corporate flexibility

Yesterday, I went to lufthansa.fr to book a flight to Germany. To go from Lyon to Dresden, one has to make one connection, either in Munich or in Frankfurt, and the ticket inevitably costs 350 euros. However, there is a way to beat the system, as there always is. Tickets for direct flights from Lyon to Frankfurt or Munich and from Frankfurt or Munich to Dresden can be had for only 99 euros on occasion. You can't be too flexible, and often the flights that are available don't match well. I have in fact never before built my itinerary from pieces like I did last night.

Two good friends of mine live in Munich. A weekend there would give me the opportunity to see them and hang out with them but also some flexibility for choosing my flights. It took a little effort navigating two Lufthansa windows at the same time, finding flights, matching days and then times, and fitting a weekend in. It all worked out. After twenty minutes of searching, shuffling, modifying, and picking legs, I submitted two reservations in parallel, hoping that the server wouldn't get confused and that by the time the first went through, the second would still be available. I got two confirmation emails. All had worked out.

Except it hadn't. I printed the itineraries and noticed that on the way back, I had exactly twenty minutes to change flights in Munich. That would be a bit wee even if the plane arrived at the gate, but in Munich you always have to the shuttle from way outfield. It's not Paris, but it still takes time. I was hosed.

My ticket allowed for modifications, with a 50 euro fee. I found another flight out of Dresden, an hour earlier, same price. But it was Saturday night, and the Lufthansa telephone service guys had already gone home. The internet was of no help. I spent an unruly night. Would the earlier flight still be available?

This morning I called again. The lady took my request to change the flight and told me, with the sweetness of Sunday in her voice, that my credit hadn't been billed yet and that the flight had thus not been booked technically. She would just cancel the reservation and let me make a new one on the net. No monetary penalty was imposed. I was stunned. Five minutes later I had another reservation, giving me an hour and a half in Munich. All is well that ends well. Let's hope that the first reservation got indeed canceled.