New program allows Lufthansa passengers to turn a Munich layover into a mini-vacation

17 hours ago 3

Many travelers dream of enjoying Munich's expansive parks, bustling squares, iconic architecture, and lively beer halls and festivals. And now, Lufthansa is making that kind of trip much more attainable. The Germany-based airline recently launched a stopover program that allows travelers with a layover in Munich to easily extend their stay in the city for up to seven days.

This flexible booking option is integrated directly into the reservation process on the airline's website, so it only takes a few clicks to plan a trip extension.

All you have to do is toggle the "Add a stopover in Munich" option when inputting your travel information to your final destination. You can then select the number of nights you wish to stay in the Bavarian capital, and choose whether you want to add this adventure to the beginning or end of your trip.

The rest of the booking process is just as simple. I selected to add a three-day stopover in Munich on an example flight home from Singapore. After choosing my outbound flight, I saw the stopover at Munich International Airport (MUC) built into all the inbound flight options.

The final screen of the booking process shows the itinerary with the stopover clearly outlined.

It may seem intimidating or overwhelming to plan activities for a Munich layover extension after you have already planned a whole trip elsewhere. To ease this planning process, Lufthansa has some discounts and deals specifically for stopover passengers.

Travelers can add these discounted activities and hotel stays to their itineraries starting 24 hours after booking the flight.

Lufthansa offers the Munich stopover option to travelers across all classes, so even those flying on the most restrictive ticket option can add it.

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Right now, the stopover option is only available on flights from Singapore and the U.S. However, it will be available on more routes in the future.

Stopover offers are planned for other hubs within the Lufthansa Group, according to the carrier. That means you could see similar offerings on Lufthansa Group airlines like Swiss Air, ITA Airways, Brussels Airlines and Austrian Airlines, among others.

Stopover programs have proven to be great ways to encourage tourism and drive local economic growth, and Lufthansa joins a growing list of airlines with this offering.

It can often serve as a way to visit multiple cities without paying extra.

For instance, Copa Airlines allows travelers to extend their stops in Panama for up to seven days, and Icelandair does the same in Reykjavik. Some airlines have even more generous stopover deals: TAP Air Portugal allows travelers an up to 10-day stopover in Portugal, while Turkish Airlines includes a one- or two-night hotel stay for stopover passengers free of charge. Many of these programs have similar rules to Lufthansa's, but be sure to read the fine print of your chosen airline when booking.

You can earn and redeem points on Lufthansa flights through the airline's Miles & More program which, unfortunately, doesn't have a major U.S. credit card transfer partner.

However, because the airline is a Star Alliance member, you can also typically redeem miles from other Star Alliance programs — such as United MileagePlus and Air Canada Aeroplan — to book award seats on Lufthansa-operated flights.

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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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