Customer Service Plan

It is Lufthansa’s aim to make every flight a safe and pleasant experience and further enhance customer comfort on the ground and in the air.

The Lufthansa Customer Service Plan is another step to reach this goal. It has been developed in accordance with Department of Transportation (the “DOT”) regulations for the departure or arrival of international flights at covered U.S. airports. 

Lufthansa’s Customer Service Plan reflects our commitment to treat our customers in a fair, courteous and prompt manner and to provide them with clear information about what they can expect us to do, particularly during occasional, irregular operations. In addition this plan will allow us to act promptly when we fail to meet our customer’s expectations.

Lufthansa offers its customers the lowest fare for which they are eligible on its online booking channels, (i.e. lufthansa.com, weflyhome.com, generationfly.com), Reservation Call Centers, and at airport ticket counters and ticket offices for the date, flight, and class of service requested. 

If specific information about travel requirements cannot be provided by the customer, our representatives will provide a range of fares designed to meet the customer’s general needs. 

The customer will always be informed by Lufthansa about the applicable fare and any other applicable fees, charges and taxes. 

Depending on the method in which the travel arrangements are made at the time the fare is quoted, lower fares may be available through alternative booking channels.

Lufthansa will provide customers with prompt notification of known delays, cancellations and diversions at the airport, on board our flights, and via our website and Call Centers within 30 minutes of becoming aware of any such change. If the customer has provided Lufthansa with valid contact information, we will attempt to notify the customer via sms, email or telephone. It is Lufthansa’s policy to contact our customers in advance, whenever possible. 

When cancellations or delays of more than two hours are experienced or expected, Lufthansa will attempt to re-route customers on the next available Lufthansa flight or that of a Star Alliance Partner with available seats. 

Whenever possible please provide a cell phone number and email address when you make a reservation, or sign up for flight status notifications on our website lufthansa.com.

Lufthansa has devoted extensive resources and efforts to ensure that our customers and their bags travel on the same flight. In case a bag is delayed, missing or remains unclaimed, we will make every reasonable effort to locate and return the customer’s bag within 24 hours or less if a name and address or other valid contact information is available. For international flights it may take longer to return delayed, missing or unclaimed baggage due to flight duration, frequency of flights, and Customs & Immigration procedures. Lufthansa will reimburse any fees associated with the transportation of a lost bag.

Customers may file a claim for delayed, missing or unclaimed baggage by requesting a Customer Property Claim form at the Lost & Found Office at the Airport. 

Information about interim expense reimbursement and baggage liability limitation is available at lufthansa.com and the Lost & Found Office at the Airport.

Status of missing baggage is available to the customer via lufthansa.com or by calling Lufthansa’s Baggage Call Center. 

Baggage Liability 

Unless otherwise stated liability for international travel is governed by the Montreal Convention (the “Convention”). Pursuant to the Convention, Lufthansa’s maximum liability per person, per trip, for delayed, lost or damaged baggage is 1,131 Special Drawing Rights. 

Additional information regarding liability limitations and exclusions are set forth in Lufthansa’s General Conditions of Carriage, which is available at lufthansa.com/us.

Lufthansa will allow customers to hold a telephone reservation made directly with Lufthansa’s telephone reservation center without payment for up to 24 hours, or will allow customers to cancel their reservation without penalty up to 24 hours after the reservation is made, if the reservation was made seven days or more prior to the flight’s departure. 

Customers who make a reservation through Lufthansa’s online booking channels (i.e. lufthansa.com, weflyhome.com and generationfly.com) may cancel their reservation without penalty up to 24 hours after the reservation is made, if the reservation was made seven days or more prior to the flight’s departure. 

Lufthansa will issue refunds for all eligible tickets within seven (7) days for credit card purchases and within twenty (20) days for purchases made by cash or check. In the event of a flight cancellation or oversale situation, Lufthansa will refund any fees charged to you for services for which you paid but were unable to use.

Refunds may be requested via email at MEX_REFUND@icat.dlh.de, or you may write to us at:

Lufthansa German Airlines
Refunds Dept.
625 RXR Plaza
Uniondale, New York 11553
Fax: (516) 296-9627

Lufthansa is committed to providing safe, convenient and reliable travel to all passengers, and will not discriminate against any passenger with a disability or special needs.

Lufthansa employees have been trained to comply with 14 CFR Part 382 and Lufthansa has Complaint Resolution Officials at Frankfurt, Munich, Dusseldorf and U.S. airports that are available to answer questions. 

Lufthansa has lounges designed to accommodate the needs of passengers with disabilities and unaccompanied minors in Frankfurt and Munich airports. These lounges are staffed with a trained team of employees who ensure that a very high level of service is provided. 

Unaccompanied Minors 

Lufthansa accepts children between 5 and 11 years of age who hold a confirmed reservation as an Unaccompanied Minor (“UM”). 

An UM service charge of EUR40/USD60 – EUR80/USD120 per direction applies to all UMs on Lufthansa’s flights depending on the child’s flight destination. Minors age 12 through 17 years are accepted without restrictions. 

UMs will be escorted onboard the aircraft by a Lufthansa representative and introduced to the Flight Attendant before being escorted to their seat. 

Upon arrival the UM will be escorted off the aircraft by one of our representatives and will be released at the agreed point only to those persons named on the UM Special Service Form. Identification will be required. 

During lengthy tarmac delays, our Flight Crew will make every effort to properly accommodate the needs of customers with disabilities or special needs.

Lufthansa will provide timely information regarding the status of a flight if there is a long delay after you have boarded or after the plane has landed. If safety and security conditions permit, Lufthansa will provide for your essential needs such as food, beverages, heat/air conditioning, operable lavatory facilities, and access to medical treatment.

The Flight Crew will make every reasonable effort to respond to customers’ special needs to the extent possible. 

For further information, see Lufthansa’s Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays lufthansa.com/us/contingency_plan.

Lufthansa will handle “bumped” passengers with fairness and consistency in the case of oversales. 

When a flight is expected to be oversold, our Airport representatives will first ask for volunteers who are willing to give up their seats in exchange for a compensation voucher which can be used to purchase tickets, pay excess baggage fees, or make on-board purchases. 

If Lufthansa does not receive enough volunteers, Lufthansa may deny boarding involuntarily to passengers holding a confirmed reservation in accordance with established boarding priorities. 

We will rebook passengers on to the next available Lufthansa or Star Alliance Partner flight to their ticketed destination if they are involuntarily denied boarding. If a Lufthansa flight is not available, we will strive to provide comparable accommodations on another airline that we have a ticketing agreement with. Meals and hotel accommodations will be offered when appropriate.

Information regarding our policies and procedures for handling situations when ticketed customers cannot be accommodated on a flight will be made available at the airport.

Compensation for Involuntary Denied Boarding

If you are denied boarding involuntarily, you are entitled to a payment of ‘‘denied boarding compensation’’ from the airline unless: 

(1) you have not fully complied with the airline’s ticketing, check-in and reconfirmation requirements, or you are not acceptable for transportation under the airline’s usual rules and practices; or
(2) you are denied boarding because the flight is canceled; or 
(3) you are denied boarding because a smaller capacity aircraft was substituted for safety or operational reasons; or
(4) on a flight operated with an aircraft having 60 or fewer seats, you are denied boarding due to safety-related weight/balance restrictions that limit payload; or
(5) you are offered accommodations in a section of the aircraft other than specified in your ticket, at no extra charge (a passenger seated in a section for which a lower fare is charged must be given an appropriate refund); or
(6) the airline is able to place you on another flight or flights that are planned to reach your next stopover or final destination within one hour of the planned arrival time of your original flight.

Amount of Denied Boarding Compensation 

International Transportation: Passengers traveling from the United States to a foreign point who are denied boarding involuntarily from an oversold flight originating at a U.S. airport are entitled to:

(1) No compensation if the carrier offers alternate transportation that is planned to arrive at the passenger’s destination or first stopover not later than one hour after the planned arrival time of the passenger’s original flight;

(2) 200% of the fare to the passenger’s destination or first stopover, with a maximum of $775, if the carrier offers alternate transportation that is planned to arrive at the passenger’s destination or first stopover more than one hour but less than four hours after the planned arrival time of the passenger’s original flight; and

(3) 400% of the fare to the passenger’s destination or first stopover, with a maximum of $1,550, if the carrier does not offer alternate transportation that is planned to arrive at the airport of the passenger’s destination or first stopover less than four hours after the planned arrival time of the passenger’s original flight.

0 to 1 hour arrival delay - No compensation.
1 to 4 hour arrival delay - 200% of one-way fare (but no more than $775).
Over 4 hours arrival delay - 400% of one-way fare (but no more than $1,550).

“Alternate Transportation” is air transportation with a confirmed reservation at no additional charge (by any scheduled airline licensed by DOT), or other transportation accepted and used by the passenger in the case of denied boarding.

Lufthansa makes the following information available to its passengers on our website, or, upon request, through our airport and reservations agents: 

I. Planned scheduled time of departure and arrival of the flights 
II. Airport / terminal of departure and arrival 
III. Number of en-route stops 
IV. Any change of aircraft, terminal or airport 
V. Conditions attached to the fare, including cancellation policies 
VI. Baggage allowances and fees 
VII. Name of operating carrier and flight number 
VIII. Aircraft type, configuration and seat pitch 
IX. Services offered on board 
X. Details of our frequent flyer program 

Please contact Lufthansa’s Call Center or visit lufthansa.com for further details.

Lufthansa stands behind the services provided by our code-share partners and works closely with them to ensure that customers receive the same quality of service whenever they travel on flights operated by any of our partners. 

For links to the web sites of Lufthansa’s code-share partners please visit ​https://www.lufthansa.com/us/codeshare_partners.

Lufthansa will acknowledge receipt of written customer complaints within 30 days of their receipt, and will send a substantive response within 60 days of receiving the complaint. 

For information about filing compliments and/or complaints online, please visit lufthansa.com/us/crus, or you may write to us at 

Lufthansa German Airlines
Customer Relations
625 RXR Plaza
Uniondale, New York 11553
Fax: (516) 296-9838

In order to mitigate inconveniences resulting from cancellations and misconnections, Lufthansa will: 

Make every effort to contact customers, via the contact information provided in their reservation, about cancellations or delays when the event is known at least two hours before departure. 

Attempt to re-route customers on the next available Lufthansa flight or that of a Star Alliance Partner with available seats in the same class of service when cancellations or delays of more than two hours are experienced or expected

Provide information concerning cancellations and rebooking on our website and through our airport and reservations agents.

Some Lufthansa services are sold in or originate from points outside of the United States and may be subject to different rules and regulations. Lufthansa complies with the rules and regulations that apply where those services originate. 

This Customer Service Plan is explicitly separate from and does not form a part of Lufthansa’s General Conditions of Carriage. Your contractual rights and obligations associated with your travel are set forth in Lufthansa’s General Conditions of Carriage.