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Per an email to their members, and the Lufthansa’s Miles and More website; you can now redeem Miles and More miles for flights on California based carrier Surf Air. The offer is for a limited time (until March 31st, 2017) and other than the time line there seems to be no other restrictions.
Surf Air is the California startup that is frequently referred to as the Netflix of private flying. The model is a “member’s only” airline with an all you can fly approach for a single monthly fee. They utilize mostly secondary private municipal locations, and the fleet is a single type aircraft that uses the PC-12 Pilatus Aircraft. The plane seats a total of 8 passengers.
I’ve written about Surf Air several times including:
- Surf Who? – My discovery of the airline.
- Touring Surf Air In Sacramento – A visit to the Sacramento operation.
- A Summer of Promotions – A spring 2016 promo Surf Air ran.
- Surf Air Hits Turbulence With Local Residence In San Carlos – Surf Air’s air noise issues with San Carols residence.
Surf Air is an expensive proposition at $1,000 up front fee and then $1,950 per month, but for that you receive all you want flying as long as there is an available seat. It now seems that there is another option for those of you who want to experience Surf Air. From now until March 31st 2017 you can use your Miles and More miles for either a single round trip, or an entire month flying membership.
From the Miles and More website
Costs per the Miles and More website
On the one hand these costs seem a little high. If you were to value Lufthansa miles at 1.5 cents a piece, a single monthly membership would run you $2,050 to $2,250; or a single flight would range $825 to $920. Keep in mind the single flight is a round trip with only 2 segments. On the other side of the argument, both of these items can be had with no on-going contractual commitment. I totally see the novelty of this redemption, but aside from some unique situations I’m not sure how practical it is.
With the link from the Lufthansa email, you are sent directly to the Surf Air website. With my Lufthansa membership account number and pin I was able to log directly in, and review the membership options available for purchase with Miles and More miles.
Login landing page at Surfair.com
Options available for purchase once you’re logged in
I think it’s great that Miles and More members have another option for using their miles, and even with the expensive redemption options there are some circumstances were this purchase could make sense. Still, the route network is limited to within California (and Las Vegas) and times are usually scheduled in the mornings and the evenings. It will be interesting to see who finds value and takes advantage of this limited time offer.
