are HSBC and Amex partners, eg Singapore, but availability is very poor for premium cabins in my experience, and released last minute.
Korean is probably a better bet. They are in SkyTeam and have other partners too. I haven’t checked availability for a long time but it wasn’t subject to the restrictions Lufthansa impose when I did.
Could you transfer to LH via Marriott? although probably at a loss
Whilst it’s poor in advance it is very predictable in it’s last minute release. I needed a specific flight this summer and monitored and within the last 72hrs they’ll consistently release seats in J & F cabins, just got to hold your nerve! In my case Air France was wide open and I had a little bit of flexibility on date so wasn’t a problem. If you have an expertflyer subscription you can keep an eye on the availability and set up alerts on the award seats as well
Thanks for the advice everyone. I’ll do some research with your suggestions.
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