Lufthansa Will Partner With Sixt For First Class Limousine Service

So instead of the cars coming from northern Stuttgart(Porsche Zuffenhausen) they will now come from southwest Stuttgart (Mercedes Sindelfingen). What a dramatic change. I really do not care between a Porsche and a Mercedes S class.

But aside from that fact I don‘t like the Sixt Partnership, I had a very bad experience with some unjustified extra charges renting from them in Lisboa.

They don‘t seem to get their franchise partners in order, but in Germany it should be fine.

While I was grateful for the transfer from the FCT to my CRJ the other week, I don't really get the fascination with these cars when it comes to the big planes that actually have first class and are usually attached to the terminal.

I'm really struggling to see how people perceive value in leaving the lounge early, going up and down the stairs, loading and unloading luggage, and potentially getting exposed to the elements as opposed to just walking down the jetbridge at their leisure 15-20 minutes before departure.

@ Throwawayname -- Well, I don't disagree, but as I see it, that's not where the service is useful. In the case of the FCT, that allows you to skip the terminal entirely, so the time savings there are huge. Meanwhile I'd say the limousine service is otherwise most valuable if you're connecting to a regional flight departing from a remote stand.

You don't generally get the limo service if you're departing from a gate near the lounge, assuming there's a jet bridge, for the reasons you state.

This has nothing to do with rentals. It's just transfers. This is no different than Air France partnering with HertzU. Other than some branding, most people will have no idea the cars are from Sixt.

Ah, that's fair enough. Do they offer the car transfers to F lounge pax with flights departing from remote stands?

@Max , Sixt are by far the highest quality car rental company in Europe (and possibly other places too). That doesn't make them immune to the occasional bad apple - whether it's a franchise, local management, or individual employee. I've actually hired a car from them in Portugal and the service was as good as anywhere else (conversely, I recently had an horrendous experience with Hertz in the UK, but I am not about to boycott them forever because of it).

My impression is that the logic behind the partnership is that they want to become known to people who don't hire cars often as they want to grow in the wider 'mobility' space (car subscriptions, limousine services etc).

Both to and from remote stands

But this is exactly the question, although it won‘t have any material consequences for the operation as such, it still is a questionable partnership choice in my opinion as so many people tend to have negative experiences with rental car firms, therefore it might not be the smartest move to partner with one for first class transfers.

Contracting with Sixt is simply a financial maneuver to efficiently maintain their fleet by acquiring and delivering new cars, and disposing of older ones.

@Max - you've got some bizarre jumps in logic going on. I don't think I fully understand what you're saying... somehow the most important factor in a car for you is the geographic region it is from, and who financially owns it? Call me weird, but I personally value how comfortable and luxurious it is.

@throwawayname - It's not a few bad apples, Sixt is notorious for almost scam-like charges. I have (and will continue to) rent from them many times in many different locations because of the better cars, but it's well known that you have to meticulously document every aspect of the transaction in order to prevent them from trying to charge you for something ridiculous. Their business model seems to be built on subsidizing those BMW rentals by forcing 25% of customers to use their CC rental insurance for a large payout.

I don't think that the business model is built on scam charges, my impression is they're just pretty careful with damage precisely because they want to keep the fleet in good condition. I always take photos etc but I find them really good at ensuring any scratches etc have been proactively documented at check out, which is more than I can say about my experiences with other companies (Goldcar is always a good laugh when it comes to that, but I'm willing to lose 20 minutes on the paperwork if I am renting for a week and they're literally 75% cheaper).

Mercedes V class is nothing to write home about, the sole fact that there is a star on the hood doesn't make it better or more luxurious than a VW Bus.

FWIW, I was in LH First 2.5 weeks ago and there were still some Porsches. Did they say exactly when they'll get rid of the fleet?

Maybe SIXT will also do the new Transfer-Service for HON Circles and First Class Passengers that LH is planning to introduce: Pick up the passenger at home/work and drop him off directly at the plane. Also after the flight. The Magazine Wirtschaftswoche reports that they are already testing this for MUC.

couldn't they just partner with the airport golf cart service and golf cart customer over? tons of airline in asia is doing this

Sixt does not own a chauffeur service with drivers. It outsources to small firms in local vicinities. Just like uber but B2B they are doing it through their sixt driver app. It is called farming out.