Lufthansa’s Approved Way To Skip A Flight: Throwaway Ticketing Now Requires Proof Your Plans Changed

Lufthansa has an approved way to skip a flight without repricing the rest of your trip. And you don’t have to live in Germany to qualify: a ticket that starts or ends there can be enough. You do have to show that you intended to fly the original itinerary, and that a reason to change it arose after booking. Last December, I wrote about a Lufthansa HON Circle member who skipped his final flight to visit a sick relative. A flight attendant reportedly turned him in, Lufthansa demanded €414, and he went to court. The airline had to recognize that a passenger’s plans can legitimately change after buying a ticket. I wondered then how Lufthansa would distinguish someone whose circumstances changed from someone who always intended to throw away a segment. The German court effectively endorsed throwaway ticketing. You book a ticket to a city you don’t intend to fly to, because it’s cheaper And you get off at your connecting city, where you really intended to travel all along. Well, Lufthansa now has a form for this, complete with document uploads and a declaration about your intentions when you booked. I suspect that like the forms for ‘service animals’ that people who just want to bring their emotional support pets onboard will just sign them. But it’s still a process and rule – very German. Here are the current Lufthansa Group instructions. Lufthansa’s current conditions of carriage, section 3.3.4, cover German residents or passengers whose booked departure or destination is in Germany. Merely connecting in Frankfurt doesn’t meet the itinerary test for a nonresident. For example, an American with a Frankfurt–Chicago–Frankfurt ticket could fall within this provision. An American with Chicago–Frankfurt–Athens and back doesn’t qualify just because their flights touch Germany. The qualifying reason can be illness, force majeure, or another circumstance arising after booking that makes changing the flight sequence necessary or reasonable. But buying a cheaper connecting itinerary with the intention of skipping a flight doesn’t satisfy the rule. Lufthansa asks for evidence both of your original intention and of what changed afterward. Use the actual English language request form. Notify Lufthansa promptly, with evidence, and allow at least three working days before the next scheduled flight for processing. If your ticket doesn’t start or end in Germany, upload proof of German residence. Lufthansa accepts documents such as a residence certificate or utility bill. Redact unnecessary information, because GDPR. They ask you not to send medical diagnoses. Identify the flights you won’t use. The form says those flights will be canceled and the remaining segments left unchanged. After review, Lufthansa emails a new ticket number. A third party can submit for you with a signed power of attorney. Your travel agent can’t just process this for you. If you have less than three working days, take the evidence to check-in. Without it, Lufthansa can initially recalculate the fare. Submit proof immediately after travel for review and a refund where needed. Topics on this page