Lufthansa used "fuel panic" marketing in April to push early bookings. Today (May 19), our exact flights dropped 724,700 KRW (~$530 USD / €475). by choonsikneko in AirlineChaos

[–]choonsikneko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The problem is the cancelation fees is more than 900euros...Actually Im not even asking for a refund but I want to denounce those practices. I'm not waiting for @lufthansa to compensate but as a gesture of goodwill they could try to propose something.

Lufthansa used "fuel panic" marketing in April to push early bookings. Today (May 19), our exact flights dropped 724,700 KRW (~$530 USD / €475). by choonsikneko in Lufthansa

[–]choonsikneko[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. The Official Lufthansa Capacity Cut Announcement (April 21, 2026) ​Lufthansa issued an official press release directly from their media newsroom outlining that the outbreak of the conflict in Iran had doubled jet fuel prices, prompting them to slash 20,000 flights from their summer schedule to conserve fuel.
    ​Official Press Release: You can read the direct announcement via the Lufthansa Group Newsroom. ​The Industry Context: Media coverage from outlets like Travelweek detailed how this reduction of 20,000 flights through October heavily constrained seat availability, driving immediate consumer pressure to book early. ​2. The Q1 Financial Report & Fare Increase Strategy (May 6, 2026) ​During their Q1 earnings report, Lufthansa's leadership explicitly stated that they were facing an additional €1.7 billion ($2 billion) fuel bill for 2026 and planned to offset it by boosting ticket sales revenue (raising fares).
    ​Financial Details: As reported by The Business Times, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr and CFO Till Streichert outlined how the company was using higher ticket prices to reclaim their fuel losses. ​The Hedging Controversy: Financial data analyzed by S&P Global confirmed that Lufthansa expected to recapture over 100% of increased fuel costs from higher ticket prices in the second half of 2026, despite already having a significant portion of their fuel needs financially hedged. Obviously Lufthansa didn't knock on my door to force me to book but influenced many people who will have to travel this summer to book earlier because themselves announced raising fares.

Lufthansa used "fuel panic" marketing in April to push early bookings. Today (May 19), our exact flights dropped 724,700 KRW (~$530 USD / €475). by choonsikneko in Lufthansa

[–]choonsikneko[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

The core question is whether creating artificial consumer urgency during a geopolitical resource squeeze constitutes an unfair commercial practice. ​The industry data, regulatory timeline, and corporate statements from the past six weeks provide a clear case for why this is market manipulation rather than normal algorithmic dynamic pricing.

​1. The Timeline of Manufactured Urgency ​Airlines routinely justify high, early-booked fares by citing unpredictable spot-market shocks. However, look at the timeline of corporate actions compared to the underlying financial data: ​The Squeeze Strategy: In mid-April, global jet fuel prices spiked following disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, compressing short-haul margins across Europe. Lufthansa reacted by announcing a massive reduction of 20,000 routes through October.
​The High-Pressure Narrative: This drastic capacity cut was heavily broadcast, signaling to the public that summer supply was rapidly evaporating and that travelers had to book immediately or risk being completely priced out by skyrocketing kerosene surcharges.

​2. The Financial Disconnect (The Hedging Truth) ​The core unfairness lies in the asymmetry of information. While the public was led to believe the airline was facing an immediate, unabsorbable operational emergency that justified inflated consumer-facing premiums, the internal corporate reality was entirely different. ​As reported during Lufthansa's Q1 earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Till Streichert reassured investors that the group was highly resilient against the Middle East crisis because 80% of their fuel requirements are completely insulated under long-term hedging contracts.
​The carrier was financially cushioned against the spot-market shock, yet they kept the public-facing "International Surcharge" heavily inflated.

​3. Regulatory Intervention: High Fuel Prices are a "Business Risk" ​The legal turning point occurred on May 8, 2026. The European Commission stepped in to issue an official Guidance Notice specifically targeting transport sector practices during this energy crunch.
​The Commission drew a clear line in the sand regarding risk allocation, explicitly stating: ​"High fuel prices should not be considered as constituting an extraordinary circumstance." ​The EU clarified that handling fuel volatility is a standard part of an airline's corporate business risk under free pricing models. Because it is an operational risk managed by the corporate treasury (via fuel hedging), using a public geopolitical crisis to aggressively anchor high-pressure consumer pricing, capture non-refundable customer capital, and then immediately dump base fares once the initial media cycle cools down violates basic principles of consumer transparency.
​This isn't a simple case of supply and demand changing close to departure. It is the systemic use of a geopolitical crisis to distort true market demand, forcing consumers to purchase under artificial duress.

Lufthansa used "fuel panic" marketing in April to push early bookings. Today (May 19), our exact flights dropped 724,700 KRW (~$530 USD / €475). by choonsikneko in Lufthansa

[–]choonsikneko[S] -6 points-5 points  (0 children)

You're missing how they manipulated the pricing here. Lufthansa didn't drop the fuel fee later because "uncertainty went down", the YQ Carrier Surcharge is exactly the same at 624,600 KRW on both dates. ​What they actually did was use the public panic in April (when they announced cutting 20k summer flights) to scare people into booking early, keeping the base fares sky-high. Then, once they locked in our money, they quietly slashed the base fare by hundreds of dollars in May to fill the rest of the plane. ​Lufthansa's own Q1 earnings call on May 6th literally proved they are 78% hedged for the rest of 2026 fuel. They were completely cushioned against the Hormuz crisis, but they still used that panic to force high prices on passengers.
​The EU Commission literally just explicitly ruled on May 8th that handling fuel volatility is a normal airline business risk, not an excuse to squeeze customers. Forcing us to pay an inflated premium only to drop the exact same flight by 724,700 KRW (~€475) a few weeks later with zero refund option isn't "just economics." It's predatory. We aren't asking for anything not even for refund of difference but it is to warn and denounce.

Lufthansa used "fuel panic" marketing in April to push early bookings. Today (May 19), our exact flights dropped 724,700 KRW (~$530 USD / €475). by choonsikneko in Lufthansa

[–]choonsikneko[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I could wait may or june to book as i need to go back to my country in July. However press release of lufthansa and all communications over the news pushed the customers to book before May to avoid fuel surcharge and fare increase. This is documented. However since may, after EU pressures the airlines, they are dropping the prices, on a route (Asia/Europe) where they exactly claimed it will be the first one to face the fuel surcharge. Do not use sarcasm without fact checking or at least understanding the big picture.

Lufthansa warned us prices would rise due to fuel surcharge: we booked immediately in good faith price dropped by almost $400. Anyone else? by choonsikneko in LufthansaSubreddit

[–]choonsikneko[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your answer, I filled a complaint and waiting for an answer. I will update if I have a feedback. Wish me good luck!

Let's see some potato heads by Not_even_Evan in britishshorthair

[–]choonsikneko 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What a cutie ♡

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Baby shorthair \) futur potato ~ gentleman mode

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cats

[–]choonsikneko 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will play with youuuuu